As is the case in many industries, local retail starts to follow the path of automation in its processes to streamline and facilitate their sales and, therefore, improve their financial results.In this framework, the Argentine supermarket is in the process of adopting new tools to optimize its operation.Consumers have less and less time to stay inside a store, so the need to make a quick and efficient purchase is one of the biggest demands.In fact, from Consumer Protection point out that supermarkets rank third in the ranking of complaints, behind banks and communications companies, largely as a result of the extensive rows that form in the boxes.In this context, large chains are forced to incorporate new technologies and to redefine some aspects of their business in order to survive. Machine learning, artificial intelligence, automation and computing power are some of the words that are acquiring day by day greater prominence.Is that the Amazon Go model came to redefine the course and became the horizon of many operators in the sector.It combines automatic learning systems, computational vision and artificial intelligence. All these tools converge in a store with multiple cameras and sensors that identify each customer and the products that he selects.The mechanism is simple: when entering the premises, the individual must pass his mobile phone through a QR code scanner that will identify him. From then on, everything is as simple as choosing a product and taking it to the stock market.Each of the items will be charged to the means of payment related to the Just Walk Out app, so you should not go through any payment box. Undoubtedly, it came to revolutionize the sector.The other battleAlthough Argentina is in the average of the region with respect to the adoption of this type of solutions, the Index of Preparation for Automation prepared by The Economist notes that the country occupies the 17th place in the general ranking (among 25 nations ) in terms of its ability to seamlessly integrate intelligent automation into its economy.At the head is Walmart, which for a long time began to venture at the local level in different technological tools to make its operation more efficient.One of the main implementations in its points of sale is the hybrid box system. Specifically, these are posts where the customer not only scans the product but he himself is responsible for paying.To this, boxes of auto-scanning of articles are added, in which an assistant helps to finalize the purchase. This solution also extends to the premises of Changomás, a member of the chain."The goal is to avoid that whoever wants to make a small purchase, replacement, have to wait in the same row with who makes a biweekly or monthly purchase," they say from Walmart to iProUP.Inside, the company has also implemented solutions that make daily operations more efficient. The managers of all the branches have five apps of obligatory use in their cell phones. The function of each one is:1) Monitor sales in real time2) Recognize the work of your people and other Central House teams3) Review the discounts and the sale in each branch4) Record of operations per hour, by format and period5) Allow the whole company to interact in real time with any support (Intranet)At the infrastructure level, the 31 Walmart hypermarkets have management teams with an Android system and mobile applications for merchandise management in the sales floor and backroom.Likewise, it has Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) devices that facilitate the return process for the ordering of commerce orders, automating the process, making the replacement more efficient, improving the coverage of cash deposits and the control of the inventory.For its part, Jumbo, of the Cencosud group, has implemented self-collection boxes in branches to self-service scales, which allow full control of customers over their purchases.In Argentina, meanwhile, launched the "Compra Fácil" app, which allows the client to scan the products (up to a maximum of 20) as it is placed in the changuito and generates a QR code that is then presented in the box and enables direct payment.It also allows the assembly of shopping lists so that the user does not forget any item and can check the prices before including them in the cart.The sophistication of e-commerceIn Argentina, the implementation of data analysis tools began to be used to predict the behavior of users, make their shopping experience more pleasant and quick and include product suggestions according to their tastes and needs.Among the pioneers is Coto Digital, which today has 16 virtual branches that serve 100,000 active customers and complete 80,000 orders per month.The level of transactions is such that a robotized center is currently working to supply virtual branches, which will make it possible to unify the assortment, provide a more comprehensive response and, ultimately, reduce time.In their physical stores they use a category managment system whereby the managers of the gondolas have a PDA that tells them in real time which products are essential to replace.According to profitability and sales volume, the system analyzes which are the key items to include in any of the 38,000 gondolas that Coto owns."The use of analytical data gives predictability to the operation of a trade.Today, an important part of the business is to avoid the loss of products.Tools of this type allow foreseeing the lack of stock, making decisions and evaluating variables of risk", details Hernán Serra, Oracle presales specialist.However, the key to this industry lies in the customizable offers, something in which Coto works for its clients of Coto Comunidad and that others began to travel a while ago.One of those cases is the DAY, which uses digital tools to provide a new shopping experience. For that, the ClubDIA App and the online store DIA online are key to your business.The application was launched in March 2018 and developed to add savings to those offered by this chain and, at the same time, simplify the way to buy."It is a means of implementing the ClubDIA loyalty program: with more than 3,700,000 members, it is the most important in the country by number of active clients," the company's executives explain.In this sense, from DIA Argentina they affirm that they use analytics to assign each client relevant rebates based on their purchase history.In the application, customers have the Card and also the discount coupons. In addition, it has a GPS system that allows you to find the nearest store, read the brochures of each of them, get the notification of offers and a calculation of what was saved."This innovation allowed us to rejuvenate the target of clients: more than 50% are between 25 and 44 years old, while 30% are in the age range of 25 to 34 years and 25% in ages between 35 and 44 ", the managers detail iProUP.The other bet to simplify the purchasing process lies in its online channel, which allows from any device and place purchase the items from the store at home or pick it up personally at your pickup points.Another one that is putting special focus on electronic commerce is Carrefour. "Since then, we offer in some areas the possibility of making purchases through our online platform," remarked the company to ProUP.They also highlight the recent agreement with Mercadoni, the online supermarket shopping platform that allows you to significantly expand your customer base.The use of technology will undoubtedly be the path that companies must take to remain competitive."In the market there are very broad solutions to get to have an autonomous base, for that it is necessary to have an infrastructure architecture that combines several solutions in the fastest and safest way for each organization," he concludes.