ufirst brings queue management system to UK
Italian queuing system venture, ufirst, is launching in the UK.
Its app was trialled at several Sainsbury’s stores during the summer.
ufirst has appointed as partners, Sean Gogarty and Jat Sahota, former senior executives at Unilever and Sainsbury’s respectively, to head up the UK launch. They will do this via RangeFinder, an investment vehicle set up by the pair focusing on technology solutions that drive growth and margins for retailers and brands.
The system, available via app and the web, is licensed to client businesses and allows users to join a single queue or different queues remotely, showing them where they are in each queue, so that they only need to turn up in person when their turn is approaching. It can also be used to check whether a specific time and date to access a service is available and to book.
During the pandemic, ufirst helped more than two million Italians do their grocery shopping. It is being used in the country across local government, universities, and hospitals/healthcare settings as well as by Ikea, McDonald's, Esselunga, mobile operators TIM and Wind3 and such banks as Unicredit and BNL BNP Paribas.
Sahota says: “Retailers have done a great job of implementing Covid-compliant measures inside their stores, but few have properly thought through how to manage queues in the cold, wet months ahead.”
“Best in class queue management will be a vital part of the customer experience. A business that can organise its queues efficiently will win in the safety stakes and stand to gain market share in the difficult times ahead.”
Matteo Lentini, ufirst MD, adds: “During the early days of the pandemic, Italy was the first European country to learn the hard way, that a highly organised approach to queuing was the only way to ensure that people got the essential goods they needed, safely.”
“We are excited to be bringing our technology and experience to the UK, a key market in our international expansion strategy and one that is highly receptive to innovative products like ours. We look forward to bringing a better customer experience to UK business and consumers.”
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