WSU prof saves Kroger more than $170 million

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A Wright State University professor is among six finalists worldwide competing for the prestigious Franz Edelman Award for his work developing a way for Kroger pharmacies to more accurately predict what customers will need.

Kroger is already saving more than $170 million a year using the system created with Xinhui Zhang, a Wright State professor since 2003.

Zhang said pharmacy demand is never certain. Companies risk sinking too much money into inventory when items go unused or expire or they can lose customers to other stores when items are not in stock, he said.

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