EuroCIS, the leading trade fair for retail technology, will again feature the Start-Up Hub as a dedicated platform for young, innovative companies with a special commitment to the development of state-of-the-art I.T. systems and solutions in the retail trade after its successful premier last year. This year, the Start-up Hub will have more companies and its own program of talks. This will make it the hot spot for the new generation of retail technology, offering ideal opportunities for young companies looking for contacts with international decision-makers in the retail sector. EuroCIS 2019 will take place from Feb. 19-21 at the fairgrounds in Düsseldorf, Germany.
Of the participating start-ups, nine have so far submitted brief profiles.
Beaconinside
Beaconinside allows a variety of companies from different industries to convert customer visits into analyzable data. A platform helps such companies to use their data to improve the shopping experience and optimize the customer journey making personalized advertising possible and the creation of more relevant and thus more effective marketing campaigns at the point of sale. Retailers can set up and manage large-scale proximity infrastructures for beacons, geo fences and NFC tags, enabling them to obtain location-based data, which can then be comprehensively analyzed.
Brickspaces
Brickspaces is the biggest marketplace for the provision of temporary retail systems in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The focus is on pop-up stores and setting up unique retail systems in the very best geographical locations. The platform of the company shows most of the available space, making it accessible to prospective pop-up tenants. As well as providing information about retail space through this platform, the company’s core expertise lies in its collaboration with agencies and brands. This is where Brickspaces uses its own know-how, advising customers all the way from the moment they start searching for a perfect space to the signing of the lease and beyond. As Brickspaces has access to a unique network in the property market, it can find the ideal venue for virtually any pop-up project.
Fision
The Size Adviser from Fision enables a user to create a personal body profile with virtually any smartphone or webcam. The application then calculates the ideal clothes size from the person’s height and live images. Using an avatar, it is also possible to try on virtual clothes. The tool can easily be integrated into any online shop. Body profiling technology makes it possible to assess different properties of the human body, such as figure, posture and size ratios and also to create a personal 3D avatar. A recommendation function is available to identify products that are specially geared to suit the user. The customer’s shopping experience is optimized through the suggestion of specially tailored products and by providing an opportunity to try on virtual clothes.
Nodis
Nodis is a direct marketing engine for manufacturers and distributors in the consumer goods industry. It enables each user to connect with multipliers and to activate them for the direct sale of their products. Multipliers and suppliers can agree to the release of specific items as well as terms and conditions and can sell the released products through this virtual channel. Sales transactions are concluded on behalf and on account of the manufacturers/distributors. The solution also makes it possible to display specimens at the P.O.S. in a conventional product presentation, so that the relevant multiplier can properly showcase their core competencies without the risk of advance merchandise planning. Nodis handles the entire process chain, including the end user’s payment, and can be set up and operated alongside a business’s existing structures and procedures. This enables suppliers to achieve a significant increase in reach, while at the same time leveraging the benefits of a central warehouse management system. Any high street retailers acting as multipliers can substantially increase the relevance and diversity of their product ranges at the POS and thus draw level with an essential USP of online retailers.
Panther Pricing
Panther Pricing is a cloud application that automatically gives a retailer recommendations for possible price reductions. Prices can be reduced by an average of 3 percent. Thanks to smart machine learning technology, Panther Pricing can answer the most crucial questions concerning the best possible price reductions. It generates prices that are specially optimized in terms of gross profit—individually for each retailer and each product.
Rapitag
Rapitag delivers a new shopping experience in the clothes retail trade. This startup ensures that customers never need to queue up at a cash desk again. Rapitag has developed a new theft-proofing device that opens automatically as soon as the product has been paid for. The customer can pay for products directly with their smartphone by interacting with the security device—at any time and anywhere. There is no need for a central P.O.S. terminal or sales staff as the security device itself stays in the shop and is reused while the customer can simply leave the shop with their purchases.
Sequens IT GmbH
Sequens IT is a customized software development company. Together with their customers, they work out their specific needs and deliver specially tailored solutions. This involves the simple mapping of complex processes. Simple, logical user interfaces are created, and all the resulting systems and solutions are focused on the user’s needs. Arcavis is the ideal cash desk solution for all companies involved in sales or in the retail sector. Whether it’s a single-person business or a major client with several outlets, the software package is sufficiently modular and has enough multi-client capability that it can adjust itself to the customer’s needs. Its user-friendly back end provides important detailed analysis whenever it is needed. All data can be exported and sent to an accountant or trustee.
SimCog Technologies
SimCog Technologies delivers accurate daily sales forecasts at the product level on a continuous basis for the next planning horizon. To develop the necessary specially tailored algorithm, it uses data from online trading, including returns and merges this material with external data such as the weather. The resulting sales forecast makes it possible to gain optimum control over one’s merchandise management. An automatic alert is issued as soon as the sales forecast for an item drops by a significant amount. Based on the sales forecast, SimCog Technologies has developed a simulation tool that shows the dependence of the relevant sales on their price. This makes it possible to identify the best possible prices. The simulation tool automatically recommends price reductions for any items where action is required. SimCog Technologies provides continuous hourly forecasts for the next seven to ten days, specifying how many customers are likely to visit the shop and what will be the most likely hourly sales figure. The tool allows the optimum scheduling of discount campaigns and the most efficient scheduling of staff deployment.
Thinkinside
Thinkinside offers an in-store analytics solution that measures in real time how customers move around the store and which products they interact with. Next, the data is converted to workable KPIs, so that branch and marketing managers can improve their procedures and optimize the profitability of their stores. Thinkinside brings together data from a wide variety of devices linked via the internet (i.e. smartphones, wearable displays, etc.) and converts physical places into interactive and thus accurately measurable environments. This specially developed technology analyses data and calculates KPIs in real time. New KPIs can be dynamically customized as required, offering ideal support for the development of processes within a company. Visual analyses are applied, showing insights that can be implemented in practice. This makes it possible to support decisions which then optimize existing processes and boost efficiency.
The EuroCIS sets the tone in the industry with highly specialized developments and solutions: omni-channel management, business analytics and big data, payment systems, cash management, e-commerce and e-business solutions, ERP and supply chain management, mobile solutions and technologies, checkout management,digital marketing and signage, robotics, workforce management, loss prevention, retail security and weighing technology and food service. For more info, visit www.eurocis.com/start-up.
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