Case study - COOP

Location: Sweden

Industry: Grocery

Customer Overview

Coop launched unmanned and automated grocery store formats to reduce labor costs and enable omnichannel retail operations. The retailer required centralized product management across distributed store networks with cloud- based infrastructure. The project reflects the retailer's move toward smarter supermarket operations and more reliable shelf communication.

Challenge

COOP needed to connect online and offline pricing workflows, reduce manual label replacement and paper-based processes, integrate shelf updates with existing retail and inventory systems, and create a scalable model for multi-store rollout. Traditional shelf labeling and store-level coordination made it difficult to respond quickly to pricing changes, product updates, and promotional execution while maintaining a consistent customer experience.

Solution

ZKONG deployed a public cloud ESL platform allowing centralized product information management and seamless system integration. The solution supports rapid store expansion and automated store operations.

Centralized cloud management helps teams update prices, promotions, and product information with greater consistency across locations.

System integration connects shelf information with existing retail workflows, reducing duplicate work and improving operational control.

For COOP, the solution supports faster real-time price and promotion updates, less manual shelf-label maintenance for store teams, reduced paper label usage, and a scalable foundation for future rollout.

Key project outcomes:

• 400,000+ ESL tags deployed across stores

• 8,000 ESL tags deployed in a single store

• Model used: ZKC21V

• Supports centralized headquarters management

• Provides 200+ open API integration endpoints

• Price updates within seconds

• Reduced manual labeling and labor costs

• Improved inventory synchronization and sustainability goals

• Planned deployment expansion to 100–300 additional stores