Sam's Club Rolling out AI Receipt Checking Gates, Walmart expanding Delivery by Drones

[ClownLoach]

This is a pretty cool use of technology to take over a lousy job nobody wants to do. And when combined with their Scan and Go technology now you have a truly self serve, little to no lines experience.

Interesting to compare Sam's trying to remove a customer friction point with technology at the same time Costco is trying to add a new friction point with scanning cards and photo verification at the entrance...

And then delivery by drone has been a sci-fi story for years, but it's going to be real for most of Dallas... Having read other stories about drones, the big benefit is that they deliver to your backyard to reduce or eliminate package theft. Sounds like a better option than Amazon operating your garage door opener...

https://www.retaildive.com/news/sams-cl ... ail%20Dive

[storewanderer]

This is a pretty cool use of technology to take over a lousy job nobody wants to do. And when combined with their Scan and Go technology now you have a truly self serve, little to no lines experience.

Interesting to compare Sam's trying to remove a customer friction point with technology at the same time Costco is trying to add a new friction point with scanning cards and photo verification at the entrance...

And then delivery by drone has been a sci-fi story for years, but it's going to be real for most of Dallas... Having read other stories about drones, the big benefit is that they deliver to your backyard to reduce or eliminate package theft. Sounds like a better option than Amazon operating your garage door opener...

https://www.retaildive.com/news/sams-cl ... ail%20Dive

I wonder how you get away from having an employee watching the door. Like what if the AI detects a problem, someone needs to be there to help with that?

The shopping experience at Sam's Club is a lot better than Costco. There is no question. Costco wins on product mix.

The other interesting thing with Sam's Club is this new technology they note they developed it in house. That self checkout they have that they developed in house is one of the easiest to use self checkouts (quick and simple interface).

As far as the drone goes the stuff seems pretty heavy for that. We will see. Backyard drop is definitely a good idea.

[Romr123]

I was at an MBA recruiting event about 10 years ago in Chicago. It was interesting to see Walmart there (this was just after they bought Jet.com) but, shall we say, there was not a speck of Bentonville in the mix that day. They were recruiting for the tech office out in Silicon Valley...looks like even after the demise of Jet.com some good came of the technical capabilities out there.

[ClownLoach]

I was at an MBA recruiting event about 10 years ago in Chicago. It was interesting to see Walmart there (this was just after they bought Jet.com) but, shall we say, there was not a speck of Bentonville in the mix that day. They were recruiting for the tech office out in Silicon Valley...looks like even after the demise of Jet.com some good came of the technical capabilities out there.

Sam's has a large Bentonville tech facility including a full size experimental store and they call it "Sams Club Studio 83". So at least they're doing work there. As the cost of living continues to grow on the West Coast they have the ability to recruit more experienced tech folks who might be interested in lower expenses. What impresses me is that their technology just plain works - for the customer and the employee. They had rolled out full on AI tools 5 years ago for their employees to use that are incredible... For example Costco has to dig through AS/400 raw data to find receipts for their members over a year old, but "Ask Sam" will do the same work in a search engine format on the same AS/400 database system at Sam's including pulling up pictures of the product. So it makes training easier for their employees, and their jobs easier. They have all the tools they need to do their jobs on their personal cell phone under a BYOD policy. Since rolling out Scan and Go I've only found one item, ever, that it didn't accept and it turned out to be a vendor mis-ship to that store (correct item, wrong SKU and UPC on the box). This year I've noticed they're putting RFID chips on everything in the store which would theoretically allow for this current receipt check technology to transform into the Holy Grail of retail, a cart scanning tunnel thus making Scan and Go obsolete.

And based on everything I've observed as I shop them more than ever, they are not doing all this to put employees out of work. Instead, they're adding services to the store for customers convenience without raising prices. They added a juice station that makes the most fantastic fresh orange juice, and I've watched as they spend the hours and hours cleaning that station machine when they're done (so I know it's safe, unlike some luxury grocery stores that put these in and make them customer accessible which is a no-no in my mind). It's a labor intensive addition but a great offering. I am finding locations in SoCal that now have full service meat and seafood counters selling "Bristol Farms quality" Prime Beef that looks amazing for cheap prices (Ontario, CA, hadn't seen in CA before only NV and NJ), those stores also have Sushi chefs making fresh product instead of the stuff that's shipped in from a facility like Costco has.

If they didn't embrace the technology to move employees to new roles then they would not have curbside pickup with incredible levels of inventory accuracy for example. They are utilizing some kind of Walmart logistics service for same day delivery now. And I'm aware they're shipping eCommerce orders from store now which saves on shipping charges, and unlike Costco's fake free delivery (they have a higher price for the delivered item on the website) it's really free for plus members. Their shift scheduling and fixed employee hours are real and creating situations where I see the same people every time I shop (since I'm usually there at the same times) and they start to get to know you if you interact with them especially at the returns desk.

In short, I can see as a customer that they're actively using the technology to focus on what the customers are looking for instead of just slashing expenses for the bottom line like other retailers.

[storewanderer]

I was at an MBA recruiting event about 10 years ago in Chicago. It was interesting to see Walmart there (this was just after they bought Jet.com) but, shall we say, there was not a speck of Bentonville in the mix that day. They were recruiting for the tech office out in Silicon Valley...looks like even after the demise of Jet.com some good came of the technical capabilities out there.

Sam's has a large Bentonville tech facility including a full size experimental store and they call it "Sams Club Studio 83". So at least they're doing work there. As the cost of living continues to grow on the West Coast they have the ability to recruit more experienced tech folks who might be interested in lower expenses. What impresses me is that their technology just plain works - for the customer and the employee. They had rolled out full on AI tools 5 years ago for their employees to use that are incredible... For example Costco has to dig through AS/400 raw data to find receipts for their members over a year old, but "Ask Sam" will do the same work in a search engine format on the same AS/400 database system at Sam's including pulling up pictures of the product. So it makes training easier for their employees, and their jobs easier. They have all the tools they need to do their jobs on their personal cell phone under a BYOD policy. Since rolling out Scan and Go I've only found one item, ever, that it didn't accept and it turned out to be a vendor mis-ship to that store (correct item, wrong SKU and UPC on the box). This year I've noticed they're putting RFID chips on everything in the store which would theoretically allow for this current receipt check technology to transform into the Holy Grail of retail, a cart scanning tunnel thus making Scan and Go obsolete.

And based on everything I've observed as I shop them more than ever, they are not doing all this to put employees out of work. Instead, they're adding services to the store for customers convenience without raising prices. They added a juice station that makes the most fantastic fresh orange juice, and I've watched as they spend the hours and hours cleaning that station machine when they're done (so I know it's safe, unlike some luxury grocery stores that put these in and make them customer accessible which is a no-no in my mind). It's a labor intensive addition but a great offering. I am finding locations in SoCal that now have full service meat and seafood counters selling "Bristol Farms quality" Prime Beef that looks amazing for cheap prices (Ontario, CA, hadn't seen in CA before only NV and NJ), those stores also have Sushi chefs making fresh product instead of the stuff that's shipped in from a facility like Costco has.

If they didn't embrace the technology to move employees to new roles then they would not have curbside pickup with incredible levels of inventory accuracy for example. They are utilizing some kind of Walmart logistics service for same day delivery now. And I'm aware they're shipping eCommerce orders from store now which saves on shipping charges, and unlike Costco's fake free delivery (they have a higher price for the delivered item on the website) it's really free for plus members. Their shift scheduling and fixed employee hours are real and creating situations where I see the same people every time I shop (since I'm usually there at the same times) and they start to get to know you if you interact with them especially at the returns desk.

In short, I can see as a customer that they're actively using the technology to focus on what the customers are looking for instead of just slashing expenses for the bottom line like other retailers.

The bigger question is how many of these ideas/initiatives will bleed over to the Wal Mart side? I expect some will.

Wal Mart did build all of its logistics systems/technology from the ground up in Bentonville decades ago... they must have known how to do something right out there..

[wnetmacman]

The bigger question is how many of these ideas/initiatives will bleed over to the Wal Mart side? I expect some will.

It has long been known in Walmart corporate folklore that Sam's operates independently of Walmart. Sam drove that point home with a sledgehammer in corporate meetings when they started out. While some things do overlap for business purposes, you will rarely see an identically copied idea on both sides.

Wal Mart did build all of its logistics systems/technology from the ground up in Bentonville decades ago... they must have known how to do something right out there..

Walmart has more IT capacity than the federal government. They have been building the system out and constantly improving it since the late 60's. I would never underestimate what they can do.

One of the centers in Bentonville is called the David Glass Technology Center, and they have East and West wings. It's huge.

[storewanderer]

The bigger question is how many of these ideas/initiatives will bleed over to the Wal Mart side? I expect some will.

It has long been known in Walmart corporate folklore that Sam's operates independently of Walmart. Sam drove that point home with a sledgehammer in corporate meetings when they started out. While some things do overlap for business purposes, you will rarely see an identically copied idea on both sides.

Wal Mart did build all of its logistics systems/technology from the ground up in Bentonville decades ago... they must have known how to do something right out there..

Walmart has more IT capacity than the federal government. They have been building the system out and constantly improving it since the late 60's. I would never underestimate what they can do.

One of the centers in Bentonville is called the David Glass Technology Center, and they have East and West wings. It's huge.

I think they take a good number of ideas from each other even if not copying identically.

They have done some internal policies where they tried them at Sam's then ended up rolling them out to Wal Mart. Something to do with employee scheduling/HR related stuff.

Then things like the Sam's Club tire system/appointment system is the Wal Mart system but a copy of it used at Sam's and tailored to Sam's.

The French Bread is the same at Sam's Club and Wal Mart but Sam's sells it in a 2ct bag and forms the loaf into a longer/skinnier shape.

There are also some things Sam's has done with regards to slotting bin locations in the store aisles following some Wal Mart model of some kind for how Wal Mart does that.

[mjhale]

Walmart has Scan and Go but only for Plus members. I'd assume that some or all of what is being used at Walmart came from the Scan and Go tech at Sam's Club. I'd love to see Scan and Go be expanded to all Walmart customers, though I do understand that something is needed to attract people towards signing up for Plus. You still have to go to a self-checkout to finalize your purchase with the Walmart version of Scan and Go. However, just finalizing your transaction at the self-checkout takes a lot less time than scanning everything and bagging it. Anything that helps to speed up the chronically overrun self-checkouts at the Walmarts near me is helpful. Walmart certainly isn't opening additional staffed checkout lines to mitigate for the volume at self-checkout...

[ClownLoach]

Walmart has Scan and Go but only for Plus members. I'd assume that some or all of what is being used at Walmart came from the Scan and Go tech at Sam's Club. I'd love to see Scan and Go be expanded to all Walmart customers, though I do understand that something is needed to attract people towards signing up for Plus. You still have to go to a self-checkout to finalize your purchase with the Walmart version of Scan and Go. However, just finalizing your transaction at the self-checkout takes a lot less time than scanning everything and bagging it. Anything that helps to speed up the chronically overrun self-checkouts at the Walmarts near me is helpful. Walmart certainly isn't opening additional staffed checkout lines to mitigate for the volume at self-checkout...

The remodeled Walmart stores are getting 2 dedicated Walmart+ lanes with 2 kiosks each (and room for more). Not sure what exactly stops a regular customer from walking past the line and using these as they appear from a distance to be running the same self checkout software? They've been blocked off every time I visit the store.