Customer: Southern Co-op
Industry: Grocery / Convenience Retail
Use Cases: Assortment Optimization, Floor & Shelf Planning, Clustering, Automation
Location: South of England, UK
Southern Co-op is an independent co-operative with nearly 400 trading outlets across southern England. Owned by its members and committed to sustainable business practices, the co-op operates in food retail, funeral services, Starbucks franchises, and more. In 2022, it was recognized with the Queen’s Award for Enterprise and Sustainable Development and celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2023.
Southern Co-op aimed to elevate its range and space planning capabilities by transitioning to a modern, AI-powered system. Their goals included:
More tailored assortments at the store level
Increased automation and operational efficiency
Reduced waste and clearance markdowns
Improved stock availability and customer satisfaction
Legacy systems offered only limited integration between floor planning and planograms, resulting in inefficient workflows and suboptimal shopper alignment. The business needed an intelligent platform to support localized assortments, store clustering, and minimal manual effort—without expanding headcount.
After evaluating several options, Southern Co-op selected SymphonyAI for its advanced AI, ease of use, and end-to-end connected retail capabilities.
“We selected all of SymphonyAI’s space and range products because their level of advancement, automation, and ease was best-in-class.”
— Andrew Farndell, Head of Retail Commercial, Southern Co-op
Southern Co-op implemented:
AI-based Assortment Optimization for shopper-aligned product mixes
Shelf and Floor Planning to tailor layouts to store-specific customer preferences
Automated clustering and planogramming for faster, localized execution
Dedicated success coaching and implementation support from SymphonyAI
The rollout included extensive pre-implementation planning, consistent team continuity, and a collaborative approach that accelerated adoption across their merchandising organization.
Immediate Efficiencies
Replaced outdated Excel-based processes with AI-powered planning
Significantly increased team productivity with streamlined workflows
Reduced back-and-forth between BI and merchandising tools
Greater Agility
Master planograms enable new item cut-ins in a few clicks
Store assortments dynamically updated to reflect real-time shopper needs
Stock levels optimized to reduce waste and prevent stockouts
Positive Business Impact
Increased shopper engagement and satisfaction
Stronger performance at the store level, contributing to member profit sharing
Created a replicable model for other co-operatives exploring AI-powered retail
“This advanced platform is a game-changer. We can easily tailor assortments at the SKU level by store using AI-driven clustering. Productivity is higher, and we’re seeing real bottom-line impact.”
— Andrew Farndell
“SymphonyAI has been a true partner, helping us move at pace toward a connected retail future.”
— Mark Smith, CEO, Southern Co-op
Southern Co-op continues to expand its use of SymphonyAI’s capabilities, including:
Automating range reviews across categories
Enhancing shelf availability through capacity-aware planning
Exploring additional modules like Store Intelligence, MDM, and AI-based Demand Forecasting
By embedding AI into everyday operations, Southern Co-op is positioning itself at the forefront of modern, connected grocery retail.
Discover how SymphonyAI’s AI-powered assortment and space planning solutions can help you boost efficiency, reduce waste, and deliver a shopper-first experience—store by store.