ReSKU

Introducing

ReSKU is a progressive web app (PWA) and a companion mobile app designed to enhance coordination between warehouse employees and food bank representatives for better digital donation management.

Reporting

Transperency

Efficiency

Defining the Problem

How might we help Kroger warehouses digitize the handling of unsellable goods to ensure clear and efficient coordination with food banks?

How does ReSKU help Kroger?

More insightful data

Tax deductions

Reduced disposal costs

Brand awareness

Kroger ReSKU

Fostering Effective Communication Between

Kroger Warehouses and Food Banks

See features

Read the story

Project vision

ReSKU is a progressive web app (PWA) and a companion mobile app designed to enhance coordination between warehouse employees and food bank representatives for better digital donation management

Client

Kroger

Timeline

5 months

Role

Product Designer

Platform

Website

Mobile app

Industry

B2B
Supply chain

Arrange all within one spot

A centralized dashboard to streamline inventory tracking, donation coordination, communication, and reporting, designed for Kroger warehouses and their food bank partners.

Smart Inventory Flagging

Quickly capture and categorize unsellable goods for donation using a simple, intuitive interface.

PARA Method

Built on the PARA (Projects, Areas, Resources, Archives) framework to structure donation workflows—helping staff quickly find what matters, when it matters.

End-to-End Donation Management

Track every step from product flagging to food bank pickup. Keep processes clear, tasks visible, and decisions documented.

Real-Time Reporting

Generate clean, exportable donation reports with just a few clicks, ensuring accountability and supporting compliance efforts.

Project context

Kroger’s ‘Zero Hunger, Zero Waste’ goal of rescuing surplus food from stores, has enabled Kroger to donate millions of pounds of food to worthy food banks. While retail stores have relatively structured approaches to donations, warehouses & distribution centers have more varied systems, due to a number of business and logistical challenges. This project introduces ReSKU, a web app and a companion mobile app to streamline this process by digitizing it, to facilitate faster and more efficient food donations.

The Design Process

Studying

the brief

Drawing

insights

Crafting

User journeys

Building

Information

Architecture

Ideating and

Wireframing

Creating

the Prototype

Story time- The Beginning

Kroger, one of the largest grocery retailers in the United States, has long been committed to sustainability through its "Zero Hunger Zero Waste" initiative. This ambitious program aims to eliminate food waste while tackling hunger in the communities Kroger serves.

However, the process of donating unsellable but consumable goods from their warehouses to local food banks was fraught with inefficiencies. Manual paperwork, informal communication channels, and a lack of real-time data tracking made the process cumbersome and prone to errors.

“This project brilliantly blends thoughtful design with Kroger’s strategy, elevating customer experience and driving strong cross-team collaboration. It’s a powerful example of innovation in action.”

Senior Product Designer

Kroger Technology & Digital

Gaps in the System

Key challenges that disrupted efficiency, visibility, and coordination

across Kroger’s donation workflow.

Projects and Tasks

Employees lacked a centralized way to manage donation tasks, leading to confusion, delays, and missed handoffs between warehouse and food bank staff.

Manual Paperwork

Donations were tracked using handwritten forms and spreadsheets, slowing down the process and increasing the risk of errors and data loss.

Transparency Issues

Food banks often had no visibility into what was available for pickup, while warehouses had no clear tracking of what was collected or when.

Lack of Real-Time Data

Decisions were made with outdated or incomplete information, causing inventory to expire before it could be donated.

Ineffecient Data Management

Data was scattered across emails, logs, and third-party tools, making it difficult to generate reports or track donation history.

Fragmented Communication

Critical updates were lost across calls, texts, and emails, leading to misaligned pickups, wasted effort, and unreliable coordination.

Insight Patterns

A synthesis of the most critical breakdowns in data, communication, and operations.

Reporting & Visibility

Food banks struggle with timely and accurate donation data due to reliance on third-party agencies.

Operational inefficiencies

Manual processes for donation selection at Kroger stores lead to inefficiencies and errors.

Communication & coordination

Efficient communication between food banks and retail stores remains a challenge, even with platforms like FeedingAmerica.

From identifying unsellable goods to final delivery at food banks, every step was scrutinized. We created detailed flowcharts to visualize the journey of a donated item, identifying bottlenecks and points of failure. This comprehensive analysis revealed three key issues:

Working with Hoosier Hills Food Bank, we discovered that the food donation process relied heavily on third-party platforms like Meal Connect. The food bank faced challenges in accessing and tracking donated inventory, ensuring food quality, and maintaining effective communication with Kroger.
Food Sourcing Managers
Foodbanks
I was skeptical at first, but this Notion task management template has exceeded my expectations. It's simplified our workflow and increased our team's efficiency.
Member
Zero hunger zero waste team
Frustrated by the lack of a single system for tracking donations. They explained how manual records often led to delays and mistakes.
Warehouse Managers
Kroger

Working with Hoosier Hills Food Bank, we discovered that the food donation process relied heavily on third-party platforms like Meal Connect. The food bank faced challenges in accessing and tracking donated inventory, ensuring food quality, and maintaining effective communication with Kroger.
Food Sourcing Managers
Foodbanks
I was skeptical at first, but this Notion task management template has exceeded my expectations. It's simplified our workflow and increased our team's efficiency.
Member
Zero hunger zero waste team
Frustrated by the lack of a single system for tracking donations. They explained how manual records often led to delays and mistakes.
Warehouse Managers
Kroger

Working with Hoosier Hills Food Bank, we discovered that the food donation process relied heavily on third-party platforms like Meal Connect. The food bank faced challenges in accessing and tracking donated inventory, ensuring food quality, and maintaining effective communication with Kroger.
Food Sourcing Managers
Foodbanks
I was skeptical at first, but this Notion task management template has exceeded my expectations. It's simplified our workflow and increased our team's efficiency.
Member
Zero hunger zero waste team
Frustrated by the lack of a single system for tracking donations. They explained how manual records often led to delays and mistakes.
Warehouse Managers
Kroger

The Research Phase

Goals

In the first leg of our research, our questions and goals were a lot broader - trying to understand overall systems and their impact on the key stakeholders. Further it involved multiple phases, including secondary research on Kroger’s sustainability goals and primary research through stakeholder interviews and warehouse visits.

Stepping Into the Warehouse

Our research journey began with visits to Kroger’s warehouses, where we hoped to get a real sense of how the food donation process worked. Walking through the busy aisles, we saw firsthand the challenges staff faced.

Conversations with Stakeholders

The main stakeholders we were going to be designing for would include:

Warehouse staff responsible for managing inventory and logistics.
Food bank operators who will coordinate with Kroger for receiving donations.

Impact and Future Steps

ReSKU aligns with Kroger's sustainability goals by reducing food waste and supporting community welfare through efficient food donation. Moving forward, the focus will be on refining the app based on user feedback and exploring opportunities for wider implementation across Kroger's network.

In summary, ReSKU not only addresses operational challenges but also reinforces Kroger's commitment to sustainability, setting a benchmark for digital innovation in the grocery retail sector.