Main article: Lenta Retail Chain
2024
"Transformation 2.0." The experience of growing the technological maturity of the Lenta retailer is presented at TAdviser SummIT
Denis Korovin, Chief Operating Officer of Lenta IT, spoke at the TAdviser SummIT conference about the development of the company's technological maturity. Lenta is one of the largest retail chains in Russia: 323 Superlent stores, 263 - Hyperlent, 2701 - Monetka, 19 distribution centers, more than 60 thousand employees in 650 settlements of Russia.
Denis Korovin noted that for more than 30 years of its development, Lenta has moved from the hypermarket chain to a multi-format group of companies managing hypermarkets, supermarkets, minimarkets, micro-stores and household chemicals and cosmetics stores.
"Together with the company, we also changed - IT department, - stated Denis Korovin. - From centralized management, we have moved to autonomous teams that cover the needs of the business. These are IT formats, IT technology domains and corporate centers that provide synergy, strategic development of IT processes and services "
The speaker outlined the key steps of the digital transformation of 2022-2024:
- Convert IT commands into domains: areas - EDO, BI, logistics, commerce, personnel, finance, SAP ERP platform, B2B, etc.;
- Change in approaches to business processes: standardized the process of developing and maintaining IT products (Delivery), introduced management of the list of necessary product improvements (backlog), the use of trekking, decomposition (in Jira), launched a Kanban approach;
- Development of new control points, emergence of new types of reporting, regular tracking of metrics (time of product launch - T2M, user activity - LT, etc.);
- Introduction of business metrics: large-scale development of management reporting, integration of business metrics into teams.
In the context of the development of management reporting, the company focused on speed, reliability, and satisfaction of internal customers. If you look at the results of the past 2 years, almost all indicators have achieved a certain success, stated Denis Korovin.
During the digital transformation, the companies did not forget about technological development, including through import substitution. At the same time, the speaker described the topic of import substitution as "interesting and very dangerous," since it is unrealistic to replace everything at once, and if you try to implement it, then "the company can be destroyed." The issue of import substitution at Lenta was approached strategically, taking into account external calls, the wishes of internal customers and the requirements of regulators. Several rules have been developed:
- a balanced approach to projects with urgent and long-term prospects for import substitution;
- development of competencies in own development, formation of internal teams;
- rejection of monovendors, access to source code and a new approach to selecting IT solution providers;
- openness for cooperation with vendors of friendly countries;
- Replace systems that do not support horizontal scaling (because Tape is a growing company).
Denis Korovin presented several successful cases, and not only on the line of import substitution. The first is the introduction of a single Synapse communications platform based on the domestic Express system. The speaker emphasized the particular relevance of the communications platform for business during and after the pandemic, since IT employees are in different cities, and they need to work as a single team. When the usual means of communication became unavailable (MS Teams), Lenta switched to the Synapse platform.
 | I can't say that it was a "smooth" story, - Denis Korovin admitted. - In the initial period of the project, the word "Synapse" was almost obscene, since there were problems with both stability and lack of functionality. But we started working closely with the vendor, and the guys went to our meeting, we still have weekly meetings. We share plans with the platform developers, they take into account our wishes, adjust their roadmap for the development of the system. And now I can say that Synapse is the main means of communication in the company, and we are already washing out Skype. People are even offended, nervous if an appointment is made on Skype |  |
The second case is the replacement of the western robotic platform Blue Prism. The British platform began to work in 2018, when a team of programmers was formed. On the basis of RPA, they began to automate personnel management processes, in the financial directorate and the operating service. At the same time, RPA platforms began to appear on the Russian market, which had advantages in comparison with the Western system. And in 2022, Blue Prism was replaced with the domestic Primo RPA system.
As a result of the project, they achieved efficiency without reducing the quality and level of service, reducing service costs by 10%. The team successfully migrated all previously made robots to a new platform and is optimistic about the future, the speaker noted. All Lenta services look at robotization as an alternative approach to automation to classical programming. There are plans to launch an idea management system for robotization and robotization of more than 80% of the single service center.
The third successful project is the introduction of personnel electronic document management (CEDO), within the framework of which, when choosing a platform, there was no reference to domestic origin. Unexpectedly, it turned out that in this segment of the IT market there are no other worthy developments - only Russian ones who have gone "far ahead" in development. The project started in 2023, was completed in 2024. Today, more than 40 thousand Lenta employees work with KEDO, stated Denis Korovin. The fourth project concerned artificial intelligence. The project company approached the preparation systematically - during the brainstorming sessions, more than 150 hypotheses were developed, 18 of them were tested, 5 were useful in practice and pilot implementations were already underway.
| | We see the effectiveness of artificial intelligence in the fact that these solutions allow you to generate content - images for your own production, product cards, good texts for online, "said Denis Korovin. - And the greatest efficiency of artificial intelligence in the near future we see in the possibility of replacing a person on routine operations | |
The Lenta representative stated that over the past years, a good foundation has been prepared for the next stage of the company's development, and has moved on to the new Transformation 2.0 strategy. The key trends of this transformation are:
- 25% improvement in IT quality and efficiency;
- sale of internal digital products to the market;
- culture and resources of IT, emphasis on human-centric;
- growth of the company's technological maturity by 90%.
Denis Korovin explained that the company understands IT maturity: outdated, unpromising systems should be washed out of the IT landscape. In addition, the technological stack should be adapted to the latest realities - this is important for the development of the competencies of IT employees, their motivation, for understanding new trends and ideas. As for the maturity of IT processes, they should reflect all the best practices on the market. Another important factor is the automation of Lenta's business capabilities, including through innovation.
And in order to achieve all of the above, it is necessary to create the Lenta Tech IT brand recognizable on the market, which would allow attracting the most talented employees to the company and showed the brand symbol - an orange cat named "Ukh." During this year, the company worked to combine under this single brand the most technologically advanced teams working within Lenta through IT, big data and online. Next year, it is planned to popularize the Lenta Tech brand in order to attract new talented employees.
Summit Photo Gallery
О TAdviser SummIT
TAdviser SummIT is a place for a select circle of IT customers and suppliers, innovators and conservatives, people who participate in the management of the largest organizations in Russia. The plenary part of the conference was attended by CIO the largest companies in Russia. And dozens of expert reports were also heard in eight thematic sections after the plenary part. The main topic of the reports: improving business efficiency states and using technology. In turn, leading IT companies talked about advanced developments, many of which were presented at the TAdviser SummIT exhibition.
Lenta "made friends" with IT and business. Director of Digital Innovation and IT Sergei Sergeyev - what it led to
Speaking at the TAdviser SummIT conference on May 28, Sergei Sergeyev, Director of Digital Innovation and IT retailer Lenta, spoke about one of the parts of the company's strategy - IT and business integration. One of the missions that the company has outlined for itself is that IT and business work together effectively.
The transformation began in the spring of 2022. The company has implemented three key areas in the integration of IT and business. The first is decentralization of teams. The second key direction is changing the culture: focusing on the client and his needs. And the third is the creation of product teams.
Previously, the teams at Lenta, as in many companies, were concentrated around information systems, and there was a lack of transparency, bottlenecks arose. For example, around the ERP system there were 5-10 key business customers who set IT tasks, and it was not clear when whose task would be completed. Specialists, working around the IT system, think about it, explains Sergei Sergeyev. They often do not know the context, do not understand the "pain" of the business customer and what business result this can bring.
First of all, Lenta identified resources to a greater extent around business - logistics, commerce, marketing, etc., staffing domain teams only with the resources they need.
Processes have also been changed, and in this case it is very important to measure changes. Therefore, the management of the backlog, priorities, revision of the production process was implemented in the culture of each of the blocks. In addition, report checkpoints were developed to understand what was before, what is in the process, and what needs to be obtained at the output.
| | We want these teams - we can call them pseudo-product teams - to become full-fledged product teams, having not only IT goals, but also business metrics - specific business indicators, Sergei Sergeyev says. | |
The results achieved in 2024 compared to 2021 are as follows:
In terms of capacity, the company began to perform much more tasks, explained the Sergei Sergeyev dynamics of time-to-market indicators. Also, the company fully measures the NPS (Net Promoter Score, customer loyalty index) of business customers twice a year in terms of teams. A big result was also achieved here. For this, a classic approach was used, which is also used when evaluating customers' NPS. The company identified the "pain" of the customer, realized that it was necessary to change and began to change the culture. And with people who do not fit into a new culture and new tasks, you need to part. In addition, the rate of insourcing use was significantly increased.
| | But we're not going to go 100% insourcing, as I think the mix between insourcing and outsourcing is very important. Otherwise, you are closed only in your world, in your competence and knowledge, - explained Sergei Sergeyev. | |
The next stage will be the transition to a product approach in the company. This is due to the fact that a large number of changes are being implemented in Lenta. Only now there are 159 projects related to the IT component in the portfolio. The project is considered a task lasting more than 4 months and with a certain budget.
One of the tasks is even greater integration into the business, since the product is around a specific business process and its value, around metrics and KPIs. And now in some teams there is piloting joint KPIs for IT and business.
For 2024-2025. the company sets goals, including the creation of a separate HR brand for IT, because the competition for personnel is huge. It is important to stand out in the information field, says Sergei Sergeyev. In addition, it is planned to increase the level of technological leadership. The company launched an analysis of its technologies - the so-called "tech-radar," made a benchmark for the best solutions on the market and for their competitors. Now there is an understanding in which areas Lenta is now lagging behind, and the company wants to reduce this gap by 30%. In addition, the company set itself the goal of increasing productivity.
Summit Photo Gallery
О TAdviser SummIT
TAdviser SummIT, held on May 28, became the largest in the history of its holding: in total, more than 1.5 thousand delegates attended the conference, and more than 50 stands of IT products and services suppliers were deployed in the exhibition area. Nine thematic sessions were held as part of the event - more than last time. About 150 people made reports in the plenary part and thematic sessions. TAdviser SummIT was supported by Ministry of Digital Development. It was attended by the Minister of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media Maksut Shadayev, who in the format of an interview on stage answered sharp questions from participants in the IT industry.
"Ribbon" launches navigation for online order collectors in hypermarkets
On May 13, 2024, Lenta announced the launch of navigation for online order collectors in hypermarkets. Thanks to the innovation, goods began to collect faster by 4.2%, says the Russian retailer.
Navigation is available in the mobile application used by product collectors. Now, thanks to the new function, they can see the "address" of the placement of each item. In stores, a corresponding navigation appeared in the form of a logical designation of row numbers and stickers with the numbers of segments of equipment equipped with additional QR codes. Equipment numbers and coordinates are directly related to the Lenta merchandising database.
The "address" of the item is entered automatically after scanning the code. As the press service of Lenta emphasizes, the system is self-learning: if the collector does not find a position in the specified place, he notes its current location, after which an updated route is built for other pickers.
The company pays attention to the benefits of the function in those cases when the display of goods is planned simultaneously in several places of the hypermarket. The application calculates the assembly so that the picker goes along the shortest path.
Order pickers tested the new feature in four stores in Moscow and St. Petersburg for three months. The results of the pilot project showed that, in addition to reducing the build time of the order, the number of undetected goods decreased (by 17%). In addition, the number of cancellations of orders decreased by a third due to the lack of a key product.
For three months of testing, the new function was used more than 73 thousand times. According to the results of the pilot project, Lenta decided to scale it to all regions of its presence - this should happen by the end of June 2024.[1]
Lenta buys more than 100 robot cleaners for supermarkets
Lenta buys more than 100 robot cleaners for supermarkets. The retailer announced this on May 8, 2024 after it completed testing of the Pudu CC1 automatic breakdown machine.
This robot in pilot mode was involved in the Super Lenta store in Moscow. As noted in the press service of "Lenta," the breakdown machine is completely autonomous and is well oriented in the store according to the map, which was configured by SPI robotics engineers.
It is noted that the robot is almost half the size compared to similar models. Due to its small size, the device quickly bypasses all obstacles and easily moves around the trading floor, maintaining a constant level of cleanliness.
The robot can sweep small debris, works like a vacuum cleaner and washes floors. Charging and water replacement occur automatically. During the pilot, the car demonstrated the high quality of cleaning the premises. The model is safe to operate and is equipped with a special signal beacon that warns buyers and employees about traffic.
According to Albert Porshnev, director of the Super Lenta retail chain, by May 2024 the company is forming an employment plan for "more than 100 robots in existing stores.
| | We regularly monitor innovative technologies in retail aimed at facilitating the work of the company's employees. Cleaning robots save time and free up team resources for other operations. Modern cleaning technologies make our stores cleaner and more attractive to customers, - said Porshnev, whose words are quoted by the retailer's press service. | |
As reported on the website of the manufacturer Pudu CC1, these robots are also used in other large retail chains, including Perekrestok, Metro, Dixy and Globus.
Lenta has transferred self-service cash desks to domestic software
On January 18, 2024, Lenta announced the introduction of software from the Russian company CSI into its self-service cash desks. We are talking about the application of the Set Retail SCO solution. Read more here.
2023
Online Feed has optimized the work of online order pickers
Data-Office specialists of the Lenta Online delivery service completed the implementation of their own system for planning the work of online order pickers and scaled it to all hypermarkets of the Lenta network throughout Russia. The company announced this on September 26, 2023. Read more here.
Lenta Chief Information Officer Sergei Sergeyev - about moving to the Russian cloud and using SAP in the absence of a vendor. TAdviser interview
Over the year, Sergei Sergeyev, Director of Digital Innovation and IT retailer Lenta, promptly developed a plan to improve the IT function in the company, and its implementation began. The tasks of switching to Russian IT solutions are superimposed on this work, which until 2022 were less relevant for retail than for some other industries. Sergei Sergeyev spoke about Lenta's approaches and plans in the field of IT in an interview with TAdviser in February 2023.
2022
Lenta has implemented an automatic shift planning system in supermarkets
Lenta has implemented a system of automatic shift planning in supermarkets. It has increased productivity by 10%. The retailer announced this on December 6, 2022. Read more here.
Start remote acceptance of vegetables and fruits. Write them off less often
On November 10, 2022, Lenta announced the launch of an IT system for remote inspection of vegetables and fruits. Thanks to her, the retailer was able to reduce write-offs.
According to Lenta, as part of the project, remote decision-making centers were created, the staff of which included agronomists and expert commodity scientists. They accept the product using large monitors, joysticks to control video cameras and headsets. Per month, each worker monitors the quality of more than 800 tons of fruits and vegetables entering the distribution center. Special tables, additional lighting and high-precision cameras have been installed in distribution centers, the Lenta press service said.
The acceptance of goods takes place remotely: an employee of the distribution center, under the control of experts, measures the temperature, caliber, conducts destructive control and uses other methods of measuring quality indicators. Parties are checked selectively. All actions are recorded in photos and videos to inform suppliers about the quality of the accepted batches. This allows the company to build trusting relationships with partners and minimize losses. Write-offs of goods decreased by an average of 0.5%, in some months - up to 1.2%.
By November 2022, experts from remote centers accept up to 30% of the total volume of fruits and vegetables that go to distribution centers in Moscow, Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk and other cities.
| | We are committed to maintaining high ethical standards for doing business and are working to offer the best service to our customers. The freshness of fruits and vegetables is one of the main criteria by which store customers judge the quality of goods, so we decided to test the project in this category, "said Yulia Batenina, Quality Director of Lenta. | |
Lenta has doubled the process of creating store layouts
Lenta announced on November 7, 2022 that it has implemented a solution to transfer technical and merchandising store plans from the nanoCAD computer-aided design platform to the sales space management system from Blue Yonder (JDA).
The implemented system automates the process of converting data from layouts created in nanoCAD into a floorplan, a scheme according to which departments and sales equipment are located in the store. Previously, experts and specialists in retail space management moved and checked technical plans manually, the process took about 16 hours. Thanks to automation, it takes less than eight hours.
In addition, automation can reduce the impact of the human factor when transferring data and avoid errors. For example, if you change technical drawings, all adjustments are automatically translated to the floorplan.
Шаблон:Quote 'author=said Sergey Sergeev, Director of Digital Innovation and IT at Lenta.
Lenta's technology partner in implementing the system is the company. Axenix Project it took a little more than three months to develop and implement the system.
{{quote 'author=said Sergey Mozzherov, Director of Strategy and Consulting at Axenix. |
The solution created has great potential for development. For example, it is already possible to double the preparation of specifications for trading equipment. And there are ideas on how to further automate processes in terms of opening new stores,}}
Lenta has introduced the technology of multipicking the assembly of online orders
On July 15, 2022, the Lenta supermarket chain announced the launch of multipicking in hypermarkets using special equipment when assembling online orders. The solution was developed by Lenta Online specialists.
The consolidation of orders takes place in three stages: collecting orders through a single window, checking the weight and absence of large parts, combining orders into groups using an optimal mathematical model.
After all iterations, the task arrives at the picker's terminal, and he sees which product to put in which basket. For parallel assembly, a trolley with several baskets is used, while all the requirements of the commodity neighborhood and packaging rules are met.
Assembling multiple orders by a single picker allows you to increase the speed of picking by an average of 30% compared to sequential assembling by different pickers.
Multipicking for July 2022 is already used in more than 130 Lenta hypermarkets throughout the country. By the end of July, the company plans to scale the technology to all hypermarkets in 136 cities of the Russian Federation and transfer more than 200 stores to this technology.
Lenta chief information officer announced the restructuring of approaches to digitalization in the context of sanctions
The IT divisions of large retail have rebuilt their work, responding to the changed conditions in the market. IT teams did not stop projects for the development of IT infrastructure and services, but took into account new risks and changed the approaches to their implementation. [1] Sergei Sergeyev, Director of IT Network Lenta, spoke about how retail reacted to new challenges at TAdviser Summit 2022 .
According to him, the main priority for the IT division of Lenta is services. To develop this area, taking into account new risks, the company created working groups, including both IT representatives and business units. Moreover, due to the high cost of money, the approach to choosing projects has changed. Projects should be effective, have a tangible economic effect and do not take much time, since the situation on the market is changing rapidly.
Four key criteria for evaluating and selecting IT projects:
- Speed;
- Proactivity + engagement;
- Reliability;
- Cost efficiency.
To meet these criteria, Lenta brings together teams that bring together business and IT representatives. Moreover, the team has specialists in all the necessary specialties and systems that are necessary within the project, this eliminates the need to contact other teams, which significantly speeds up the implementation of the project. Such a cross-team has roadmap and metrics of a measurable business process, which allows you to control the process.
Lenta's operational teams work in a number of areas: information systems, applications, and key projects. To increase the level of involvement of participants from the business areas, the company introduced the SCI customer satisfaction index, which allows you to assess the effectiveness of operational groups.
In assessing the risks that have arisen recently, Lenta simulated a change in load and infrastructure development in the future for 6 months. And taking into account the results, they made purchases of spares (spare parts, tools and accessories), and also switched from vendor support to third-party support.
After assessing the risks, Lenta launched the import substitution process.
| | It is impossible to replace everything at once, you need focus. We adopted the concept of import substitution in the company, but in practice it is rather structuring work. We created an import substitution map, and entered a project priority index from 1 to 3. Import substitution is going on as a project to reduce risks. I receive information about the project once a week if I need to adjust priorities and change approaches, - Sergey Sergeev shared. | |
According to Lenta's Chief information officer, today a business that is forced to choose among little-known Russian solutions really needs some kind of service, within which domestic software would be compared in functionality and ranked. The existing register of domestic software does not meet the business requirements, since it has neither functionality nor rating, but only the fact of domestic development is recorded. As a result, companies have to evaluate 10, 20, 30 solutions on their own in order to find what suits them. It takes a lot of effort and takes a lot of time.
In addition, according to Sergei Sergeyev, some kind of control is needed, at least internal, over the activities of domestic manufacturers and integrators. Taking advantage of the situation, many of them raised prices three times, and some projects are actually frozen due to lack of resources. Sergei Sergeyev believes that this approach undermines the confidence of domestic customers in Russian partners. According to him, the business is ready to come to terms with the rise in prices due to the rise in price of resources, but the price of products and services from Russian suppliers should be justified, it is necessary to find a balance between the needs of suppliers and customers.
TAdviser SummIT took place on May 31, 2022 in Moscow. The event was attended by more than 900 delegates, more than 100 reports were made. Among the key speakers are the Minister of Digital Development of the Russian Federation Maksut Shadayev, Deputy General Director of RZDEvgeniy Charkin, [2] Chief information officer UralhimValeriy Fokin, Vice President for IT of Eurasholding Artem Natrusov, [3] Chief information officer LentySergey Sergeyev and others.
The operation of the video recognition system of queues, it increases sales
On March 25, 2022, Lenta announced the operation of a video queue recognition system in its stores. The company said that thanks to this technology, trade in supermarkets increased by 1.2%.
The system determines the number of people at cash desks and notifies the person responsible. After receiving this information, he opens additional cash lines, or on the speakerphone invites buyers to go to less busy cash desks.
Additional cameras at the entrance to the store analyze the number of customers, this data is taken into account to predict traffic. The system predicts the appearance of a queue 20 minutes before crowds. Calculation of the schedule for opening cash registers takes place using a mathematical model that takes into account marketing activities, weather, store check history, incoming traffic, the current status of cash registers and service speed. Due to the information received, Lenta has optimized the output schedules of cashiers and expects to prevent queues.
By the end of March 2022, pilot tests of the technology are being carried out in stores in Arkhangelsk, Balashikha and Samara. In them, according to the press service of Lenta, it was possible to effectively use daily analytics to redistribute personnel within the shift, which made it possible to reduce queues by 13% with increasing sales. It is also noted that after the launch of the project in stores, the number of customers who are fully satisfied with the service time at the traditional checkout increased by 11%.
| | In pilot stores, the number of customers fully satisfied with the service time at the checkout increased from 12 to 23%. We managed to reduce queues by 13% with growing sales due to analytics and redistribution of the opening hours of cash registers within the shift, - said Olga Karaeva, director of innovation at Lenta.[1] | |
Appointment of Sergei Sergeyev as Director of Digital Innovation and IT Lenta
the Russian retail On February 10, 2022, the Lenta multi-format network announced TAdviser its appointment as Sergei Sergeyev Director of Digital Innovation and. In IT this post, he will replace, Sergey Korotkov who decided to leave Lenta. More. here
2021
Testing cleaning robots in two St. Petersburg stores
On October 6, 2021, the Lenta chain announced the introduction of automated cleaning processes in its stores. As part of the next pilot, the company "hired" St. Petersburg robots the cleaners.
The pilot started at the end of September in St. Petersburg in a store on Parachute Street. Two models of a cleaning robot developed by a manufacturer from China are involved in testing.
The compact cleaning robot has a battery charging workstation with which it connects automatically. Due to its small size, the device quickly bypasses all obstacles and easily moves around the trading floor, maintaining a constant level of cleanliness. The second model can work more time, but it is less mobile due to its size. The robot is equipped with a special signal beacon that warns buyers and employees about traffic.
The company's specialists, using a robot operator, test the navigation system in the store, as well as the quality of cleaning. The developer can serve robots both locally and remotely.
Шаблон:Quote 'author=said Lenta Technical Director Sergey Panfilov.
Earlier, the company tested a Russian-made cleaning robot in one of the shops in Rostov-on-Don. After the completion of the tests, the developers received recommendations for finalizing the project. Before the start of the second project, the Lenta Innovation Center and Severgroup specialists studied 15 different Russian and foreign cleaning robots.
Testing the video recognition technology of goods and the number of customers in the store
On June 28, 2021, Lenta announced the start of using new video analytics technologies in its stores. One of them is smart scales that can recognize the appearance of the product that lies on them.
After the item appears on them, variants of the assortment names appear on the screen, from which the buyer selects the correct one and prints the price tag. Recognition accuracy depends on packaging and reaches 92%, said Lenta. The company hopes that smart scales will improve the speed and quality of service in the area of fresh fruits and vegetables in the store.
Another new technology in Lenta is automatic recognition of goods on shelves and their quantity. If, for example, some product becomes scarce, a notification about this comes to the application on the employee's smartphone. The accuracy of the system is declared at up to 93%.
Smart scales and automatic recognition of goods on shelves and their quantities are tested in the Lenta store in St. Petersburg.
In addition, network stores in Arkhangelsk and Balashikha are testing systems for recognizing the number of people at cash desks and in self-service areas. Additional cameras at the entrance to the store analyze the number of customers, this data is taken into account to predict traffic. Due to the information received from them, the company plans to optimize the output schedules of cashiers.
Olga Karaeva, Director of the Lenta Innovation Center, commenting on the introduction of new developments, noted that the company continues to use technologies aimed at improving customer service and customer experience in stores. If the pilots are successful, these solutions will also help automate a number of processes and make visiting Lenta even more enjoyable, she added.[2]
Plans to reduce write-offs through software accounting
On April 22, 2021, Lenta announced that it would reduce the number of write-offs of goods thanks to software accounting and a dynamic discount system.
All Lenta distribution centers have flexible settings for the maximum remaining shelf life, so that the products arriving in stores have the maximum freshness, since the delivery time to a specific RC or outlet is taken into account. Flexible settings for the permissible remaining shelf life for April 2021 are already valid for all incoming deliveries.
The company has started using custom labels with extended bar codes that allow you to monitor expiration dates. As a result, Lenta has improved the efficiency of product inventory analysis.
In addition, Lenta has implemented a dynamic discount system for expiring items. The amount of the discount, which is automatically loaded, directly depends on the expiration date, which allows you to timely evaluate the product and sell it faster. Thanks to this, the company will reduce the number of write-offs.
Batch accounting, a dynamic discount system allow Lenta suppliers to increase sales and reduce food waste. This will positively affect the efficiency of the products supplied, which will strengthen the position of the supplier and its products on the shelves of Lenta.
The introduction of batch accounting will allow a different analysis of the real demand for goods with short shelf life.
The pilot project began to be tested at the end of 2020 on sales of chilled poultry, meat and cakes in four stores in Moscow and St. Petersburg. The concept of accounting for goods and the system of dynamic sales was developed and implemented by the specialists of the departments of commerce and information technology "Lenta" with the support of the operating service.
The company scales the project to all Lenta stores.
Start using cleaning robots
On January 13, 2021, the Lenta supermarket chain announced the start of using robots for cleaning stores in automatic mode. The pilot project was launched by the company in Rostov-on-Don.
The robot cleaner launched in Lenta is equipped with security sensors that communicate with the server. A special program with route and control points on the trading floor is adjusted automatically.
As the retailer notes, the robot has shown effectiveness in solving the problem of cleaning the floor from oil, sugar and glass. It is planned to operate around the clock seven days a week with small charging cycles. Customers are showing interest in a robot that moves freely around the store, Lenta said in a statement.
The project of manufacturers from Rostov-on-Don became one of the winners of the competition for finding innovative solutions "Safe Store," organized by the Lenta Innovation Center.
By January 13, commissioning work is being carried out, after which it is planned to test the autonomous cleaning of the entire shopping complex. The pilot is expected to last until February 2021.
Lenta already has experience using robots. Earlier, service robots of the second generation of Promobot began to be used in Moscow supermarkets of the chain. They are able to autonomously move around the halls, demonstrate promotional materials and communicate with buyers, talking about promotions and news of the retail network. They can also recognize the faces of visitors and greet them when they meet. The cost of one such robot varies between 440-920 thousand rubles.
In addition to hardware robots, Lenta also uses software solutions. In 2020, the company began conducting primary interviews with candidates using robots that analyze whether the candidate continues to look for work, how suitable he is for the retailer's requirements.[3]
2020
Plan to test a robot for making pancakes and a robot cleaner with AI
On August 6, 2020, Lenta announced the results of the Safe Store technology search competition, and four startups became its winners.
The final of the competition took place on July 31, 2020. 14 project teams presented the decisions to the jury members, which included Lenta employees and external experts - representatives of innovative infrastructure and venture capital funds. Four finalists will receive expert and financial support from the company, their projects will be launched in stores in pilot mode. This is a robot vending for making pancakes, a machine with artificial intelligence for cleaning rooms. In addition, technologies in the field of food safety will be tested: the Israeli company proposed to control the freshness of products using special sensors that determine the shelf life.
| | Thanks to innovation and technology, we can make Lenta stores more attractive, convenient and secure for our customers. Some projects presented at the Safe Store competition are special not only for the local, but also for the global market. The Lenta Innovation Center will continue to work with projects that were not included in the final of the competition, but seemed interesting to us, "said Olga Karaeva, director of the Lenta Innovation Center. | |
In total, the Safe Store competition, which the company held together with Retail TECH, received 142 applications from various companies from seven countries: Russia, Austria, Greece, Israel, China, the Netherlands and Singapore.
Selection of applications for finding technological solutions "Safe Store"
Lenta, one of the retail chains in Russia, and the Retail TECH platform have completed the selection of applications for the search for technological solutions "Safe Store." This was announced on June 25, 2020 by Lenta.
In total, 142 applications from various companies from Russia, Israel, Singapore and China were received for the Safe Store competition. These are technologies of contactless service, health diagnostics, disinfection of premises, control of the number of people in the premises and access control based on advanced video analytics and artificial intelligence. In addition, developments are presented that extend the shelf life of products and increase food hygiene.
Lenta Innovation Director Olga Karaeva commented:
| | Some of the presented projects can be applied not only to improve the safety of our stores during a pandemic, but also for the "Store of the Future." For example, indicators of freshness of products - devices with which you can contactlessly determine the presence of allergens in food, technologies for preserving freshness of products, autonomous robots for cleaning and disinfecting premises, contactless payment systems, self-service systems. | |
On July 31, 2020, the best offers will be selected, which will be implemented as pilots in one of the Lenta stores.
The ability to use loyalty cards in the "Wallet" application
On May 27, 2020, Lenta, a retail chain in Russia, announced the start of cooperation with the mobile application for storing loyalty cards and bank cards "Koshelyok" (developed by CardsMobile).
Holders of Lenta loyalty cards can add both an existing card in plastic to the Wallet application and issue a new one in mobile format. To get a discount, you need to show a card from the smartphone screen at the checkout.
| | The number of active Lenta loyalty card holders in 2019 increased by 10 percent to 15.8 million people, and a third of our loyalty program participants store cards in Wallet. The partnership allows us to strengthen our presence in mobile channels and not be limited to our own mobile application, thereby providing customers with another convenient service. In addition, "Wallet" helps us to enrich customer data, communicate with customers and attract an audience: 60% of all cards issued in the application are new, commented on Director of Strategic Marketing of Lenta Valery Rusanov
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In the future, owners of the Lenta card will be able to check the number of available bonuses, purchase history, save stickers and receive personal offers in the Wallet.
| | Our main mission is to save users from unnecessary plastic and enable them to collect all the cards the user needs in one application. More than 12 million Russian buyers are registered in Wallet, and almost every second has a Lenta card. We are glad that now it is more convenient for members of the chain's loyalty program to receive discounts in their favorite store and learn about interesting promotions at any time using the capabilities of "Wallet," noted Cardsmobile CEO Kirill Gorynya
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The key implementation partner of Cardsmobile was Nobilis.Team, which took over the development on the side of Lenta and the overall coordination of work.
Start Safe Store Project
On April 14, 2020, Lenta announced the launch of the Safe Store project in conjunction with the Retail TECH platform.
The goal of the joint project is to find innovative solutions, the implementation of which will increase the security of the company's stores. The competition starts on April 20, 2020 on the website retailtech.ru. Participants need to fill out an application and choose one of two areas for the selection of projects: "Food Safety" and "Safe Environment." Companies that have solutions and products in the field of packaging, food production, waste disposal, systems for controlling the movement of buyers, contactless issuance of personal protective equipment, and so on can participate in the competition.
High-tech solutions will be introduced as a pilot in one of the Lenta stores in St. Petersburg.
| | We are constantly looking for ideas and solutions that will help us make Lenta stores the best place to buy daily. Lenta has already implemented and is using systems to ensure the safety of customers and employees. We expect that the partnership with Retail TECH will allow us to expand the pool of solutions that will help improve the effectiveness of the measures already implemented and bring our stores to a higher level of safety and comfort, said Lenta Innovation Director Olga Karaeva commented
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| | We consider the emergence of the Safe Store initiative to be a timely and necessary step, and we sincerely believe that it will become a long-term strategy for. Russian retail The Retail TECH team will make every effort to quickly inform a wide range of suppliers about the initiative of the Lenta team and organize the collection of applications and expertise for the first round of the project. We are also ready on a long-term basis to support initiatives to develop a safe environment in all retail formats, exchange experience and comprehensively inform the industry about the development of the Safe Store project, added Retail TECH Executive Director Irina Ratina
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2019
Launch an AR game for buyers
On October 9, 2019, the Lenta chain of stores announced to TAdviser the launch of its own AR application. Read more here.
Running the Personnel VR Training Module
On August 27, 2019, Lenta announced the launch of a VR training module for staff.
According to the company, the pilot launch of the VR module will take place from August to the end of October 2019 in 10 Lenta stores in St. Petersburg and 5 company stores in Moscow. The pilot consists of two parts designed specifically for departments of in-house production and customer service. The main task of both modules is to improve the quality of service and interaction with customers. Read more here.
2017: Software Platform Diagram
Notes
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