As I took in the fourth quarter conference call from Phoenix-based Sprouts Farmers Market, I heard a familiar pitch.
CEO Amin Maredia threw in a point about the company’s impending implementation of “technology to enable us to continue to scale and drive efficiencies.”
In 2018, the company plans to “implement fresh item management technology to reduce operating complexity, drive better in-stock, reduce shrink and integrate our production needs to our labor management.”
Sound familiar?
It should.
Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods Market Inc. executives used almost the same language last year when they talked about implementing the company’s order-to-shelf system, which has had its share of hiccups in implementation.
During one of the company’s last quarterly reports before being acquired by Amazon, executives said order-to-shelf would help lower out-of-stocks, result in less inventory in stores, and free up employees to “be on the sales floor talking to customers and selling more products.”
Sprouts even used that same line, too.
“It’s going to give us the ability to improve our service, so we’re not doing production where we should be providing high-level service,” said president and COO Jim Nielsen, during the call.
We all know how that’s gone for Whole Foods so far, with Business Insider constantly hammering the company with stories about out-of-stocks, empty shelves, crying employees and draconian scorecards.
Let’s hope Sprouts’ implementation goes a little smoother.
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