4R releases enhancement to its AI-driven supply chain and inventory management technology to help retailers reduce waste and loss in perishable inventory and support the fresh food preparation process.
4R, an innovator in AI-powered demand forecasting, inventory management solutions and planning services, is pleased to announce a major product enhancement. This new release helps retailers that sell fresh foods and beverages, like convenience stores, to optimize their forecasting, replenishment, and daily preparation process to ensure maximum freshness and minimize spoilage.
Consumers looking for fresh food products want these foods and beverages available and at peak freshness, which may require daily preparation. Retailers must balance availability and freshness while keeping up with demand. Fresh food products are by nature perishable and have variable shelf lives. This adds complexity to managing fresh food stock. Additionally, demand for certain items changes with the day of the week, the time of year and the locations of the stores. We’ve enhanced the 4R One Predictive Engine to take these factors into consideration. “Not only will we ensure the optimal amount of fresh food inventory is available at each store, we also provide support for the in-store employee to know exactly how many items to prep on a given day, and when to pull out the ingredients if thawing is necessary.“ says Nina Chiavaroli, VP of Customer Success at 4R.
The QSR & Fresh Food Planner Solution also helps retailers predict and order fresh foods at the ingredient level. This feature ensures that there are enough ingredients for each recipe of assembled and prepared foods. Stores sell these fresh foods at the item level, not the ingredient level. The 4R solution forecasts how many items will be sold, then breaks down those items into the ingredient components through a Recipe Mapper. This way, each store knows how much to have on hand at the ingredient level and can produce the sellable items for that day or week. Nina Chiavaroli adds, “Already, one of our convenience store clients has seen an increase in prepared food availability and reduction in waste and loss due to better demand forecasting and automated ordering and replenishment. Their store associates are also more efficient because they no longer have to guess what and how much food to prepare every day.”
Forecasting and tracking of perishable inventory helps to maintain accurate stock levels and identify expired stock. With 4R One Predictive Engine, retailers can minimize waste, keep a check on business expenses and maintain a safe food environment. Mark Garland, CEO at 4R, says “The risk associated with perishable inventory is that the unsold products may expire with no residual value, leading to the entire investment and an opportunity to be lost. We’re excited to offer this option to the market and the positive results it’s already producing for our clients.” This planner solution can be a game changer for retailers that sell fresh foods and beverages in their store locations, like convenience stores, gas stations, and cafes. It can help retailers ensure customer satisfaction, improve customer retention, reduce costly waste, move closer to its sustainability goals and maintain a positive brand image.