Centralize Expiration Date Management in Retail Stores and Drastically Reduce Check Times: Global Launch of 'SATO Store Management' Compatible with Smartphones and Existing Terminals
SATO Corporation has globally launched 'SATO Store Management' in April 2026, a cloud service utilizing AI-OCR on smartphones to shift retail expiration date checks to 'management by exception', reducing checking time by up to 88%.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 23, 2026 at 20:30
- 🔍 Collected: April 23, 2026 at 12:01
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 24, 2026 at 00:39 (12h 37m after Collected)
SATO Corporation (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; hereinafter 'the Company') announced the global launch in April 2026 of 'SATO Store Management', a cloud service that significantly streamlines expiration date management operations in the retail industry, including supermarkets and drugstores, in Japan and overseas.
This solution can be used on smartphones. The AI-OCR function reads the expiration date displayed on products, allowing for on-the-spot registration.
(*Currently supports Android devices; iOS support is planned for the future.)
Development Background: Challenges of Manual Expiration Date Management
As efforts to reduce food waste progress, the government's 'Basic Policy on Promoting the Reduction of Food Waste' revised in 2025*1 promotes efficiency across the entire supply chain, including relaxing delivery deadlines and reviewing return practices. Initiatives are underway to review the so-called '1/3 rule' for delivery deadlines*2, transform distribution based on expiration dates, and encourage consumers to purchase food nearing its expiration or consume-by date. Against this backdrop, retail locations are required to adopt more sophisticated expiration date management.
In the food retail industry, strict expiration date management, including the proper sale of items nearing their expiration dates, is advancing from the perspectives of consumer food safety and reducing food waste. As a result, it is common practice in stores to regularly take out vast amounts of products displayed on shelves and visually check their expiration dates.
Depending on the store, this process can take up to about one month to check all products, which is not only a heavy burden on front-line staff but also carries the risk of missed checks due to reliance on manual labor. Furthermore, with the deepening labor shortage and rising social demands to reduce food waste in recent years, there is an increasing need for more efficient and accurate management methods.
*1: Sourced from Consumer Affairs Agency / Act on Promotion of Food Loss and Waste Reduction / 4. Basic Policy on Promoting the Reduction of Food Waste
https://www.caa.go.jp/policies/policy/consumer_policy/information/food_loss/promote/#04
*2: The 1/3 rule is a customary practice in the supply chain where products are delivered to retail stores within the first third of their total shelf life.
SATO Store Management Overview: Shifting to 'Management by Exception' for Necessary Products Only
This solution is a cloud-based service that automatically extracts only products nearing their expiration dates on the system and displays a list of items requiring price markdowns or removal.
By shifting from the conventional manual, comprehensive check of all products to an operation focused only on products that require attention, operational efficiency is vastly improved.
By registering the products with the shortest expiration dates during the initial implementation, the system will subsequently issue alerts notifying staff of products that require expiration date checks. Store operation staff can change their routine to check and remove applicable products from shelves based on these alerts, making it possible to eliminate the task of regularly checking all display shelves.
Additionally, because it is a cloud service, it enables visualization and centralized management of product inventory across the entire chain, allowing management to track usage status per store.
Features
- Drastic labor savings by eliminating comprehensive checks: Extracts only products requiring expiration checks, reducing work time.
- Reliable action through alerts: Automatically notifies targets for markdowns and removal via system and email, preventing oversights.
- Centralized management of chain stores: Real-time visualization of operational status per store at headquarters.
- Supports 15 languages and features interactive AI support for enhanced usability and ease of operation.
- No specialized terminals required; usable on smartphones (Android, with iOS support planned).
- AI-OCR function reads text information from product images and registers it into the system.
Implementation Effects
- Significant reduction in work hours required for expiration date management.
- Improved management accuracy by reducing human errors.
- Reduction in food waste through the appropriate sale of products nearing expiration.
- Contribution to store sales through proper expiration date management and early discounted sales.
- Reduced burden on staff and countermeasures against labor shortages through the digitalization of store operations.
In a case study, managing snacks and seasonings at one store confirmed an effect of an approximately 88% reduction in monthly work time (from approx. 194 hours to approx. 24 hours). (Based on a case from our client company in Japan.)
Main Target Customers
We anticipate usage in a wide range of stores, including supermarkets, drugstores, home centers, airport and station kiosks, highway service areas, and hotels.
Product Details
For Japan: https://www.sato.co.jp
This solution can be used on smartphones. The AI-OCR function reads the expiration date displayed on products, allowing for on-the-spot registration.
(*Currently supports Android devices; iOS support is planned for the future.)
Development Background: Challenges of Manual Expiration Date Management
As efforts to reduce food waste progress, the government's 'Basic Policy on Promoting the Reduction of Food Waste' revised in 2025*1 promotes efficiency across the entire supply chain, including relaxing delivery deadlines and reviewing return practices. Initiatives are underway to review the so-called '1/3 rule' for delivery deadlines*2, transform distribution based on expiration dates, and encourage consumers to purchase food nearing its expiration or consume-by date. Against this backdrop, retail locations are required to adopt more sophisticated expiration date management.
In the food retail industry, strict expiration date management, including the proper sale of items nearing their expiration dates, is advancing from the perspectives of consumer food safety and reducing food waste. As a result, it is common practice in stores to regularly take out vast amounts of products displayed on shelves and visually check their expiration dates.
Depending on the store, this process can take up to about one month to check all products, which is not only a heavy burden on front-line staff but also carries the risk of missed checks due to reliance on manual labor. Furthermore, with the deepening labor shortage and rising social demands to reduce food waste in recent years, there is an increasing need for more efficient and accurate management methods.
*1: Sourced from Consumer Affairs Agency / Act on Promotion of Food Loss and Waste Reduction / 4. Basic Policy on Promoting the Reduction of Food Waste
https://www.caa.go.jp/policies/policy/consumer_policy/information/food_loss/promote/#04
*2: The 1/3 rule is a customary practice in the supply chain where products are delivered to retail stores within the first third of their total shelf life.
SATO Store Management Overview: Shifting to 'Management by Exception' for Necessary Products Only
This solution is a cloud-based service that automatically extracts only products nearing their expiration dates on the system and displays a list of items requiring price markdowns or removal.
By shifting from the conventional manual, comprehensive check of all products to an operation focused only on products that require attention, operational efficiency is vastly improved.
By registering the products with the shortest expiration dates during the initial implementation, the system will subsequently issue alerts notifying staff of products that require expiration date checks. Store operation staff can change their routine to check and remove applicable products from shelves based on these alerts, making it possible to eliminate the task of regularly checking all display shelves.
Additionally, because it is a cloud service, it enables visualization and centralized management of product inventory across the entire chain, allowing management to track usage status per store.
Features
- Drastic labor savings by eliminating comprehensive checks: Extracts only products requiring expiration checks, reducing work time.
- Reliable action through alerts: Automatically notifies targets for markdowns and removal via system and email, preventing oversights.
- Centralized management of chain stores: Real-time visualization of operational status per store at headquarters.
- Supports 15 languages and features interactive AI support for enhanced usability and ease of operation.
- No specialized terminals required; usable on smartphones (Android, with iOS support planned).
- AI-OCR function reads text information from product images and registers it into the system.
Implementation Effects
- Significant reduction in work hours required for expiration date management.
- Improved management accuracy by reducing human errors.
- Reduction in food waste through the appropriate sale of products nearing expiration.
- Contribution to store sales through proper expiration date management and early discounted sales.
- Reduced burden on staff and countermeasures against labor shortages through the digitalization of store operations.
In a case study, managing snacks and seasonings at one store confirmed an effect of an approximately 88% reduction in monthly work time (from approx. 194 hours to approx. 24 hours). (Based on a case from our client company in Japan.)
Main Target Customers
We anticipate usage in a wide range of stores, including supermarkets, drugstores, home centers, airport and station kiosks, highway service areas, and hotels.
Product Details
For Japan: https://www.sato.co.jp