Southern hardware retailer Stine detects out-of-stocks with robots

The newest stock personnel in Stine stores move on wheels.

The regional hardware chain operating in Louisiana and Mississippi is deploying Badger Technologies multipurpose autonomous robots to detect out-of-stock products. So far, the retailer reports out-of-stock detection at more than 95% accuracy while decreasing out-of-stock products by up to 50%. 

In addition, Stine says the robots are enabling it to improve price-tag accuracy by more than 97%. The company stocks its stores with a diverse inventory of home improvement products and building material supplies.

Other benefits Stine obtains from its Badger Technologies robotic deployment is that the robots offload manual, tedious tasks from store associates, enabling them to spend more time on customer-facing activities while also helping the retailer address general labor shortages. In addition, the in-store robots improve on-shelf product availability by generating actionable data and analytics to provide a more accurate view of shelf conditions. 

“We always look for innovative ways to increase productivity by removing operational obstacles,” said Robert Spears, CIO, Stine LLC. “Badger Technologies’ robots free our associates from time-consuming inventory checks, enabling them to help customers while ensuring our products are placed and priced correctly.”

“Our multipurpose autonomous robots offer much-needed relief by extending staff operations and producing critical data to increase efficiencies and improve shopping experiences,” said William “B.J.” Santiago, CEO of Badger Technologies, a product division of Jabil. “The robots deployed by Stine are helping improve customer satisfaction, storewide operations, and retail revenues.”

Based in Sulphur, La., Stine operates 13 stores throughout Louisiana and Mississippi.

McCoy’s Building Supply monitors shelves with robots

Texas-based McCoy’s Building Supply has also rolled out in-store robots from Badger Technologies to detect out-of-stock and incorrectly priced products on the shelves. McCoy’s is able to obtain daily updates on product availability and pricing for up to 50,000 SKUs per location. 

The robots complete inventory shelf scans in two hours each day, freeing associates from manual shelf inspections which previously took up to 50 hours per week.

This represents a 72% reduction in time required each week to conduct product and price checks. According to Badger Technologies, the robots also enable the retailer to identify OOS items on shelves with more than 95% accuracy, while helping to decrease OOS products by up to 50% and improving price tag accuracy by more than 97%.