Starbucks is ending its use of AI to count inventory
The coffee chain cited a decision to shift to a single process across all its inventory counts amid complaints about accuracy.
So much for Starbucks using AI to count the milk in its inventory.
The coffee shop giant said it is ending its use of an automated program to count inventory. The company said the decision was designed to shift to a single, consistent process for all its inventory counts.
Reuters had earlier reported that the company was scrapping the program and noted that the program was miscounting and mislabeling products.
And baristas in social media posts were critical of the program almost from the get-go. “It’s frankly impressive how bad it actually is,” noted one commenter on the social media site Reddit. Another commenter declared they were “about to punch a wall over it.”
A barista on TikTok said that the system struggled with some items, forcing them to count by hand.
Starbucks announced its use of AI inventory counting last year. The program features computer vision, 3D spatial intelligence and augmented reality to count stock in minutes, rather than more than an hour.
Baristas use a handheld tablet to scan products on shelves, counting the items as they go. The program was part of a set of changes designed to improve inventory management at the company’s shops, which have had issues with product shortages. Starbucks said at the time that shops using the technology counted inventory eight times more frequently than those that didn’t.
Starbucks on Thursday, however, said baristas will instead use the same inventory tools and routines used for all its inventory. Starbucks only used the process for milks and other beverages. The company said it wanted to shift to a “single, consistent process over all inventory counts.”
“We continue to use technology across our business,” the company said. “This change reflects being disciplined about where automation adds value.”
Baristas in comments to the company, seen by Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Business, praised the decision, with one calling the realignment “a huge correction to our processes.”
Said another: “Thanks for discontinuing automated counting! The thought behind it was great, but the execution was proving difficult.”
Starbucks’ shift away from automated counting is the latest setback for major fast-food chains’ publicized use of the technology on certain tasks.
Drive-thru AI at fast-food chains appears to have slowed as the technology struggles to meet the demands of large-scale brands. And a big Pizza Hut franchisee filed a lawsuit against the brand this year arguing that the Dragontail software led to slower delivery times, colder product and reduced customer satisfaction.
