- After a 500-store trial, Walmart has scrapped plans to roll out Bossa Nova’s inventory-scanning robots.
- The grocer found different and sometimes simpler solutions, sources told the Wall Street Journal Monday, which included having staff flag inventory issues as they walked the aisles.
- Walmart US chief executive John Furner was also worried about how shoppers would respond to seeing the robots, one of the sources said.
- Bossa Nova has dismissed around half of its workforce after Walmart ended the scheme, a source told the publication.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Walmart has called off its plans to use six-foot-tall robots from startup Bossa Nova to check inventory following a 500-store trial.
Walmart reportedly found that having staff check inventory was simpler – and worried about how shoppers would react to the robots.
The retailer planned to use machines made by California-based robotics firm Bossa Nova to scan inventory in stores and send real-time alerts to staff about stock levels, automating the task and saving the grocer money.
It had trialed the robots in 500 stores and planned to push them out to a further 500, but has now pulled the plug on the scheme entirely, telling the Wall Street Journal it wanted to focus on other ideas.
Sources familiar with the situation told the Journal Monday that the company had found different and sometimes simpler ways to check inventory. With more people ordering online, the store has more staff walking the aisles who can flag inventory problems, the sources said.
But the retailer was also considering other, automated ways of checking inventory, they said.
Walmart US chief executive John Furner was also worried about how shoppers would respond to seeing the robots in store, one of the sources said.
Efficient inventory checks ensure retailers order new products on time, clear stock that's going out of date, and give accurate information to delivery and collection services. This has become increasingly important during the pandemic — Walmart's online orders have nearly doubled, the company said in an August earnings call.
Since Walmart ended the robot contract, Bossa Nova has dismissed around half its staff, a source told the Journal. Walmart told the robotics company that the machines had not made a big enough impact on the company's revenue, the source said.
Bossa Nova first began working with Walmart in 2017, when the grocer ordered 50 robots.
Walmart has separately introduced robots for cleaning floors, unloading and sorting items from trucks, and for picking up orders in stores.
In January, the retailer unveiled Alphabot, a robot that can pick and pack online grocery orders up to 10 times faster than humans. And in October, Walmart-owned Sam's Club announced plans to expand its autonomous floor-scrubbing robots to all 599 stores.