What Smartway does

Smartway is a France-based SaaS company founded in 2012 (originally under the name ZERO GACHIS) and headquartered in Saint-Herblain near Nantes. It provides AI-powered retail intelligence software for grocery retailers, with an initial focus on reducing in-store food waste and a more recent expansion into fresh-produce operating workflows. The platform serves enterprise grocery chains including Auchan Retail (1,123+ stores across six countries), Intermarché, Carrefour, E.Leclerc, Monoprix, Vallarta Supermarkets, and Tops Thailand, with deployments spanning France, the UK, the USA, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Spain, Portugal, and Luxembourg.

The product is organized into two suites. The Food Waste Management System (FWMS) comprises Smartdetection (AI-based short-shelf product identification), Smartdecision (dynamic pricing and revenue recovery for near-expiry SKUs), and Smartdonation (automated donation tracking). The Fresh Operating System (FOS) extends the platform into replenishment via Smartorder (AI order recommendations), Smartsupply (demand aggregation), and Smarttasking (a mobile AI companion using computer vision). Underlying technology is built on in-house computer vision, predictive analytics, and recommendation engines trained on thirteen years of proprietary retail operational data, with a co-developed Smartdetection FlashEvo module integrated with VusionGroup's digital infrastructure.

Revenue is generated through quote-based annual SaaS subscriptions tied to store count and module selection, sold via a direct enterprise field-sales motion supported by dedicated Customer Success Managers. The company claims full ROI in under six months and reports cumulative outcomes of 420M+ products saved, $175M+ in additional retailer profit, and 500,000 tonnes of CO2 avoided. The company is privately held; its only disclosed funding round is a €11,872,255 raise in April 2021 led by Supernova Invest.

Name

Smartway

Legal name

Smartway AI Inc.

Website

https://smartway.ai

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Smartway provides AI-powered SaaS software that helps grocery retailers reduce food waste and optimize fresh-produce operations through computer vision, predictive analytics, and dynamic pricing. The platform serves enterprise grocery chains including Auchan, Carrefour, Intermarché, and Vallarta across Europe, North America, and Asia.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Food Waste Management Software

NAICS

Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518210)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Smart Energy Management (Meters, EV Chargers, Solar/Battery Monitors) Retail (CRACAGAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Smart Appliances & Connected Kitchen/Laundry Retail (CRACAGAG), Smart Home Sensors & Monitoring (Motion, Leak, Smoke/CO, Environmental) Retail (CRACAGAJ), Smart Security & Surveillance (Cameras, Alarms, Sensors) Retail (CRACAGAC), Smart Home Software, Apps & Subscriptions Retail (CRACAGAM)

Keywords

• Food waste management
• Fresh produce software
• Retail inventory optimization
• Grocery AI platform
• Anti-waste retail tech

Headquarters

HQ city

Nantes

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. SaaS Subscription (Food Waste Management System): Subscription-based access to Smartway's Food Waste Management System, which includes Smartdetection, Smartdecision, and Smartdonation modules. Pricing is quote-based, likely tiered by store count or feature modules. The system generates revenue through ongoing software licenses with deployment and support services included.
2. SaaS Subscription (Fresh Operating System): Subscription-based access to the Fresh Operating System, including Smartorder and Smartsupply modules. Sold as an integrated solution or standalone product. Revenue is recurring based on store deployments and usage scope.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Smartway sells an AI-powered retail intelligence SaaS platform that helps grocery retailers reduce food waste and maximize fresh-product margin. Its two flagship suites — the Food Waste Management System (FWMS) and the Fresh Operating System (FOS) — combine computer vision detection, dynamic pricing recommendations, automated donation tracking, AI-driven ordering, supply-demand alignment and a mobile companion for store teams. The platform is sold on annual subscriptions with deployment and Customer Success support bundled in.

Product overview

Smartway provides a unified AI-powered retail intelligence platform consisting of two core product suites: the Food Waste Management System (FWMS) and the Fresh Operating System (FOS). The FWMS suite combines Smartdetection (automated expiry detection), Smartdecision (AI-driven dynamic pricing and revenue recovery), and Smartdonation (automated food donation management) to identify near-expiry products, guide optimal store actions, and convert waste into profit. The FOS suite combines Smartorder (AI-powered ordering), Smarttasking (mobile AI companion for daily task guidance and computer vision-based freshness checks), and Smartsupply (demand aggregation and supply chain alignment) to optimize the entire fresh product lifecycle from forecasting to shelf execution. The two suites share data on inventory, waste, and freshness to provide unified intelligence across the retail network. The platform is sold as an integrated SaaS offering with dedicated Customer Success Manager support for deployment and ongoing optimization.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Smartdetection: AI-powered system that automatically identifies products approaching expiration, providing store teams with prioritized guidance for short-shelf products.
• Smartdecision
• Smartorder
• Smartsupply
• Smartdonation
• Smarttasking
• Food Waste Management System (FWMS)
• Fresh Operating System (FOS)

Products and services

• Food Waste Management System (FWMS) AI-powered end-to-end platform that identifies items near expiry, guides store teams on the optimal action (discount, donate, or remove), and protects profit margins while reducing food waste. Built on the Smartdetection, Smartdecision and Smartdonation modules and sold to grocery retailers and hypermarket chains.
• Fresh Operating System (FOS) AI-powered platform that guides ordering, replenishment and daily decisions to keep freshness high, cut overstock, avoid empty shelves and maximize profitability across all fresh categories. Powered by Smartorder, Smarttasking and Smartsupply modules and sold to grocery retailers as an integrated solution or standalone product.
• Smartdetection Automated short-shelf product detection system that identifies items approaching expiry in seconds, reducing manual date checks by up to 75% and eliminating expired products on shelves. Sold to grocery retailers and deployed as part of the Food Waste Management System.
• Smartdecision AI-powered revenue recovery module that recommends the optimal action for near-expiry products (discount, donate, or remove) and executes dynamic pricing to maximize margin recovery of +0.3 to +0.6 percentage points. Sold to grocery retailers as part of the Food Waste Management System.
• Smartdonation Automated food donation management module that streamlines traceable food donations, strengthens brand and social commitment, and turns end-of-life products into charitable contributions rather than waste. Sold to grocery retailers as part of the Food Waste Management System.
• Smartorder AI-powered order recommendation engine that calculates optimal order quantities for each product, automatically balancing freshness, availability and profitability while reducing overstock and out-of-stock across all fresh categories. Sold to grocery retailers as part of the Fresh Operating System.
• Smarttasking AI-powered mobile companion that gives fresh produce teams daily guidance with smart alerts, photo-based freshness and merchandising checks, layout suggestions and built-in training. Reports cuts waste by 25%, lifts sales by 2–4%, and reduces admin time by 30%. Sold to grocery retailers as part of the Fresh Operating System.
• Smartsupply Demand management and supply chain alignment module that aggregates forecasts from all stores, prevents stockouts, eliminates inefficient push flows, and keeps the supply chain aligned with real store needs. Sold to grocery retailers as part of the Fresh Operating System.

Quantifiable outcome

• 420M+ products saved across all deployments
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

AI capability8 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• TilrayminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 April 2026Smartway is one of several international partnerships announced by Tilray (NASDAQ:TLRY) to enhance distribution and revenue. The partnership is part of Tilray's strategy to expand global operations, though specific details of the Smartway collaboration are not detailed in the announcement.
• VusionGroupcoreTechnology or IntegrationTechnology partnership combining Smartway's food waste AI software with VusionGroup's smart labels (electronic shelf labels with light signals). Smartdetection FlashEvo integrates Smartway's short-date GPS software with Vusion's intelligent price label technology to locate short-dated products on shelves. The partnership enables Kavanagh's and other retailers to combine software intelligence with retail hardware technology.
• Tops ThailandminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTops Thailand (Central Food Retail Co., Ltd.), Thailand's largest supermarket chain, adopted Smartway solutions as the first retail chain in Thailand to deploy AI-powered food waste management technology. Partnership driven by sustainability leadership and responsibility to set an example in environmental protection.

Scale indicators19 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Market position

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/smartway_retail

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors6 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Smartway