Major changeover at Fozzy

The Fozzy Group has operated several supermarket chains in Ukraine since 1997, making it the largest company of its kind in the country. The group of companies, which employs around 48,000 people, includes the Slipo supermarket chain with around 270 stores, 243 Fora brand convenience stores and ten Fozzy Cash & Carry stores.

Until a few years ago, the work processes in the fruit and vegetable departments were far too inefficient. "Our staff were mainly occupied with weighing and cutting goods," recalls Ivan Slavioglo, CIO at Fozzy. "Of course, we wanted to offer our customers an appealing service. However, our staff were rarely able to take care of other tasks and everything was too slow for the customers." Things could not go on like this, which is why the company group decided to rethink.

Intra says: practical

As this story shows, the manufacturer Bizerba not only masters warehouse technology, but can also bring its intelligent applications to bear in a supermarket, for example. Looking at the bigger picture, or let's say the fruit crate in this case, reveals that even in a fruit department, relieving the burden on people - in this case, employees - is the first priority. The simpler the process that follows, the more time is freed up. For advice (in the fruit department), for more efficient order picking (in the warehouse). In both cases, the interaction between technology and employees is crucial for acceptance and efficiency.

The obvious idea was to let the customers weigh themselves - after all, they know what they want best. The real challenge for Fozzy was to find devices that were easy to use and practical. In its search for a suitable provider, the company came across Bizerba. "Of course, we also tested solutions from competitors, but Bizerba was clearly the best choice," explains Slavioglo. "As a traditional company with more than 150 years of history, Bizerba has unbeatable expertise and a high-quality product portfolio." The company has also been active in the logistics sector for a long time and offers label printers, continuous scales, labeling systems and weighing systems with volume measurement for warehouses, among other things.

Scales with integration platform

Fozzy decided to purchase a total of more than one thousand Bizerba devices with its own software, which are used in all Slipo and Fora stores, among others. The implementation went smoothly and was completed within six months. PC-based counter scales from the KH II series are now used in the Slipo stores: KH II 800 and KH II 800 SB for counter and self-service areas. KH II 400 helps to weigh the fish. Other scales in use are XC 800, XC 400 and the basic scales SC II 100 and 400. BC II 800 and XC 800 are installed in the Fora stores. The scales were specifically designed for use in the fruit and vegetable department. The Bizerba solution RetailIntegratorsKit (RIK) runs on the devices as an integration platform for 3rd-party software.

Further purchases planned

The changeover was a complete success: on average, more than one million customers use the scales in Fozzy Group stores every day.

The changeover was a complete success: on average, more than one million customers use Bizerba scales in Fozzy Group stores every day. "Our staff now have the necessary capacity to provide the best service elsewhere - for example, to make the department appealing to the customer and to ensure that there is always enough stock available." The Bizerba scales have also impressed all round. "We are planning to purchase more equipment for all departments in our supermarkets - not just scales, but also slicers," says IT manager Slavioglo. "The plan is also to implement the Bizerba scales in all stores in the chain. Bizerba has impressed us all round."

In addition to the models already in use, the MC 500 self-service scale with its slim upright column will also be used in the future. Slavioglo has big plans for the Bizerba products: In addition to marketing campaigns or cross-selling activities, the scales could help with the integration of mobile applications and further automation of processes. For example, when customers weigh meat, they are given recipe ideas for preparation or even suggestions as to which wine goes well with it - and a discount coupon that they can redeem using a QR code. The full integration of Bizerba products into Fozzy's IT infrastructure paves the way for Fozzy to offer customers a service that really makes them feel like king.

www.bizerba.com