Walmart’s membership warehouse retailer Sam’s Club has completed a national, chain-wide roll out of inventory scan towers in partnership with AI company Brain.

The towers have been added to its fleet of robotic scrubbers. Brain is a Californian artificial intelligence (AI) company creating core technologies in robotics.

“Our initial goal at Sam’s Club was to convert time historically spent on scrubbers to more member-focused activities,” said Todd Garner, vice president at Sam’s Club. “Our autonomous scrubbers have exceeded this goal. In addition to increasing the consistency and frequency of floor cleaning, intelligent scrubbers have empowered associates with critical insights. At Sam’s Club, we have a member-obsessed culture. These scrubbers help associates ensure products are out for sale, priced correctly and findable, ultimately making it easier to directly engage with our members.”

The chain-wide roll out of almost 600 inventory scan towers started in late January 2022 and Brains says it positions it as the world’s leading supplier of robotic inventory scanners.

“The speed and efficiency of the deployment of this next generation retail technology with Sam’s Club is a testament to the strength of our team,” said David Pinn, CEO at Brain. “Through the use of inventory scan, Sam’s Clubs across the country are able to access a trove of critical inventory data in real time, which they can use to better inform decision making, run their clubs more efficiently and provide a better in-club experience for their members.”

Using a dual function design, the scanning accessory has been fitted to the almost 600 autonomous floor scrubbers already deployed within Sam’s Clubs nationwide. The towers are powered by Brain’s AI operating system, BrainOS, combining autonomy and ease of use with trusted equipment.

Once installed on the scrubber, the cloud-connected inventory scan tower captures data as it moves autonomously around the club. As functionality is deployed, insights such as product localisation, planogram compliance, product stock levels, and verification of pricing accuracy will be delivered to the club. Each function negates the need for time-consuming and potentially inaccurate manual processes that can impact product availability, member experience, or create waste caused by inaccurate ordering.

Sam’s Club is a membership warehouse club offering products, savings and services to millions of members in nearly 600 clubs in the USA and Puerto Rico. Now in its 39th year, Sam’s Club continues to redefine warehouse shopping with its curated assortment of fresh food and Member’s Mark items, in addition to technologies and services such as scan-and-go, kerbside pickup and home delivery service in select markets.

Brain specialises in robotic AI software that powers a fleet of autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) operating in commercial public spaces. Global OEM partners use the company’s cloud-connected platform, BrainOS, to create scalable, self-driving robots that are used to clean floors, move inventory and sense environmental data, turning manual operations into automated workflows. Brain powers more than 20,000 AMRs.