Autonomous retail at UCSD: Enhancing campus life with AWS (BIZ104)
The Success Story of Autonomous Retail at UC San Diego
Overview of UC San Diego
UC San Diego is a research powerhouse, ranked among the top 7 public research institutions in the world.
It is part of the 10-campus University of California system and has a young, entrepreneurial, and innovative spirit.
UC San Diego is a large enterprise with a $7 billion budget, 45,000 students, and nearly 42,000 faculty and staff.
The university is experiencing significant growth, with plans to have 30-35,000 beds on campus in the coming years.
UC San Diego's Dining Program
UC San Diego operates a unique "destination dining" model, offering a variety of diverse food concepts across 18 locations on campus.
The dining program serves over 9.5 million meals per year, or about 30,000-35,000 meals per day.
The program uses a declining balance model, where students have a dining dollar allowance that can be used at any dining location.
The program also includes markets (small grocery stores) and coffee shops, which are integrated with the residential dining experience.
Challenges and the Need for Autonomous Retail
UC San Diego faced challenges with long queues and wait times, especially during peak hours when thousands of students were trying to access the markets.
The university wanted to find a solution that could increase peak throughput, extend operating hours, and provide a seamless checkout experience for students.
Implementing Just Walk Out Technology
UC San Diego partnered with AWS and the Just Walk Out technology to address these challenges.
The university implemented Just Walk Out in three of its largest markets, which now account for over 2 million transactions and $2 million in revenue.
The integration with the university's existing point-of-sale system (Transact) was critical, allowing a seamless experience for students to use their campus IDs, credit cards, or mobile wallets.
Benefits and Lessons Learned
The implementation of Just Walk Out technology has brought significant benefits to UC San Diego:
11% increase in total guests served
30% labor savings, with the ability to reallocate staff to other growing dining concepts
Reduced shrinkage and theft from less than 3% to under 0.5%
Improved customer experience with longer operating hours and reduced queuing
Lessons learned include the need for accurate forecasting, retrofitting existing spaces, retraining staff, and optimizing product placement and planograms based on the technology's analytics.
Future Plans and Expansion
UC San Diego plans to expand the Just Walk Out technology to additional markets, cafes, and even a hotel on campus.
The university is also exploring the use of autonomous technology to address food deserts and provide access to food in underserved areas of the campus.
The success at UC San Diego demonstrates the transformative potential of autonomous retail technology in the higher education setting and beyond.
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