Smart&Final Mexico Signs Strategic Partnership with LEAFIO AI to Modernize Planogram Management and Boost In-Store Performance

LEAFIO AI, a global leader in intelligent solutions for category management and planogram efficiency, announces its new partnership with Smart&Final Northwest, one of the most traditional retail chains in the country’s northwest. With 32 years of operations in Mexico and 154 years of history since its founding in Los Angeles, USA, Smart&Final is advancing its digital transformation through the implementation of LEAFIO Shelf Efficiency.

The chain currently operates 17 stores in the Northwest region and plans to expand into new areas in northern Mexico. It manages a catalog of approximately 7,500 SKUs. Prior to adopting LEAFIO, planograms were managed manually, with several limitations: lack of data analysis, absence of metrics, planograms without images, and categories overloaded with excessive SKUs without analytical criteria.

Smart&Final faced challenges common among expanding retailers:

• Inefficient use of shelf space.
• Lack of metrics to support assortment decisions.
• Overcrowded categories, limiting the potential of higher-turnover products.
• Operational difficulties due to the absence of image-based planograms.

With a small team—around six employees across Purchasing, IT, Operations, and Merchandising/Planograms—the company sought a practical, integrated, data-driven solution to strengthen its commercial and operational strategy.

After comparing different platforms, including Nielsen and Blue Yonder, Smart&Final found in LEAFIO the best balance of analytical robustness, ease of use, and return on investment.

The company was looking for a solution capable of:

• Making planograms more profitable and productive.
• Implementing ABC analysis or other models with greater depth.
• Facilitating alignment between departments and automating tasks with stores.
• Establishing clear metrics for each category, ensuring the right space for every SKU.

“We have high expectations regarding the quality of information that LEAFIO can generate. We are committed to strengthening our data to fully leverage analyses, reports, and in-store task execution. This project represents a significant step forward for our Merchandising, Operations, and Commercial teams, enabling us to be more efficient, analytical, and well-informed in decision-making.”
Pedro Calihua, Merchandising Department

The Planograms department, made up of a manager and two supervisors, will be the primary user of the platform. They will handle daily use, planogram maintenance, continuous adjustments, and task assignment to stores. LEAFIO will enable process consolidation, full visibility into in-store execution, and a significant improvement in planogram accuracy.

For Smart&Final, the project marks a decisive step toward standardization, higher profitability by category, and a more strategic use of in-store space. For LEAFIO AI, it represents another milestone in its expansion across Latin America.

With more than three decades of operations in Mexico and 154 years of history since its origins in the United States, Smart&Final is recognized for its hybrid wholesale-retail model, serving both families and small businesses. It currently operates 17 stores in Northwest Mexico and maintains an active expansion plan.

LEAFIO AI is a global company specializing in automation and optimization solutions for retail, including planogram management, demand forecasting, and intelligent replenishment. Its portfolio is used by retailers in more than 30 countries, delivering greater efficiency, reduced shrink, and more accurate, data-driven decisions.