News

Midwest grocery chain debuts a robot named Tally

August 1, 2017

Three St. Louis-based grocery stores are participating in a six-week pilot featuring a robot, Tally, which will check aisles three times a day to ensure items and price tags are in sync.

The Schnucks grocery stores are also hoping Tally will help alert store operations to out-of-stock items as well, according to a New York Post report.

"We’re excited to see what this partnership brings," Dave Steck, vice president of IT and infrastructure, said in a statement regarding its partnership with San Francisco-based Simbe Robotics. "This is just one of many ways that Schnucks is staying at the forefront of technology to enhance our customers’ shopping experiences."

Schnucks, according to the Post, operates more than 100 stores in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin and Iowa. Tally is an adjustable 38-inch, 30-pound robot that Simbe CEO Brad Bogolea told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch will help store staff conduct other tasks.

"The goal of Tally is to create more of a feedback mechanism," Bogolea told the Post-Dispatch. "Although most retailers have good supply chain intelligence, and point-of-sale data on what they've sold, what’s challenging for retailers is understanding the true state of merchandise on shelves. Everyone sees value in higher quality, more frequent information across the entire value chain."