Albertsons Cos. Inc. says it has launched its patent-pending Intelligent Quality Control tool, an artificial intelligence-powered solution that uses computer vision to support the ability of distribution center associates to maintain high standards for quality and consistency of fresh fruits and vegetables across the company’s supply chain.
Built in-house by Albertsons Cos. technology and supply chain teams, the tool uses Google Cloud’s Gemini Enterprise, including Vision AI and Gemini models, to support Albertsons Cos.’ quality inspection teams to help ensure customers consistently receive fresh, high-quality produce.
“We built [the] AI-powered Intelligent Quality Control tool to support our team of talented quality inspectors in our distribution centers, and early results show it’s been incredibly helpful in increasing the consistency of quality rating, which is crucial for highly perishable products such as fruits and vegetables,” says Evan Rainwater, executive vice president and chief supply chain officer for Albertsons Cos. “This is just the latest advancement in how we are using AI within our multibillion-dollar supply chain to improve operational efficiencies, improve product quality and ultimately enhance customer satisfaction.”
The Intelligent Quality Control solution was built in-house by Albertsons Cos. teams with advisory support and technology infrastructure from Google Cloud as an enterprise partner. Seamlessly integrating into the distribution center workflow, the quality inspector feeds an image of the produce into AI tool, powered by Google Cloud’s Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform, which evaluates visual characteristics against Albertsons Cos.’ established quality standards.
The system then provides a highly accurate, consistent rating and recommendation to the inspector for approval. By reducing ambiguity and enabling more data-driven decision-making, the Intelligent Quality Control solution provides valuable support to help distribution center teams achieve greater accuracy, consistency and confidence in their work, according to the company.
Live now in select Albertsons Cos. distribution centers, the tool is initially focused on quality inspections for strawberries and red and green grapes. The company is expanding the solution across the entire berry section with plans to scale the tool nationwide and incorporate more fresh products. Albertsons says early results have demonstrated significant operational improvements including:
- Increase in rating consistency — AI-driven evaluation has reduced the variability in quality ratings among different inspectors and shifts at a location, ensuring a more uniform standard.
- Faster decision-making — The automated scoring system accelerates the inspection process, supporting distribution center teams in getting food quickly to stores so that customers consistently receive fresh, high-quality produce.
- Expanded quality data — The solution captures many distinct measures of quality that can be used for ongoing quality analysis and improvement.
- Alignment with standards — The solution successfully applies internal Albertsons Cos. quality criteria, with high consistency across all evaluations.
“This collaboration with Albertsons Cos. demonstrates the transformative power of applying advanced AI, like Vision AI and Gemini, to the core of the supply chain,” says Jose Gomes, vice president of retail and consumer packaged goods for Google Cloud. “Ensuring quality consistency for fresh produce is a complex, logistical challenge. By advising on this intelligent component, we are helping Albertsons Cos. drive efficiency and, most importantly, deliver on their promise of fresh, high-quality food to their customers. This is the future of agentic commerce.”
