Vallarta Supermarkets is a 55-location grocery chain known for its authentic Hispanic grocery products such as freshly made tortillas, in-store guacamole stands and taquerias, along with other in-store culinary experiences.

The company faces intense pressure to deliver farm-fresh goods daily across its California stores. For Director of IT Lee Allen, the stakes are high — ensuring warehouse operations are accurate, safe and fast enough to support same-day distribution from dock to shelf. In a supply chain landscape where many retailers struggle with labor retention, process inefficiencies, and system downtime, Vallarta needed a solution that could guarantee precision and resilience. 

When Allen joined Vallarta nine years ago, the company had just worked with grocery supply chain systems partner NCR to implement a new WMS and voice technology for warehouse workflows in two of their distribution centers.

Voice at Vallarta, according to Allen, has always been a no-brainer. “(Voice) allows the selector to focus on what they’re doing — fulfilling an accurate order, every time, with no extraneous information, no additional noise.” 

“It’s also a safety measure. That driver on the floor, that selector, they’re not having to look down at a screen, they’re not having to look at a piece of paper or a wearable device or whatever,” says Allen. “(Instead,) they’re paying attention to the environment that they’re driving in and operating in, and focusing on an accurate order. That’s the promise of voice.”

In 2021, Mountain Leverage took on Vallarta’s voice partnership after an acquisition. The transition didn’t just preserve Vallarta’s robust voice performance; it elevated it. 

Leaning on decades of dedicated voice expertise, Mountain Leverage prioritized visiting Vallarta on-site, evaluated the current system’s health, and made immediate recommendations for improved efficiency and performance. 

The automated voice dialogue that the DC associates hear in their wireless headsets allows them to move product seamlessly and safely, without having to stop and confirm their information manually on a handheld device. 

Mountain Leverage’s devices are rugged, so no one ever has to worry about dropping or damaging them in the busy DCs, and “purpose-built,” as Allen calls them – designed uniquely for a voice-guided warehouse worker’s peak performance. 

“We don’t think about it. It works. It’s effective, rock-solid stable, it doesn’t go down, it just keeps working,” Allen says.

“Our users were saying that there were certain functionalities they wished the voice solution could do,” Allen recalled. “And the Mountain Leverage team goes, ‘Oh, it does do that, and it does it better than you think it does.’ The Mountain Leverage team stepped in and helped us squeeze everything we could out of that solution.” 

Vallarta saw significant benefits from the improvements. Allen says that, with Mountain Leverage’s guidance, Vallarta has continued to see gains in operational efficiency, accuracy and employee satisfaction. 

More importantly, says Allen, Mountain Leverage acts not as a vendor, but a strategic partner with eyes on the market and the future. 

"(Mountain Leverage) are helping us make sure that we're maintaining visibility to what's going on in the marketplace. That's something we've gotten in spades from the team," Allen says. “They’re a partner. They understand our business. That allows us to keep a very, very fresh product in front of our customers.” 

Allen says that this trusted relationship has positioned Vallarta to future-proof its distribution network. Rather than pushing a pre-packaged roadmap, Mountain Leverage takes a consultative approach, advising Vallarta on the best-fit upgrades, automation paths and integration strategies to align with their growth. 

Every so often, Allen says, a company approaches his company to sell a new or competing warehouse solution, but Vallarta continues to see the ideal value from voice. 

By combining customer championship, technological innovation, and strategic insight, Allen says, Mountain Leverage helps Vallarta uphold its promise to customers: fresh, authentic ingredients delivered every day, powered by voice-enabled supply chain excellence. 

Resource Links: 

Vallarta Supermarkets, https://vallartasupermarkets.com/en/

Mountain Leverage, https://www.mountainleverage.com/vallarta-supermarkets-voice-success-story/