Starbucks announced Wednesday that it is partnering with Redmond, Wash.-based startup NomadGo to help streamline how its employees take stock of inventory inside stores.
Starbucks is equipping workers with mobile devices and NomadGo’s software that uses computer vision technology, spatial computing, and augmented reality to automate inventory counting.
The system is already deployed in more than 11,000 Starbucks locations across North America and will be live in all company-operated stores by the end of September.
Founded in 2017, NomadGo processes more than 1 million items daily with customers in the food and beverages industry, as well as the retail sector.
The company’s tech runs on-device and counts each item within rows. It displays results on the device and syncs data with existing inventory management platforms.
“Since the dawn of time, inventory has been a manual, tedious, and inaccurate task,” NomadGo CEO David Greschler said in a statement. “We’ve transformed it to be automated, intelligent, and fun with a company mission to count everything of value in the world.”
During the pandemic in 2020, the startup released a product to help physical retailers measure store occupancy and density counts, and also measure mask and social distancing compliance.
Greschler, a former director at Microsoft, founded the company with Jonah Friedl, chief product officer. NomadGo raised $1.5 million last year. Investors include Cercano Management, Flying Fish, and Fitz Gate.
Earlier this summer, Starbucks rolled out “Green Dot Assist,” a generative AI-powered assistant for baristas. The company is also using new tech to improve order fulfillment and staffing levels.
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