Including Alphamega, Waitrose, Asda, Moss, and Currys: May’s biggest retail technology plays at a glance

RTIH rounds up the stand out retail systems deals, deployments and pilots from May, including Pricer, Trust Retail, Instacart, OneStock, Microsoft, Accenture, Aptos, Blue Yonder, and StrongPoint.

Alphamega

Pricer’s partner StrongPoint has signed an agreement with Alphamega, the largest grocery retailer in Cyprus, to install electronic shelf labels in all its stores. The value of the contract is approximately 37 MSEK and roll-out is expected to begin in 2024 and be completed by 2026.

“We are excited that our solution will support Alphamega in its digitalisation journey,” says Mats Arnehall, Chief Commercial Officer at Pricer.

“The adoption of our cloud-based platform Pricer Plaza represents a significant leap forward and empowers this leading retailer with centralised control and management of pricing, product information, and promotions across all stores, ensuring real-time updates and eliminating the need for manual adjustments.”

Waitrose

Waitrose is working with Trust Retail, a Trust Payments company, to implement a new system which aims to improve store availability and free up Partner time for customer facing activities. 

The tie up will involve rolling out a more dynamic store inventory management system which will give stores a near real-time view of their stock position and improve data driven decisions.

Waitrose is investing heavily in new technology across its supply chain and recently laid claim to significant progress in availability, which now stands at record levels.

Under the Trust Retail system, Waitrose Partners will be able to receive stock quickly and efficiently, which will allow their time to be diverted to other customer facing tasks.

EE

EE is introducing a new cloud-based PoS solution from Aptos in its retail stores. The aim is to enhance customer engagement capabilities and reduce the IT infrastructure footprint in each store. 

Following a six week pilot across 15 locations, the software is being rolled out to EE’s more than 400 stores across the UK.

As part of the IT refresh across its retail estate, EE has upgraded to a newer version of Aptos’ PoS solution, delivered via SaaS, which will run on mobile devices that its employees can use throughout the store.

They will be able to complete all sales, service and operational processes from a single device, instead of multiple devices for different tasks.

EE has also removed fixed tills from each of its stores, allowing staff to have more personal conversations with shoppers, while also helping to reduce any potential congestion and queues. 

Colruyt Group

StrongPoint reports that Belgian retailer Collect&Go, Colruyt Group’s online shopping service, is trialling its grocery lockers for e-commerce orders. 

The lockers will be installed at a number of Colruyt Group locations, providing customers with a way to collect their online groceries.

“We are thrilled to partner with Collect&Go, Colruyt Group’s online shopping service, and have them use our grocery lockers,” says Jacob Tveraabak, CEO at StrongPoint.  

“Our Click and Collect e-commerce locker solution is designed to provide a high level of convenience, security, and efficiency, which perfectly aligns with Collect&Go’s commitment to exceptional customer service. We are proud to have been chosen for the pilot and look forward to the next steps.”

Asda

Asda  has extended its technology partnership with Retail Insight, a provider of store operations execution software, with a view to improving on-shelf availability and the in-store experience.

The tie up involves a full store roll-out of Retail Insight’s Inventory Insight solution.

Asda now operates over 800 locations across its UK wide store estate - from supercentres, superstores, supermarkets, Asda Living stores, petrol stations and depots, and serves 18 million customers every week. 

With its significant store footprint and the sheer number of SKUs it stocks, it has inevitably felt the impact of inaccurate inventory and wanted to improve stock accuracy across its store network. 

The Home Depot and Instacart

Instacart and The Home Depot have announced a Stateside partnership to offer same-day delivery in as fast as an hour from nearly 2,000 store locations.

Customers can now order a wide range of home improvement items – from home appliances and building supplies to light fixtures and garden essentials – directly to their doorstep.

This follows a pilot in select markets earlier this year.

The service also includes Instacart’s Big & Bulky fulfilment solution, which ensures same-day and scheduled deliveries for heavy items up to 60 pounds, such as grills, ladders, and large boxes.

7-Eleven

ATM solutions provider, FCTI, has extended and expanded its long-term relationship with 7-Eleven, the largest convenience store chain in the United States.

Under the terms of its new agreement, FCTI will continue to operate ATMs in 7-Eleven branded locations, expand its services to Speedway branded locations, and roll-out new retail financial services to 7-Eleven customers.

It expects to increase its number of ATM locations from about 8,600 to 11,600 by the end of 2025.

Along with this expansion comes a variety of new services that FCTI plans to test and introduce to 7-Eleven customers and its ATM users.

Heineken

Heineken has announced a supply chain planning capability partnership with Blue Yonder.

The global brewer will implement Blue Yonder Cognitive Demand Planning, a cloud native, microservices-based SaaS solution, that utilises artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to improve forecast accuracy and reduce bias by considering dynamic external and internal variables.

Heineken has been implementing Blue Yonder solutions for multiple years.

It has selected the company as one of its current major supply chain solution providers, as it looks to future proof its demand planning process and leverage AI/ML, autonomous scenario planning, planning process orchestration and solution extensibility.

JYSK

Home furnishing retailer JYSK has announced deployment of its new Unified Commerce PoS platform in Portugal.

In a LinkedIn post, Jens Norby, Retail Process Coordinator at JYSK, said: “We’ve taken a huge leap forward!”

“This week has been a milestone for us as we’ve installed our new Unified Commerce PoS platform in a pilot store in Portugal. We’re now ready to roll-out the new platform to more stores, and the number will only increase week by week. Next stop: Spain!”

He added: “A big shoutout to everyone involved, from the local forces who have worked hard on the preparation to our dedicated IT developers at JYSK who have put in tremendous effort to reach this milestone.”

“Now, we’re facing the Hypercare period, and then we’ll set our sights on the next two countries: France and Austria. We’re ready to continue this journey.”

Currys

Currys, an omnichannel retailer of technology and electrical products and services, has selected Accenture and Microsoft to deliver its core cloud technology infrastructure that will enable it to leverage the latest AI technologies to enhance operations, elevate the shopping experience, and improve the colleague experience for its 25,000 people.

Accenture and Microsoft, together with their joint venture Avanade, will work with Currys to modernise, secure and simplify its technology estate, enabling Currys to accelerate the adoption of Microsoft AI technologies such as Azure OpenAI Service.

Alex Baldock, Group CEO, Currys, says, “AI is the biggest technological leap of our life time. Currys exists to help everyone enjoy amazing technology, so as well as bringing the benefits of AI to millions of customers, we’ll do the same to our own business.”

“We couldn’t have better partners for this, and together we aim to put Currys at the forefront of digital transformation in retail. We’re just starting out here, but the possibilities are vast. I’m looking forward to unlocking big benefits for our colleagues, customers and shareholders.”

Moss

Formal menswear specialist, Moss, has implemented OneStock’s distributed order management system (OMS) to improve operational efficiencies and enhance its customer experience.

With 107 UK stores and a global online presence, the brand was looking for a technology partner who could help it leverage its entire stock pool to efficiently fulfil orders both online and in-store.

As a predominantly event-based retailer with a versatile range of menswear, Moss customers’ order sizes are large, with items often sourced from various locations.

It was keen to reduce lead times and delivery costs for customers by better utilising its distribution centre and stores around the UK.

Following a discovery phase, OneStock’s order management system was implemented and integrated with Moss’ existing systems including Remarkable Commerce, Dolphin ERP and Xiatech’s Xfuze platform.

The retailer says that it now has end-to-end visibility of every order with access to all pools of inventory in all locations, and full control of fulfilment processes across all channels.

Wow Bao

Wow Bao has unveiled a new mobile app with a fresh interface and all-in-one navigation that allows guests to order delivery anywhere, anytime from its over 700 virtual kitchens.

Platforming with Lunchbox, an enterprise restaurant technology solution provider, users can now purchase Wow Bao from over 6,000 retailers across the US all from the palm of their hand, via a fully branded custom UI.

Wow Bao was one of the first in the industry to unveil a mobile ordering app in 2010. After several advances to its Hot Buns Club rewards programme, the brand required an app that consolidated ordering, earning, and tracking points and rewards.

The app also incorporates Wow Bao’s CPG vertical and through Smart Commerce, enables users to link to their local grocer to purchase the product from their personal device.

Additionally, users can enter Wow Bao’s exclusive Dim Sum Palace Roblox experience through the app. Once in the experience, they can uncover clues and claim a free box of Wow Bao and enter to win bao for a year.