A leading Midwest-based grocery retailer operating hundreds of stores across the U.S. faced growing challenges in balancing margin protection, food waste reduction, and operational efficiency. Categories like meat and seafood carried the highest risk, accounting for 10–30% of potential losses if not sold before expiry.
The retailer partnered with HTC to address this challenge as part of a broader journey toward turning surplus into value.
Despite strong store operations, markdowns remained manual, inconsistent, and reactive.
• No expiry capture: Inventory systems tracked quantities but not expiry dates, leaving staff to rely on physical inspections.
• Late discounts: Markdowning often occurred when products were already too close to expiry, limiting customer uptake.
• Disconnected processes: Price changes were not logged centrally, creating compliance and audit risks.
• Leadership bottlenecks: Store managers had to rely on judgment calls, without standardized rules or validations.
• Business impact: Shrink in perishables eroded profit, while wasted products undermined sustainability commitments.
