The rise of the influencer: RTIH’s biggest retail technology articles on LinkedIn right now
We’re big fans of LinkedIn and are busy building an amazing community of retail tech enthusiasts on the social media platform. These are the articles that are currently on their radars, including OnBuy, Klarna, Asda, Wayve, ShipStation, AiFi, Żabka Nano, Baltic Petroleum, Leafio, and OPLOG.
Drum roll, please. RTIH publishes its 2023 Top 100 Retail Technology Influencers List
The latest edition of the RTIH Top 100 Retail Technology Influencers List has arrived!
Here are the people who made a splash in 2022 and are set for a barnstorming 2023.
RTIH has scoured the retail technology world to find the most influential figures for this comprehensive list of people and trends that shape the industry and help drive it forward.
We’re living in unprecedented times.
The Covid-19 outbreak has driven a seismic change in shopping habits, with checkout free stores, automation in the supply chain, rapid delivery services, and the metaverse making waves.
Such disruption requires new ways of problem solving and thought leaders who can both evangelise and execute on the likes of digital transformation and omnichannel success.
Which is where the RTIH Top 100 Retail Technology Influencers List comes in, presented, we should stress, in no particular order.
We hope you enjoy reading through it and, as always, if you would like to give feedback or believe that there are some glaring omissions, please feel free to get in touch here.
Download the list in pdf format here.
Or read via Issuu.
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UK online marketplace OnBuy introduces Klarna buy now pay later service on over 35 million products
OnBuy has launched Klarna Pay Now, Pay in 30 Days and Pay in 3 across 35 million+ products.
The e-commerce firm says that this is a response to increased consumer demand for a wider range of payment options.
A recent survey conducted by the online marketplace showed that one in three people choose to shop with a retailer because they offer their preferred payment method.
Cas Paton, CEO at OnBuy, comments “We’re committed to giving consumers the shopping experience they want. Our customers have asked for the flexibility to make purchases in a way that suits them, and we’re excited to be able to respond by launching Klarna across our site.”
“The introduction of more payment options also benefits our sellers, as more choice for our customers ultimately results in more sales overall.”
Selfly Store introduces RFID technology powered intelligent freezer for unattended retail
Selfly Store, an intelligent vending company owned by Stora Enso, has announced the commercial launch of its latest product, the Selfly Freezer.
This is pitched as the first intelligent vending freezer on the market.
It is the latest addition to the Selfly Store Model 3 product family, which offers a complete self-service solution through hardware, cloud-based software, RFID tags, and a service network.
Using RFID technology, it provides real-time item level data analytics with the aim of optimising sales and operations while reducing food waste.
A checkout-free first: AiFi powered Żabka Nano autonomous store opens at hospital in Poland
Żabka Group’s Żabka Nano pop-up autonomous store offering is now live at Szpital Wojewódzki w Poznaniu hospital in Poland.
In a LinkedIn post, Patryk Powierża, Head of Growth at Żabka Polska, said: “First Żabka Nano store in a hospital.”
“We truly believe that autonomous stores can bring more convenience to the life of our customers. Thanks to this autonomous technology we can open our store in locations where traditional stores can’t appear.”
“Our Nano store in the hospital will be open in a few weeks and it will be ready to serve patients, their families, and hospital employees in 24/7/365 mode.”
Driving businesses forward: Retail Technology Show announces 2023 Innovation Awards shortlist
Retail Technology Show, which is set to take place on 26th and 27th April at London’s Olympia, has announced the shortlist for its 2023 Innovation Awards.
Ten solutions have been shortlisted as “shining examples of trailblazing tech and innovation that can help retailers drive their businesses forwards and generate competitive advantage – from new retail formats, to enhanced customer engagement or increased operational efficiencies”.
Asda and Wayve lay claim to UK’s largest self-driving grocery home delivery trial
Asda customers can now receive their shopping via a Wayve self-driving vehicle in what is pitched as the UK’s largest autonomous grocery home delivery trial.
In partnership with Wayve, the year long trial will give the supermarket the ability to autonomously deliver groceries to a catchment area of over 170,000 residents across 72,000 households in London.
The self-driving vehicles will join its existing online delivery operation at the Park Royal superstore in West London and have the capability to drive themselves to customers’ homes.
Asda Park Royal customers can place their next-day delivery orders online as usual, choosing from the full range of online products and selecting a delivery slot that suits them.
The only difference is they could be randomly selected to have their order delivered in a self-driving vehicle.
During the trial, both an Asda colleague and supervising Wayve safety driver will be in the vehicle when making deliveries. Asda colleagues will load and unload the groceries at the customer’s home.
Baltic Petroleum boosts store inventory and planogram management processes with Leafio AI tie up
Baltic Petroleum, a gas station operators in Lithuania, has chosen Leafio technology for its convenience stores' inventory and merchandising operations.
This is a cloud-based solution that combines AI algorithms and automation of retail processes.
Running a chain of 84 petrol stations in Lithuania, Baltic Petroleum managers faced the need to unify approaches to stock replenishment and planogram creation.
They searched for in-depth, solid analytical tools for making informed managerial decisions.
"We chose Leafio because we liked the team's energy and expertise. They already have successful implementation projects for gas station chains in different countries with good efficiency results,” says Edvin Bachšijan, СEO at Baltic Petroleum.
“We understood that we could trust them because their team not only implements solutions but also helps to build correct and more effective business processes.”
“We understand that the success of this project will be the result of a joint effort and we are happy to see a professional approach from Leafio with specific KPIs and experience in our field of work.”
Turkish fulfilment company OPLOG opens its first UK warehouse for retail and e-commerce brands
OPLOG, an Istanbul-based company, has opened a fulfilment centre in Leighton Buzzard, its first such facility in the UK.
By combining its in-house fulfilment software and robotics, OPLOG, which was founded in 2013, provides companies such as Sony, Tupperware, and Rossmann with a way to oversee their supply chain operations from a single platform.
Close to various last mile delivery and logistics operators, Leighton Buzzard was selected as the ideal location for OPLOG’s push into the UK.
The firm intends to hire 50 employees, who will be responsible for running the day-to-day operations at the warehouse.
“LA is just the beginning”: AI powered logistics startup Gently completes first delivery
Gently, a Los Angeles-based AI powered logistics firm, marked its official launch yesterday by delivering its first item in West Los Angeles.
Co-founded by former Harvard Business School classmates Anas Aljumaily and Elian Pres-Gurwits, Gently is seeking to create a fully decentralised supply chain in America by 2040.
The firm is a last mile delivery provider that partners with retailers and leverages artificial intelligence and predictive data to store goods closer to the customer.
ShipStation adds native integration to NetSuite for UK and ANZ customers
ShipStation, a cloud-based e-commerce shipping solution, has announced its integration with Oracle NetSuite, in order to help UK and ANZ organisations better manage distribution channels and the customer experience.
NetSuite Connector for ShipStation aims to help organisations achieve fast and efficient shipping by providing full round trip order fulfilment processing, keeping vital information centralised and eliminating manual data entry, costly errors, and delays by automating the near real-time transfer of data between the two applications.
Retail Technology Show 2023: Retail Express to join leading tech innovators
RTIH sits down with Ed Betts, Retail Lead Europe at Retail Express, who considers ahead of Retail Technology Show 2023 the role of intelligent merchandising technology and its critical place in the future of retail.
Former On The Beach and Booking.com exec Craig Griffin appointed CTO at Journey Hospitality
UK hotel technology company Journey Hospitality has appointed Craig Griffin, former Head of Engineering at Booking.com and most recently Director of Engineering at On The Beach, as Chief Technology Officer.
Griffin will work alongside CEO and Founder, Simon Bullingham, and COO Mark Reed, who will manage the company’s operations and lead product client services and agency services.
Bullingham says: “Craig’s experience leading and scaling software teams with Booking.com and On The Beach will enable us to grow our talent and organisation to deliver our technology to a wider audience.”
“Craig understands the complexities of hotel tech and will help us continue to innovate the online guest experience for a more profitable future for the industry.”
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