[Case study] With Hanshow, Leroy Merlin cuts picking time by 17% for 2-hour pick-up

The context

In France, Leroy Merlin D.I.Y. stores cover an average of 45,000 SKUs, that representing an average of 55,000 labels per store (due to SKU’s double locations). In early 2013, the retailer rolled out Pricer’s electronic labels for inventory.

By 2021, 8 years after installation, almost all the labels (i.e. seven million located in 144 stores in France) reached end-of-life. After considering whether to change only these labels, the D.I.Y. chain opted to change the entire stock of ESL. Before making this change, 14 months of “test & learn” took place in the Tourcoing Leroy Merlin store, in order to evaluate the respective solutions of two suppliers. These were Pricer from Sweden, the group’s long-standing supplier, and Hanshow from China. When questioned by mind Retail, Leroy Merlin did not give details of the K.P.I. requirements but in December 2021, Hanshow’s project was selected. At a cost of €40 million, this involves switching to new-generation electronic labels, known as graphic labels (greater freedom of design in a display). In a highly competitive environment, Hanshow wanted to use electronic labels to build a more omnichannel and fluid shopping experience for both customers and sales staff. One of the objectives was to make it easier for customers to navigate around the store and locate items by themselves, by integrating the data provided by the e-tags into the mobile application.