The "Digital Tool for Fresh Food Production Planning" project, conducted over six months within the Sam's Club division of Walmart, represents a transformative endeavor aimed at revolutionizing the daily operations of associates responsible for producing fresh foods, including meat, bakery items, sushi, and prepared meals. By leveraging an iPad-based application, this project sought to provide a streamlined and efficient solution for production planning while significantly enhancing the user experience of the associates. The primary objectives were to reduce the time and friction involved in the production planning process by introducing automation and eliminating complex mathematical calculations previously required for daily planning.
Key Features
1. Forecasting Accuracy: The digital tool is designed to provide associates with a daily forecast of the number of items to produce. This forecast takes into account various crucial factors, including previous day leftovers and a comprehensive sales history record. This data-driven approach ensures that production plans are aligned with actual demand, reducing food waste and optimizing resource allocation.
2. Automation: The project introduced automation to minimize manual calculations and data entry, streamlining the production planning workflow. Associates can rely on the tool's algorithms to make informed decisions, allowing them to focus more on the execution of production tasks and less on complex math.
3. Hands-Free Interaction: To further boost efficiency, the project explored hands-free interaction solutions. Associates can now efficiently follow instruction sheets while producing and packaging items, reducing the need for manual handling of devices during the production process.
This project represents a holistic approach to improving the production planning process for the Fresh Food department at Sam's Club. By providing associates with an intuitive, data-driven, and automated solution, the project reduces time and friction in the daily workflow, ultimately enhancing operational efficiency.
