Score one for humans....

And I always thought their inventory control computer systems had some idea about what was sold from the shelves based on check-out scans.

[www.cnbc.com]

Quote

Walmart ends contract with robotics company, opts for human workers instead, report says

At some Walmart stores, robots have roamed the sales floors and helped check if shelves were stocked. But the big-box retailer has now decided to end its contract with the robotics company behind those machines after finding that people can do about the same work, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.

The report, which cited unnamed people familiar with the situation, said Walmart recently cut ties with Bossa Nova Robotics. A Walmart spokesperson told the Journal that about 500 robots were in Walmart's more than 4,700 stores when the contract ended.

...

People of WalMart meets Silicon Valley....

"Beep Boop.. Welcome to WAL-EE-MART. How can I help you ?"
"Um im a gonna need mah food"
"I am sorry I do not understand"
"Foods ya know !"
"I am sorry that does not compute"
"DAMFOOL MACHINE" (Smashing noises)
"Dave ? I'm afraid, Dave. Daisy.... daisy...."

Considering I've watched the same peg stay empty for months, I'd say the stocking issues are elsewhere, not in the mere identification of empty slots.

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Acer
Considering I've watched the same peg stay empty for months, I'd say the stocking issues are elsewhere, not in the mere identification of empty slots.

There are two parts to keeping shelves stocked. The first part is knowing that the peg is empty, the second part is knowing if you have alternate product locations, topstock, backstock, warehouse stock, or distribution center stock and getting it out to the empty peg.

The robots only help with the first part. Not surprised that a human can do that part just as well. Inventory and stock is something a robot cannot do.

MANY times Walmart has a place in the isle where the product normally goes and it is empty but they have a temporary location like an end cap or main isle display that is full.

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C(-)ris
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/02/2020 04:49PM by C(-)ris.

Amazon installed cameras on all their shelves. That seems much easier to manage than 500 robots between 4700 stores.

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M A V I C
Amazon installed cameras on all their shelves. That seems much easier to manage than 500 robots between 4700 stores.

And there are lots of security cameras in Walmart, seems like those might be able to get enough coverage to see the shelves and the video can be processed like Amazon does.

I'm guessing that the main function of these robots was to be a wandering camera.

....what about........Robocop....???

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_____________________________________

I reject your reality and substitute my own!

Since I've never seen one, I was curious to know what they look like.

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Northern California Coast

We had one wandering in the local store. The thing always seemed to be in the way and moving slowly. Glad to see them removed both because I prefer humans to have jobs.

Now I hope the ordering kiosks at fast food places fail. Auto checkout can go away as well.

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"Those who cannot accept the past are condemned to revise it." -- Geo. Mathias

The German word for contraceptive is “Schwangerschaftsverhütungsmittel”. By the time you finished saying that, it’s too late

Quote
C(-)ris

Quote
Acer
Considering I've watched the same peg stay empty for months, I'd say the stocking issues are elsewhere, not in the mere identification of empty slots.

There are two parts to keeping shelves stocked. The first part is knowing that the peg is empty, the second part is knowing if you have alternate product locations, topstock, backstock, warehouse stock, or distribution center stock and getting it out to the empty peg.

The robots only help with the first part. Not surprised that a human can do that part just as well. Inventory and stock is something a robot cannot do.

MANY times Walmart has a place in the isle where the product normally goes and it is empty but they have a temporary location like an end cap or main isle display that is full.

Traditionally stores would buy the product from the manufacturers to stock on their shelves and would house excess inventory in their warehouses for quick shelf resupply. Walmart uses a different model - they basically lease the store shelf space to the manufacturer who owns the product on the shelf and is responsible for making replenishment supply available to Walmart. That helps Walmart keep their overhead costs down but it makes it difficult for small manufacturers to get their product to markets. Think about how much inventory they need to keep on their books in order to have a ready supply of their products in 3,500+ stores. That's one reason why what's on the shelves varies so much from store to store even in a small geographical area.

It won't last long. They probably have an alternate solution in the works. More and more supply chains are implementing robots, especially at the warehouse level.

Our grocery store has regular checkout lines (with the belt) without a cashier. There's one employee that oversees 4 checkout lanes. They're also piloting the system of scanning items as you put them in the cart. Brick and Mortar stores are looking at ways to reduce dependency on employees for many reasons.

Sam's Club (and I'm sure others) have an app where you scan your items as you go. This allows you to skip the enormously long checkout lines. You still have to go through the door checkout, but it saves a lot of time. We always wonder why more people don't use the app.

....but...........I......Robot.....

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_____________________________________

I reject your reality and substitute my own!

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rz
Sam's Club (and I'm sure others) have an app where you scan your items as you go. This allows you to skip the enormously long checkout lines. You still have to go through the door checkout, but it saves a lot of time. We always wonder why more people don't use the app.

If your phone has Face ID, it could be a pain to use during the pandemic.

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macphanatic

Quote
rz
Sam's Club (and I'm sure others) have an app where you scan your items as you go. This allows you to skip the enormously long checkout lines. You still have to go through the door checkout, but it saves a lot of time. We always wonder why more people don't use the app.

If your phone has Face ID, it could be a pain to use during the pandemic.

Huh? Why? My wife's iPhone has face id and she didn't experience any pain in operating the app during the pandemic.

They'll be back when they lower the cost to Walmart.

Quote
rz

Quote
macphanatic

Quote
rz
Sam's Club (and I'm sure others) have an app where you scan your items as you go. This allows you to skip the enormously long checkout lines. You still have to go through the door checkout, but it saves a lot of time. We always wonder why more people don't use the app.

If your phone has Face ID, it could be a pain to use during the pandemic.

Huh? Why? My wife's iPhone has face id and she didn't experience any pain in operating the app during the pandemic.

To constantly unlock the phone unless you keep it unlocked all the time.

I for one welcome our new Homo sapiens overlords!