Vallarta Supermarkets Test Jabil's Badger Technologies Data-Gathering, Autonomous Robots

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

Badger Technologies, a product division of Jabil and leader in retail automation, has deployed a pilot program with Vallarta Supermarkets, a chain of 53 full-service markets throughout California, to reinforce operational and customer-service excellence. Badger Technologies® multipurpose autonomous robots support the retailer by identifying hazards at five Vallarta Supermarkets in Fresno, Kern, Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties. Vallarta also is testing the robot’s inventory management capabilities at a sixth location aimed at improving on-shelf product availability.

“Providing our customers with a clean, safe environment is critical to our customers’ experience,” said Steve Netherton, CIO and VP of Continuous Improvement at Vallarta Supermarkets. “When we look at where to invest in innovative technologies, improving store operations is always a high priority. The Badger Technologies robots are helping us set new standards in store safety and cleanliness while ensuring a superlative shopping experience.”

Founded in 1985, Sylmar, Calif.-based Vallarta Supermarkets is recognized as one of the largest Latino supermarket chains in the state. The company also is known for its highly trained staff eager to assist customers in selecting fresh produce, quality meats and bakery items, along with traditional and specialty food items from Mexico, as well as Central and South America.

Prioritizing Store Safety and Cleanliness

Vallarta’s initial proof-of-concept (POC) featured a robot equipped with Badger® Retail InSpect to complement existing manual floor inspections with automatic hazard detection. After the POC exceeded expectations, Vallarta implemented a five-store pilot to support them in identifying hazards, such as spills of liquids, powders or bulk-item foods, while potentially mitigating risks of slip-and-fall accidents.

Hazard notifications are delivered by the robot to the store’s public-address system and mobile pulse alerts. Images are collected and stored for a period, for archival purposes. “The robot gives us another pair of eyes to be more proactive in pinpointing spills and debris,” said Suzanne Wong, Director of Operational Excellence at Vallarta Supermarkets. “The result is heightened awareness among our staff and customers that we place a big priority on store safety and cleanliness. Other benefits include improvements in customer service, labor efficiency and data for risk management.”

Data-Driven Business Outcomes

Vallarta Supermarkets has further initiated a POC at a sixth store to test a robot equipped with Badger® Retail InSight for automated detection of out-of-stock product inventory. Cloud-based analytics and reporting software generate a list of absent, misplaced and/or mispriced products for issue remediation. Dashboard data provides insights into customer buying trends along with the performance of product displays and advertising promotions. This automated process also assists Vallarta’s pricing departments with collaborating and prioritizing product restocking.

“The opportunities to offload tedious but important floor inspections while gathering real-time data on product inventory makes a huge difference for retailers, especially as they grapple with continued labor shortages,” said William “BJ” Santiago, CEO of Badger Technologies. “Our multipurpose autonomous robots offer much-needed relief by amplifying and extending staff operations while producing the data needed to improve customer satisfaction, storewide operations and retail revenues.”

Nearly 600 Badger Technologies autonomous robots have been deployed throughout the U.S. and Australia. These multipurpose robots travel hundreds of thousands of miles each year to support keeping shelves stocked, products priced correctly and floors clean. As part of Jabil, Badger Technologies has access to leading-edge retail technologies, innovative cloud software and services, as well as world-class manufacturing solutions.