Woolworths Group – A Decade of Network-Wide Innovation and Sustainability at Scale
Woolworths Group operates one of the most complex and geographically diverse retail networks in Australia, with over 1,200 supermarkets spanning the country. Managing energy, refrigeration, and workforce operations at this scale requires more than reactive fault detection—it demands cross-network intelligence.
Since partnering with Bueno, Woolworths has built one of the world’s most advanced grocery analytics ecosystems, using near real-time insights to drive action, reduce emissions, and transform portfolio performance.
The Challenge – Turning noise into action across 1,200+ stores
Across a national portfolio, even small inefficiencies can lead to major impacts. Refrigerant leaks, energy drift, and inconsistent technician performance can silently erode both operational budgets and sustainability gains.
But traditional tools failed to scale. Woolworths needed a single platform that could connect to all in-store systems—refrigeration, HVAC, lighting, metering, solar—and deliver clear, daily insights across all stores, tailored to each team.
What sets Bueno apart is their ability to deliver value across our entire network. Whether it’s leak detection, technician workflows, or site-level energy insights—we get clear, actionable data across all 1,200 stores.” — Woolworths Operations Team
The Journey Begins – One platform for energy, workforce, and refrigeration management
Bueno’s platform now monitors 178,000+ devices across the Woolworths network, collecting data every 5 minutes from all critical systems. This enables the Energy Management Centre (EMC) to track root causes, manage labour, and target improvement efforts through four integrated modules:
- Refrigerant Compliance: Predictive leak detection and charge tracking
- Refrigeration Management: Fault detection and asset performance insights
- Workforce Optimisation: Technician workflows, triage support, and first-fix tracking
- Energy Optimisation: Store benchmarking and Energy Slip anomaly detection
The result is a modular, scalable solution tailored to grocery operations—built to drive results.
The Results – Scaling intelligence, one store at a time
With analytics embedded in every store, Woolworths has shifted from reactive response to portfolio-wide foresight. The outcomes are clear:
- $80 million+ in cumulative energy savings
- 27% reduction in operational carbon emissions
- 37% reduction in refrigerant leaks
- 1,885 service calls avoided
- Standardised visibility across 1,200+ stores
Each insight is designed for action—whether it’s identifying a leaking rack, triaging a contractor task, or benchmarking a store’s energy drift against peer locations.
The Results – Unlocking patterns, not just fixing faults
Woolworths now uses the platform not just for daily fixes, but to inform long-term strategy:
- Fleet-Wide Benchmarking: Store rankings on energy, leaks, and callouts
- Outlier Detection: Flagging sites with recurring energy slip or excessive faults
- Technician Performance: Central tracking of task closure, repair quality, and workload
- Capital Planning: Data to guide investment decisions and retrofits
This cross-site intelligence helps Woolworths stay ahead of maintenance trends, ESG goals, and operational risks—at scale.
Conclusion / Next Steps – Setting a global benchmark for grocery sustainability
From leak reduction to labour efficiency and energy performance, the Woolworths–Bueno partnership shows what’s possible when technology, data, and operations align. The platform delivers more than reports—it empowers teams across every level of the business to act quickly and effectively.
And while this is a proudly Australian success story, the same strategies are now being applied to global markets. As US retailers navigate new AIM Act refrigerant rules and seek scalable energy strategies, Woolworths’ approach offers a proven model for what modern grocery analytics can achieve.
Ready to take a look at your Grocery portfolio. Contact Bueno and talk to our industry experts.
