Since 2012, the Smartway company – based on artificial intelligence – has supported supermarkets downstream and upstream of food waste. And for good reason, across the entire food chain, going from field to plate, 9% of food waste results from mass distribution. Growing inflation, food budget which continues to grow, significant increase in the number of products thrown away… Faced with this observation, the two Menez brothers – two Brestois Paul-Adrien and Christophe – “wanted to attack the problem of food waste from the angle economical” explains Samuel Abraham, of Smartway, a technology designed to support the profession of distributors.
Located in the Moulin Neuf industrial zone in Saint-Herblain, Smartway has around a hundred employees divided into seven divisions: product, sales, marketing, engineering, finance, human resources and customer relations. The team is present not only at headquarters, but also abroad and in several regions of France, close to customers, including directly on the shelves. In fact, more than 2,000 stores around the world have already adopted the solutions developed by the Herblin-based start-up, including most French brands. In 2022, the Auchan group – committed to reducing its food waste – has equipped all of its points of sale, 119 hypermarkets and 230 supermarkets, with Smartway technology.
Detect short-dated products that are soon to expire, promote them in areas of the store provided for this purpose, assign a discount at a fair price for consumers, etc. “All of these tasks are time-consuming and repetitive for department employees. This requires rigor and can be tedious, particularly in hypermarkets where there can be more than 50,000 references,” underlines Samuel Abraham, marketing manager for a year and a half.
The first solution called “The Food Waste Management System” constitutes a new essential tool for distributors, particularly in the management of products, their lifespan and in the optimization of orders placed with wholesalers. By relying on artificial intelligence, department managers are able to quickly identify – using barcodes – where short-dated references are located, whether on the shelf or even in stock. Thus, employees can then offer them for sale in anti-waste zones before they go to waste. “It is now easier – for a supermarket employee – to save a product rather than throw it in the trash,” says Samuel Abraham. Saved products are already very good, but given to the most deprived people, it's even better! Indeed, since the Garot law of 2016, large stores of more than 400 m² are now obliged to give part of their unsold goods to the beneficiaries of charitable associations. This is particularly the case with the rest of the foodstuffs present in anti-waste zones.
Moreover, at the launch of its activity, the start-up was called “Zero waste”, then its name evolved following the opening of the company internationally and the development of new solutions.
A new solution exists to limit food loss in the fruit and vegetable section. And for good reason, 6% of bulk fruits and vegetables are thrown away, compared to only 1.5% on average for other products. The “Fresh Operating System” technology offers employees the benefit of recommendations for placing the perfect order thanks to improved inventory management and which even acts on a real-time demand forecast (weather, seasonality). “Of course, our business tools are not intended to replace department managers in the future, but rather to advise them with the aim of removing all their mental burden when placing an order,” explains Samuel Abraham. Fair stock not only helps reduce waste, but also improves the attractiveness of the supermarket by guaranteeing always fresh fruit and vegetables for consumers.
