Summarised by Centrist
Starbucks is scrapping an AI-powered inventory system across its North American stores after staff said it caused shortages, inaccurate orders and extra workplace stress.
The system, known internally as Siren Craft System, was designed to forecast demand, track ingredient use and generate supply orders without manual input.
Starbucks had promoted the tool as part of a wider push to modernise operations, reduce waste and free staff from administrative tasks.
Instead, baristas and store managers reported that the system often miscalculated store needs, leaving some locations short of milk, syrups, cups and other core supplies during busy periods.
Staff also said the software sometimes over-ordered less commonly used products, failed to account for local events, weather and seasonal changes, and forced managers to manually override automated recommendations.
The failure comes as Starbucks faces slowing sales, labour tensions, pressure over prices and investor demands for faster service and lower costs.
Starbucks says it will return inventory management to a mix of manual systems and older forecasting tools while reviewing other technology options.
The company says the decision only affects this specific system and does not mean it is abandoning wider AI, automation, mobile ordering or digital customer analytics.
