Fujitsu developed an AI Agent to collaborate with store managers for AEON Food Style's strategic store operations
Fujitsu Limited today
announced that it will begin a field trial of an AI agent developed jointly
with AEON Food Style Co., Ltd. (AEON Food Style), to autonomously support store
operations under its Uvance for Retail initiative, which aims for sustainable
growth in the retail industry through Data & AI. The trial will take place
at a physical store in July 2026. This AI agent is designed to support store
strategy formulation and sales floor layout planning, and the trial will verify
its effectiveness in accelerating decision-making, standardizing operations,
and improving efficiency in store management. Moving forward, Fujitsu will
leverage the results of this field trial to further enhance store operations
and management for AEON Food Style.
The
retail industry faces challenges such as chronic labor shortages, and store
manager responsibilities, in particular, are diverse and heavily reliant on
individual experience and skills, leading to issues of task expertise residing
with specific individuals. AEON Food Style was established on March 1, 2026,
through the integration of MaxValu Kanto, Daiei's Kanto operations, and AEON
Market. Amid a declining population and diversifying consumer needs, AEON Food
Style decided to promote the utilization of AI agents in collaboration with
Fujitsu to support store managers in making swift decisions and executing
strategic store operations, thereby realizing consistent, higher-quality
service across all stores.
In developing this AI agent, Fujitsu's Forward Deployed Engineers
(FDEs) and designers identified common tasks across the integrated companies'
store operations and clarified the ideal store manager profile for AEON Food
Style. Based on this, they formulated an optimal operational process (business
model) for store management. Within approximately 10 days, four AI agent
prototypes were developed to assist store managers in tasks where they felt a
strong need for support, such as store strategy formulation, shelf layout
planning, feasibility studies for initiatives, and trade area analysis. This
field trial will focus on two of these AI agents.
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