High-tech inventory management tools can help retailers eliminate waste while ensuring that customers are always buying the freshest products possible.

Working with retail partners on inventory management and other solutions related to food waste always has to start with the front-line workers, said Lauren Kennedy, vice president of customer success at Upshop.

“It’s a hard job. Beyond designing software, we have to think about how to help elevate the experience for customers and retailers and solve really hard challenges, like making a societal impact, specifically around waste. How do we help win the perimeter?”

Food waste is not only an incredible challenge, said Upshop’s Andrew Hoeft, senior vice president of retail strategy. It’s also an incredible opportunity.

“To be a retailer who’s pushing the upper boundaries, it’s always a hard balance between not contributing to waste but also to have everything on shelves so consumers aren’t turned off,” by out-of-stocks, he said.

The goal is to get as close to perfect demand as possible, but at the same time, recognizing that waste is inevitable, and how do you mitigate that as much as possible, Hoeft said.

One big trend that will only get bigger in helping to answer this question, he said, is figuring out ways to upcycle older items that are still fresh — a huge opportunity for deli/prepared. Shredding rotisserie chickens that haven’t sold and turning them into chicken salad for the deli is just the starting point.

The key to all successful inventory management programs is accepting retailers where they are and gradually getting them to accept change, said Martin Gradal, vice president of sustainability and platform experience for Upshop.

“Some retailers still do things manually, pen and paper. We double down on catering to their existing processes, but slowly changing them step by step.”

Retailers that do make those changes stand much to gain, Hoeft said.

“Year over year, consumers are becoming more loyal to brands that are making and effort to be more sustainable, predominantly in food waste. ‘Is my store fighting food waste?’ is a question that helps determine loyalty.”

Stores must have an economic incentive to fight waste, Gradal added. Companies like Upshop can help convince them they do.

“When we put these tools in the hands of retailers, they become our best ambassadors.”

One of the things Upshop is looking forward to most in 2025, said the company’s Mike Weber, is its new Ordering 360 tool, which will give retailers the ability to forecast, order and control inventory in real time for all items in the store – ingredients, produce, perishable, shelf-stable, and DSD. 

“What ultimately holds back the potential of all stores?” Weber said. “In many cases, it’s the ability for those stores to have the best selection available for the omnichannel shopper. Too many of our customers are frustrated because they do not have the intelligence to maximize this selling potential.”

This article is an excerpt from the February 2025 issue of Supermarket Perimeter. You can read the entire Inventory Management feature and more in the digital edition here.