Carrefour: Wifirst operates a high-density LAN/WiFi network across 4,600 locations

Carrefour chose Wifirst to take on a large-scale industrial challenge: taking over operations for 4,600 sites and modernizing the LAN/WiFi infrastructure of its stores across France. A strategic partnership designed to streamline the customer experience and maximize staff productivity through a highly available network infrastructure.

// THE CHALLENGE: A NETWORK DRIVING RETAIL TRANSFORMATION

Connecting business functions and enriching the customer experience

At Carrefour, the network is no longer just a connectivity tool: it's the critical nervous system of the store, where data flows have become the true engine of every business function. The LAN and WiFi infrastructure operated by Wifirst directly supports five major shifts:

• Full staff mobility: traditional tools are giving way to 100% smartphone-based solutions that guide employees in real time (inventory management, shelf outages, shrinkage).
• Smart shelving: the store becomes intelligent (geolocated shelving units, next-generation electronic shelf labels, AI cameras for merchandising).
• E-commerce growth: optimized order picking through product geolocation and LED guidance systems on the sales floor and in the drive-through storage area.
• Checkout modernization: securing and streamlining flows (traditional checkout lanes, self-checkout islands, scales) to reduce customer wait times.
• Connected customer experience: free, high-speed in-store WiFi, working in perfect synergy with the Carrefour mobile app (self-scan, digital receipts).

From butcher labs to gas stations: an all-terrain network

Retail is a hostile environment for radio waves and network infrastructure. To guarantee absolute business continuity, Wifirst installs powerful equipment throughout the store, adapting its engineering to each type of area:

This wireless coverage relies on next-generation cabling that eliminates interference and delivers ultra-fast internet speeds.

This large-scale rollout remains completely invisible to customers and employees. Even though preparation takes several weeks, installations and network cutovers are carried out only at night. Stores can therefore open at their usual time, with no disruption to sales.

Auditing, monitoring, and securing every site

To manage such a vast and diverse portfolio, Wifirst relies on its proprietary tools:

• AUDIN, the pre-visit audit application, precisely models each store's existing network (racks, switches, access points) and automatically generates a migration plan tailored to its specific constraints.
• HyperIS provides detailed technical monitoring of the LAN and WiFi infrastructure, store by store.
• The SupervisionBox continuously tests, on-site, the actual state of WiFi and business applications, to detect and resolve incidents before they impact the store.

This combination of tools allows Wifirst to manage a diverse portfolio with the same level of rigor, regardless of store format.

// OPERATIONS: PRECISION DRIVING INDUSTRIALIZATION

A mass rollout with immediate performance gains

Since April 27, 2026, Wifirst has taken over full operations of the entire existing network portfolio, comprising approximately 4,600 sites in France, including hypermarkets, supermarkets, cash & carry stores (Promocash), convenience stores, and logistics warehouses. A large-scale industrial challenge, backed by a dedicated 24/7 retail operations team, proven processes, and proprietary tools capable of managing heterogeneous infrastructure.

Full visibility into operations, every day

On the Carrefour side, operations are managed through Wifirst Center, the web and mobile portal that provides real-time visibility into network status across all sites: a dynamic monitoring dashboard, a map of all stores, equipment visualization directly on each site's floor plans, private WiFi management, and direct contact with Wifirst support whenever needed. A single tool to track the health of a portfolio of this scale, store by store.

By demonstrating its responsiveness, rigor, and industrial adaptability from the very first weeks of this operational marathon, Wifirst is laying the foundation for a lasting relationship with Carrefour, focused on excellence, store by store.