From Data to Action: How Mobile Apps and Robots Boost Store Productivity
Executive Summary
Retailers are under pressure to increase productivity while managing labor shortages and growing omnichannel demands. Badger Technologies combines autonomous robots with mobile applications that convert real-time shelf data into prioritized tasks. Robots scan more than 100,000 items per store in less than two hours, delivering accuracy that improves from around 60 percent with manual checks to more than 95 percent with automation.
The result is faster execution, greater accuracy, and measurable ROI, with retailers reporting up to 50 percent reductions in out-of-stocks, 50 percent faster price changes, and manual checks that once took over 80 hours are now completed in less than 40 minutes each week.
The Productivity Challenge
Retailers are under constant pressure to do more with less. Labor shortages, complex assortments, and the demands of omnichannel fulfillment stretch associates thin.
Valuable hours are often lost to repetitive tasks such as walking aisles to find out-of-stocks, checking price tags during rapid change cycles, and conducting manual audits to support online orders.
The result is predictable. Replenishment is delayed, substitutions increase, and shoppers lose confidence when products are not available. Associates are pulled away from customer service while managers struggle to confirm that store execution is keeping pace with corporate strategy.
The Badger Technologies Solution: Robots and Mobile Applications
Badger Technologies introduced a new way to work. Autonomous robots scan shelves and capture real-time data on inventory, pricing, planogram compliance, and safety hazards. That information flows directly into mobile applications, where it is converted into prioritized task lists for associates.
Instead of searching for problems, teams know exactly what to fix and in what order. A replenishment clerk can pull items from the backroom or top stock based on the robot’s findings. A pricing associate can see which tags need to be replaced, matched against the point-of-sale file. Managers have access to dashboards that confirm tasks are being completed consistently across stores.
Results Across Retailers
The combination of autonomous robots and mobile applications delivers measurable improvements in both accuracy and productivity:
- Robots identify out-of-stocks and pricing errors with more than 90 percent accuracy, compared to about 60 percent with manual checks.
- Full-store scans are completed in less than two hours, covering more than 100,000 items per location each day.
- Mobile apps convert scan results into task lists that cut the time required to update price tags by half.
- Online order picking times improve by 25 percent because products are validated on the shelf before orders are filled.
- Manual inventory checks that once consumed 80 hours each week are now completed in less than 40 minutes, thanks to task automation.
- When replenishment workflows are tied to the mobile task lists, out-of-stock products have been reduced by as much as 50 percent.
Customer Perspectives
Retail leaders describe how this system has changed their operations:
- “With the first installation, we knew we were on a quick path to ROI.” – IT & Pricing Systems Manager, Regional Grocery Chain
- “The technology saves us time and makes our inventory more accurate.” – General Manager, Home Improvement Retailer
- “We can eliminate manual, time-consuming inventory checks and attain real-time data to better address customer preferences.” – Senior Vice President, Building Supply Retailer
- “The robot frees up our employees to do the things we need them to do. It is a game changer.” – Store Manager, Home Improvement Retailer
Although customers often focus on the ‘robot,’ the productivity gains they describe are driven by the mobile applications that turn scan data into action. Robots provided the accuracy. Mobile apps turned that accuracy into action.
The Bigger Impact
The benefits go well beyond efficiency. Associates spend more time with customers. Online assortments are validated, reducing cancellations and substitutions. Employees are more engaged when they can focus on meaningful work instead of repetitive audits. Corporate leaders gain confidence in forecasting and planning because store-level execution is visible and accurate.
Faster replenishment also helps close the gap on lost sales, which can equal more than 4 percent of revenue for large retailers. Improved accuracy reduces costly customer walk-offs, fines, and claims, while better safety monitoring lowers risk on the sales floor.
Conclusion
By combining autonomous robots with mobile applications, Badger Technologies is helping retailers transform store productivity. Robots capture accurate data. Mobile applications deliver that data as prioritized tasks.
Together, they help associates resolve issues in minutes instead of hours. The result is empowered employees, better execution, and measurable ROI.
Resources
📄 Download the Digital Teammate Fact Sheet (PDF)
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About Badger Technologies
Badger Technologies, a product division of Jabil, is a leader in retail automation and artificial intelligence solutions. Its autonomous robots and digital teammates help retailers improve on-shelf availability, pricing accuracy, planogram compliance, and store safety.
With deployments across grocery, building supply, and other high-SKU retail environments, Badger Technologies provides retailers with real-time data and actionable insights that drive measurable results. Headquartered in Nicholasville, Kentucky, the company is committed to helping retailers build smarter, safer, and more efficient stores.