ICT and Price Chopper Despite being more than a decade-and-a-half old, this 1994 case study detailing the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) by the New England grocery store chain Price Chopper could, with a few minor updates, be written about the company and indeed the grocery industry as a whole. Price Chopper was an early innovator in the adoption of certain of the technologies discussed, but they are all now ubiquitous -- or at least becoming so -- in all companies and regions of the grocery industry. The use of these technologies in many different areas of each store's operations as well as within the larger Price Chopper system provided many advantages of efficiency and increased productivity that have now become the normative mode of operation in the grocery industry as a whole. A critical review of this case study demonstrates the early position Price Chopper took in regards to developing and effectively implementing information and communications technologies.

The use of self-checkout machines is a relatively recent development in most national and regional grocery chains, and the past few years have seen an enormous growth in this practice despite some (possibly warranted) misgivings from consumers and consumer advocates (Ballantine 2010). As the case study reflects, these automated self-checkout systems are meant to provide direct benefits to consumers in the form of decreased checkout time, as well...

As an early innovator in this trend, Price Chopper has most likely perfected its system beyond the issues currently observed (Ballantine 2010).
Current research has demonstrated the importance of "client leadership" in the development and adoption of information and communications technology in the grocery industry, though in this regard Price Chopper again appears to be ahead of the curve both in terms of its timing and the effectiveness and efficiency of the technologies it adopted in 1994 (CRC 2006). Grocery retailers are ultimately considered clients in the logistics industry, as they are the final link in the supply chain (consumers come to the retail stores rather than the retail stores needing to figure out the logistics of delivering products), and it is their insistence on increased efficiency through information and communications technology that has led to a wider adoption and integration of these systems by suppliers in the grocery industry (CRC 2006). Price Chopper's system of direct-to-store shipping rather than warehousing is only possible due to it and its suppliers adoption of information and communication technology.

Due to the diversity of products, suppliers, and retailers operating in the grocery industry, the supply chain logistics for this industry are far more complex than in…