Source: Microsoft
Headline: Steijn: The AI assistant transforming meal planning for millions in the Netherlands
Albert Heijn carries about 17,000 different products in its 1,200 stores, and it has a system of demand forecasting that makes as many as one billion predictions a day to ensure the best possible balance between supply and demand.
A separate product team is responsible for the price labels on the electronic shelves in the stores.
“There is an algorithm behind them that automatically calculates the best discounts every 15 minutes,” van Ameyden says. As products get closer to their expiration date, the discounts get bigger. “At the beginning of the day you might see 20% off, and it can go to 70%.”
Willems, back at home in her kitchen in Nieuw-Vennep, said that as long as she’s been shopping for groceries, she’s been an Albert Heijn customer, and before Steijn appeared, she was using recipes she found in the app.
Steijn has added a helpful twist, however, introducing new flavors – both by suggesting variations on favorite recipes and introducing new ones.
“For example, lentils – I never used lentils for any of my recipes, but when I entered three ingredients in Steijn, it came up with a lentil soup, and we loved it,” she said. “Thanks to Steijn I’m now a big fan of lentils.”
Van Straaten said Steijn has delivered both practical and unexpected benefits.
“I think Steijn saves me about an hour and a half to two hours a week,” he said. “But I think what is even more important is that I provide my kids with healthier food and a better variety of food.”