Mastering Fresh Operations: Tactics for Grocers to Win the Next Decade

The technical skill required to trim meat, rotate produce, or bake consistently is non-trivial. Build structured, visual, engaging training pathways from onboarding and beyond, using modern features like gamification and personalization. A single associate who knows how to cut fruit efficiently can deliver a superior product while offsetting significant weekly waste. Some retailers simply need to more fully utilize training tools already implemented, while others will need to tap one of the many solutions in the market.

To drive sustained performance, store managers must be measured, and rewarded, on metrics that reflect Fresh excellence. Introducing Fresh specific KPIs into incentive programs ensures that leaders stay focused on this critical differentiator. Whether it’s Fresh department sales comps, gross margin, production accuracy, or shrink reduction, aligning store leadership incentives to Fresh performance embeds accountability across the entire team

Managing the flow of inventory into the store and onto shelves, is make-or-break in Fresh Modern AI-driven tools can dynamically adjust order quantities, batch sizes, and prep schedules to boost productivity and sales while minimizing waste. Managing the flow of inventory into the store and onto shelves, is make-or-break in Fresh. Modern AI-driven tools can dynamically adjust order quantities, batch sizes, and prep schedules to boost productivity and sales while minimizing waste. Poor production planning is often the root cause when shrink spikes in high production areas like deli or bakery. Yet meaningful improvement is possible even before adopting new technology such as A Fresh or other similar tools. When shrink is increasing, this is often a critical lever to address it. Driving greater discipline and compliance with existing systems can deliver immediate impact, especially where local teams still rely more on experience and intuition than on data.

Storage areas, from the backroom to coolers and freezers, are the backbone of an effective store. Every item should have a defined home, and these spaces must be systematically organized, labeled, and maintained. A disciplined setup streamlines movement, reduces time spent searching for product, and supports proper rotation for freshness and food safety. More importantly, a clean, well-structured environment lifts morale, promotes accountability, and signals the standards expected of store associates.

Scheduling should be designed so each department and its products are at their best when customers are in stores and shopping. When labor is aligned to customer traffic and production needs, shoppers experience fresher product, such as the aroma of Fresh bread throughout the day and consistently full displays during peak hours. Too often, stores overstaff 5am shifts while understaffing weekends and other critical periods. Achieving optimal staffing requires a department-specific approach that reflects the nuances of each area, including unique customer expectations, meal patterns, and production demands. When deployed thoughtfully, customer-based scheduling ensures teams are set up to successfully deliver freshness and service where it matters most.

Establish routine audits to ensure schedules align with labor standards, demand forecasts, and policy requirements. Regular reviews reveal issues such as key associates scheduled outside peak periods, understaffed service windows, or excessive last-minute edits. These audits equip field leaders to coach managers, drive consistency, and uphold the scheduling discipline required for these key departments.

Top retailers create structured feedback loops so store teams can share what truly does and does not work on the sales floor, from packaging that fails under real conditions to planograms that drive shrink or recipes that slow production. When those insights flow back to merchandising and inform future resets, execution improves, store teams feel invested, and strategies become both more practical and more profitable.

Define where labor truly adds value and where centralization or supplier prep can deliver consistency and savings. Decisions such as whether bread is baked in store or arrives fully baked frozen; whether fruit is cut in-store; or which meat items are as case-ready directly impact freshness, margins, labor needs, safety, and shrink. Best-inclass retailers regularly revisit these choices and monitor product innovation to balance quality, efficiency, and the customer’s perception of “made Fresh”.