Kroger Associate Facing Applicaton
RFID Count
As part of a daily kroger audit of all store deperments, RFID tags and scanners were implemented as a way to streamline the counting experience.
My Role
User Experience Designer, Researcher
Duration
5 Months
Tools
Figma, Mural
theOverview
As part of Kroger’s commitment to operational efficiency and inventory accuracy, how might we enhance and simplify the daily audit processes across all store departments.
Traditionally, inventory counting was a labor-intensive process susceptible to human error, relying heavily on manual entry and visual verification.
The "Backroom Count" or "BRC" tool was developed to track product inventory specifically located in the store’s backroom. Each department was responsible for managing and counting its own backroom inventory. To make the process more manageable, departments would focus on counting a specific commodity each day. For example, a dairy department lead might count milk and eggs on Monday, yogurt and cheese on Tuesday, and continue rotating through categories throughout the week.
While this approach was designed to reduce the daily counting burden, it remained a time-consuming and cumbersome task for store associates.
"Anybody know some short cuts or tips on this process [Backroom Count]? I had to count 93 items one day because nobody did it on my day off, it's just too time consuming." - Kroger Associate
Additionally, all items counted during the day were automatically added to the "My Daily Count" (MDC) list. This was necessary because total store inventory was determined by combining the quantities from both the backroom and the sales floor.
This brings us to the "My Daily Count" or "MDC" tool. Each day, associates received a list in MDC that included items counted in the Backroom Count (BRC) as well as other flagged products. MDC then guided associates through a routed path on the sales floor, directing them to locate and count each item. Every product had to be physically found, manually counted, and then entered into the system—making the process both time-intensive and susceptible to human error.
Associates were also evaluated based on the accuracy of their counts. While this scoring system was intended to gamify the process and encourage precision, it often led to frustration. In some cases, associates admitted to manipulating their counts in order to achieve higher scores, which undermined the integrity of the inventory data.
"Daily count for dairy yesterday made me happy. I don’t think there are a lot of people who do daily counts without cheating the system…. But to get this percent [85%] without cheating felt good? 🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️" - Kroger Associate
User-Centered Research & Testing
Conducted field research across multiple divisions, gathering first-hand insights from store associates and managers.
Partnered with UX Research to establish structured feedback loops, enabling continuous iteration and user-informed design decisions.
Discovery Workshop
Facilitated a comprehensive three-day discovery session with cross-functional teams, including designers, project managers, developers, and stakeholders.
Focused on problem framing and gaining a deep understanding of existing workflows using various LUMA Institute design methods.
Led sketching sessions and solution prioritization exercises to define the Minimum Viable Product (MVP).
Prototyping & Iteration
Designed and tested a range of prototypes—from low- to high-fidelity—refining user workflows based on usability testing and direct feedback.
Leveraging Kroger Design System standards and insights from a comprehensive competitive analysis, I designed an enhanced RFID audit experience aimed at streamlining inventory counting for store associates.
Simplifying the process
Implementing RFID technology eliminates the need for manual product counting, resulting in increased efficiency, improved accuracy, and reduced labor costs.
A color-coded flagging system that highlights discrepancies between scanned items and expected inventory counts was added to not only alerts associates to potential issues but also guide them directly to the product's location for re-scanning.
The combining of sales floor and backroom counts into a single, cohesive process the system now supports a more accurate and efficient method for capturing the store’s total balance on hand as well as eliminating the need for two processes.
Establishing trust in the technology
Implementing RFID technology instilled confidence that using the RFID scanner, items were accurately captured—eliminating the need for constant screen monitoring.
A dynamic "fullness" visual was introduced to clearly represent current inventory levels alongside newly scanned items, helping associates quickly assess progress and completion.
