Brain Corp's shelf-scanning robots hit 90%+ accuracy in Czech retail pilot
Brain Corp deployed AI-powered shelf-scanning robots at Albert, a Czech retailer with 350 stores, and the system consistently achieved accuracy above 90 percent in identifying products, price tags, and empty shelves.
Albert, a subsidiary of Ahold Delhaize, had relied on store associates to manually scan empty shelves after each replenishment cycle. Staff shortages and time constraints created delays in correcting inventory discrepancies, leaving products unavailable until the next delivery window.
The visibility gap cost Albert sales, strained relationships with brand partners, and degraded the shopping experience. The retailer had already deployed autonomous floor-cleaning robots powered by Brain Corp's BrainOS software in 2022, which prompted the evaluation of shelf-scanning technology.
Performance improved throughout the pilot
The scanning system's accuracy improved with each pass through the store. The technology's ability to recognize products, price tags, and empty space increased over time, showing how the AI model strengthened with more data.
The system identified operational gaps that had gone unnoticed. Store staff discovered outdated prices on paper tags and corrected them immediately after the data revealed the discrepancies.
Ivana Stastnikova, store operations process lead for Albert's Central and Southeastern Europe region, said: "The data was clear, consistent, and accurate. This allowed us to identify human errors."
Scaling across Central Europe
Albert is building shelf-scanning deployment across its markets in Central and Southeastern Europe as part of a broader strategy centered on automation and data-driven decision-making.
The pilot results give Albert the operational foundation to reduce manual corrections and provide teams with real-time inventory visibility. Operations professionals managing retail networks can explore how AI-driven inventory systems fit into broader automation strategies through AI for Operations or learn implementation approaches in the AI Learning Path for Operations Managers.
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