Walmart to roll out inventory analytics function to fleet of robotic floor cleaners

Walmart business unit Sam’s Club – a membership warehouse club – is planning the national, chain-wide roll out of “Inventory Scan”, a new inventory analytics function which will be added to the its existing fleet of robotic scrubbers.

The implementation will be undertaken in partnership with software company Brain Corp and Tennant Company, the manufacturer of the vehicle.

The rollout marks the largest and fastest technology deployment undertaken by Brain Corp – which provides the operating system for the robotic floor cleaners – and the first commercial application of its inventory scanning technology anywhere in the world.

Todd Garner, VP of in-club product management at Sam’s Club, says: “Sam’s Club is hyper focused on making sure our members have a seamless shopping experience, so any time-saving innovation we can implement is significant.

“By adding Inventory Scan to our current fleet of robotic scrubbers, we obtain critical inventory data that previously was time consuming to obtain.

“This intelligence allows us to proactively manage our clubs in an efficient manner. Inventory Scan assures items are available and easy to locate in the club, freeing up time for our associates to focus on members and the shopping experience they deserve.”

Utilizing a first-of-its-kind dual function design, the powerful new scanning accessory will be fitted to the almost 600 autonomous floor scrubbers already deployed within Sam’s Club stores nationwide.

These towers, powered by Brain Corp’s AI operating system, BrainOS, and manufactured by Tennant Company combine “best-in-class autonomy and ease of use with trusted equipment”, says Walmart.

Once installed on the scrubber, the new, cloud-connected Inventory Scan tower is able to capture data as it moves autonomously around the club.

Reports are then delivered to the club managers that provide numerous insights including: verification of pricing accuracy, planogram compliance, product stock levels and product localization.

Each function negates the need for time consuming and manual processes, reducing waste and inventory loss.

Dr Eugene Izhikevich, CEO of Brain Corp, says: “This latest iteration of our valued and longstanding partnership with Sam’s Club marks the beginning of realizing the next phase in our company’s vision.

“We are actively taking BrainOS-powered robots from primarily task-oriented machines, to in-store data acquisition platforms, able to deliver actionable insights on inventory availability, planogram compliance and more. This adds significant ROI for retailers.”