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In the last decade large supermarket chains have started developing and implementing automated store ordering (ASO) systems in order to improve both the quality and efficiency of the inventory replenishment decisions in their stores. These ASO systems have been developed mainly for non-perishables. The aims of this paper are The research is carried out in cooperation with two Dutch supermarket chains and focusses on perishable items. To further improve the intelligence in the ASO systems, we will classify the items in a supermarket, based on the notion that different items need different inventory control rules. For every class of items, we describe the main logistic characteristics; moreover, for the perishable items we describe the inventory control rules which are currently being applied and we discuss the desired inventory control strategy for these items.