Technology

Busy Beaver store pilots robot to boost CX, inventory management

Photo by istock.com

November 5, 2021

The Busy Beaver store in Irwin, Pennsylvania is running a pilot effort involving autonomous robot technology to boost customer experience and shore up stock management.

The home improvement center, one of 24 operated by Busy Beaver Buildings Centers Inc., will use the robot to monitor on-shelf product availability and verify pricing for more than 30,000 SKUs. The robots will allow sales associates to spend more time with customers, boosting customer engagement and interaction, according to a press release.

The Badger Technologies robots are equipped with Badger Retail InForm software and can complete daily storewide scans for out-of-stock and price-integrity issues within two hours. Traditionally, manual inventory shelf scans of an entire store required up to 80 staff hours each week.

"Technology is a key imperative in our mission to be the favorite neighborhood home improvement center in the communities we serve," Adam Gunnett, director of IT for Busy Beaver Building Centers, said in the release. "We relentlessly look for innovative ways to increase efficiencies and empower our associates to provide legendary customer service, which is why the pilot with Badger Technologies is so exciting. We expect to demonstrate how Busy Beaver can keep our shelves fully stocked with the right mix of products — at the right prices — without overburdening our dedicated team members."