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SpartanNash, a wholesale food distributor and operator of 144 supermarkets, announced yesterday that it will deploy Simbe Robotics Inc.’s Tally in 60 additional stores across the Midwest. Tally is an autonomous inventory robot that captures and processes shelf data.

Simbe said its Store Intelligence platform uses the data that Tally collects to inform product stocking, ordering, merchandising, and e-commerce fulfillment. The South San Francisco-based company said this data enables associates to ensure that items are available with accurate locations and prices while also freeing them up for more engaging, customer-facing work. 

“We first piloted Tally in 15 stores, and the success of that launch motivated us to expand Tally across more locations to help associates save time in inventory tracking and spend more time on the floor serving our store guests,” said Tom Swanson, executive vice president of corporate retail at SpartanNash, in a release. “The real-time data intelligence Tally provides helps ensure our store guests’ favorite items always stay fresh [and] are adequately stocked and priced competitively, helping us deliver the ingredients for a better life.”

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SpartanNash makes automation a priority with Simbe partnership

Simbe claimed that its technology gives SpartanNash an opportunity to generate actionable inventory insights. The grocer said this investment shows its continued interest in using technology to enhance the store guest and associate experience. 

As part of SpartanNash’s commitment to customer-focused innovation, this Tally expansion follows the company’s investment in other food technology systems Upshop Magic and Flashfood.

“We’re always impressed with how SpartanNash embraces innovative technologies,” stated Brad Bogolea, CEO of Simbe. “In retail’s fast-paced environment, every data point matters.”

“The expansion of our solution is a testament to their relentless focus on strengthening operations, supporting associates, and delivering an optimal shopping experience,” he added. “Working with the SpartanNash team is incredibly rewarding, and we can’t wait to see the partnership grow from here.”

Retail robots set to take center stage 

In July of last year, Simbe Robotics obtained $28 million in Series B funding from Eclipse, an investment firm with experience in expanding robotics capabilities.

In general, mobile robots have faced challenges to growth within the retail industry. They are more visible to the public and thus more susceptible to negative perception. If people aren’t interested in seeing robots when shopping for groceries, then retailers aren’t likely to adopt them. 

In addition, retailers are typically operating on thin margins. They may not have leftover capital to invest in expensive automation, even if it would save them money in the long term.

At the same time, Simbe faces competition from other retail robotics developers such as Badger Technologies, Zippedi, and Brain Corp.

Georges Mirza, who previously managed portfolios of space and category management solutions at Nielsen, Blue Yonder, and SymphonyAI Retail CPG, predicted that retail robots will continue to make steady progress in the coming years. 

“The use of robots and computer vision in whole stores and all stores in a chain continues to be elusive, but it is inevitable,” he said. “Once we start seeing the benefits of chain-wide rollouts, it will drive faster adoption, whether for robots, cameras, or a combination.”