Albertsons Cos. has launched the Afresh platform in the meat and seafood departments of more than 2,200 banner stores, including Safeway, Albertsons, Jewel-Osco, Shaw’s, Vons and ACME.
The platform aims to drive better decision-making across the fresh supply chain, with connected solutions built for fresh food.
As a result of its partnership with Afresh, Albertsons Cos. has delivered fresher produce with higher in-stock rates since 2022, while also reducing food waste.
After a two-month pilot in meat and seafood departments this year, the platform has begun a chainwide rollout across Albertsons Cos. banner stores.
“Managing a meat and seafood department is particularly challenging because of the financial implications of shrink. To meet these challenges, Afresh is leveraging AI at scale to support accurate ordering for complex cutting and production items,” said Dain Charette, chief revenue officer at Afresh.
“Additionally, we are excited about furthering our mission and continuing to support Albertsons’ ESG goal of reducing food waste.”
The Afresh platform will enable Albertsons Cos.’ meat and seafood teams to keep coolers and freezers light while boosting in-stock rates. It offers AI-powered recommendations for hyper-perishable items like fresh poultry and prefilled order quantities for slower-moving, prepackaged items such as bacon.
With an intuitive interface and workflows that follow department-specific best practices, department managers can place profit-maximizing orders.
“At Albertsons, we strive to create a distinctive experience in fresh foods, and our meat and seafood departments are a key component in this strategy,” said Susan Morris, EVP and chief operations officer for Albertsons Cos.
“Afresh has enabled our associates to make smarter decisions daily that keep customer favorites in stock and ensure that we are offering them the best quality, freshest product.
“The Afresh platform also helps our stores to significantly reduce food waste as Albertsons continues to make progress toward our goal to have zero waste going to landfill by 2030.”
Read more meat and seafood news from The Shelby Report.
