Winner of the i-Nov innovation competition, Smartway, a company specializing in the fight against food waste, has just been awarded a grant of 1.4 million euros [1.55 million USD], which will enable it to develop its Fresh Operating System (FOS) solution.
Because the fruit and vegetable department is thought to be the main source of waste in supermarkets, Smartway wanted to "reinvent fruit and vegetable ordering" by launching the Fresh Operating System (FOS) at the beginning of the year to enable teams to place "the perfect order" and thus "limit stock-outs and breakages, by combining accurate data analysis and responsiveness to variations in demand."
Four times more food waste in fruit and vegetables than in other sections
The fruit and vegetable department is said to generate four times more food waste than other departments, with a breakage rate of almost 6% (compared with 1.5% for other departments). These losses are often due to "inefficient order management, caused by stock errors, poorly optimized orders or obsolete technological tools." Yet, the fruit and vegetable section is a "strategic" section, as it embodies the store's image of freshness. According to OpinionWay-Smartway research - November 2023, "for 87% of French people, the quality and freshness of the fruit and vegetable range influences their choice of store. For fruit and vegetables sold in bulk, this argument is even as important as price." The challenge is therefore to optimize the management of fruit and vegetables in order to reconcile consumer expectations with the need to minimize food waste.
Smartway has been helping retailers combat food waste for 12 years. More than 2,000 stores worldwide have already adopted its Food Waste Management System solutions based on a unique artificial intelligence that guides in-store teams to detect products approaching their use-by date and decide on the best way to revalue them: labeling with a relevant discount or simplified donation to charities. Smartway
What is the Fresh Operating System?
The Fresh Operating System, specially designed for fruit and vegetable departments, aims to solve these problems by perfecting the ordering process, minimizing both stock-outs and losses, and precisely adjusting orders according to actual demand and market variations. "This technology, based on Artificial Intelligence, relies on a detailed analysis of data in real time, offering retailers a reactive, efficient solution tailored to the specific characteristics of the fruit and vegetable section. Employees are guided through the order-taking process based on data such as sales history, weather forecasts and forecast demand. As a result, stock-outs and waste are reduced, boosting shop sales by 3%, with a 25% reduction in markdowns and fewer stock-outs."
Winner of the i-Nov innovation competition
Smartway is a winner of the i-Nov innovation competition, a support scheme funded by the France 2030 plan to select innovation projects with high potential for the French economy. Thanks to this top-class competition, Smartway has received funding of 1.4 million euros [1.55 million USD], divided between a grant and a repayable advance, which will enable Paul-Adrien and Christophe Menez, co-founders of Smartway, "to speed up the development and deployment of their Fresh Operating System solution."
For more information:
Smartway
6 Avenue Marcelin Berthelot Bâtiment Le Newton,
44800 Saint-Herblain
Phone: +33(0)2 40 75 04 95
smartway.ai