Retail News CRM

Tag: Solution

  • Blume Debuts Affordable, Gut-Friendly Sodas at Woolworths: The Tasty Solution to Australia’s Fibre Deficiency

    Blume Debuts Affordable, Gut-Friendly Sodas at Woolworths: The Tasty Solution to Australia’s Fibre Deficiency

    Blume, an Australian brand known for its prebiotic beverages, has expanded its reach by launching its gut-friendly drink line in Woolworths stores across the nation. At only $3 per bottle, these drinks offer a healthier, high-fibre, and low-sugar alternative to traditional soft drinks.

    Flavours and Nutritional Benefits

    Blume’s product lineup consists of three flavours: Raspberry Lime, Mango, and Lemon Yuzu Ginger. Each bottle contains 6g of plant-based fibre, which Blume states accounts for over 20% of an adult’s recommended daily fibre intake. These beverages also contain approximately 90% less sugar than the average soft drink.

    Rachel Castelino, the founder of Blume, developed these drinks to address the prevalent fibre deficiency in Australia. Research has shown that about 72% of Australians do not meet the suggested daily fibre intake.

    Addressing Australia’s Fibre Deficiency

    Castelino believes that introducing Blume’s products into Woolworths stores will aid in mitigating Australia’s fibre deficiency while also reducing sugar consumption. “Our expansion into Woolworths will help achieve our goal of bridging Australia’s fibre deficiency gap and decreasing the sugar content in our diet,” she stated.

    Considering the current cost-of-living crisis, Castelino also emphasized that Blume aims to develop products that not only benefit consumers’ health but also their financial well-being. “We wanted to create something that genuinely makes people feel good, both in terms of their gut health and their wallet,” she added.

    Blume’s beverages are designed to enhance fibre consumption and reduce sugar intake, strategically positioning the brand at the intersection of health-focused and affordable beverage alternatives.

    Questions & Answers

    What is the mission of Blume’s beverages?
    The mission of Blume’s beverages is to address Australia’s fibre deficiency and reduce sugar consumption by providing a healthier alternative to traditional soft drinks.

    Why has Blume decided to launch its product line in Woolworths stores?
    Blume’s expansion into Woolworths stores is a strategic move aimed at increasing its product accessibility to consumers across Australia, thus helping to bridge the fibre deficiency gap in the country.

    What makes Blume’s drinks stand out from other soft drinks?
    Blume’s drinks are unique due to their high fibre content, low sugar levels, and affordability. Each bottle of Blume’s drink provides over 20% of an adult’s daily fibre needs and contains 90% less sugar than conventional soft drinks.

  • Heritage Retailer Sincere Revolutionizes Customer Engagement With Successful Whatsapp Reactivation Campaign

    Heritage Retailer Sincere Revolutionizes Customer Engagement With Successful Whatsapp Reactivation Campaign

    In the face of evolving consumer behaviour and economic instability, traditional department stores such as Sincere, a well-established name since 1900, are required to modernize. Recently, Sincere demonstrated that not only is digital transformation viable for heritage retailers, but it can also be highly lucrative.

    Partnering for Success

    To achieve this, Sincere collaborated with Sanuker, a WhatsApp business solution provider, and Linkage, a retail solution expert, to launch a comprehensive WhatsApp reactivation campaign. This campaign aimed to re-engage inactive customers and increase visitor numbers in physical stores. The results were exceptional, with a 72 per cent coupon redemption rate, a 25 per cent click-through rate, and an incredible 290X return on ad spend – achievements that have since been hailed as a success story.

    The strategy behind the “Sincere Crazy Sale” campaign involved using WhatsApp for message broadcasting and real-time coupon redemption through POS. The campaign harnessed Sincere’s previous customer purchase activity data to distribute highly personalized digital coupons via WhatsApp, which could be redeemed in-store through a QR code system validated by Linkage’s POS. This approach developed a seamless and trackable online-to-offline (O2O) experience, successfully increasing foot traffic back to physical stores.

    David Li, Marketing Manager at Sincere, stated, “We succeeded in effectively re-engaging our inactive and VIP customers. The execution of this campaign significantly improved store visitor numbers and yielded results that greatly surpassed our expectations.”

    The Power of Integration

    Despite its potential, many retailers are still running their business messaging in isolation from their POS or CRM systems, which limits scalability and personalization. In contrast, the solution provided by Sanuker and Linkage enables programmatic audience targeting, campaign automation, and performance feedback loops, transforming WhatsApp into a valuable engagement tool rather than a one-time messaging platform.

    Sanuker and Linkage combined their expertise to offer a fully integrated, scalable solution specifically for Hong Kong retailers. With over three decades of experience in retail systems, Linkage ensures the synchronization of POS and CRM data and campaign logic. This enables precision in programmatic marketing, such as targeting customers who have previously purchased specific product categories, setting up tier-based offers for high-spending members, and providing real-time insights on response rates, redemptions, and even post-campaign purchasing behaviour.

    WhatsApp has proven to be an effective channel for re-engaging inactive customers and reaching high-value segments due to its extensive reach and immediacy. It offers better open rates than other channels such as email or SMS.

    Transforming the Retail Landscape

    In an era where customer loyalty is increasingly hard to secure, providing personalized, timely, and trackable promotions is crucial. Sincere’s campaign has not only proven beneficial for the brand, but it also serves as a template for how traditional retailers can thrive in a digital-first world, placing WhatsApp at the heart of a broader customer strategy.

    Questions & Answers

    What is the significance of Sincere’s recent campaign?
    The campaign demonstrates how traditional retailers can successfully transform digitally without losing their heritage, offering a blueprint for others to follow.

    How does the solution provided by Sanuker and Linkage work?
    By integrating with a retailer’s existing POS and CRM systems, the solution allows businesses to target audiences programmatically, automate campaigns, and receive real-time performance feedback.

    Why is WhatsApp an effective channel for re-engaging customers?
    WhatsApp offers unmatched reach and immediacy, with open rates often surpassing those of email and SMS, making it an effective tool for reconnecting with lapsed customers and activating high-value segments.

  • UBS Rolls Out Permanent Hybrid Working Option

    UBS Rolls Out Permanent Hybrid Working Option

    UBS will allow up to two-thirds of its staff to permanently split working hours between home and the office, in hopes that the approach could help outdo U.S. rivals in requirement.

    An internal analysis of the 72,000-strong global workforce identified that around two-thirds had roles that were fit for hybrid working, according to a report citing unnamed sources, equivalent to more than 48,000 employees.

    The arrangements will be based on an individual’s role, tasks, and location with some, such as traders and branch staff, offered little flexibility with requirements to work on site. For certain activities, even hybrid workers will be required to come into the office to attend.

    No date has been set for a return to the office, according to the plan which is being led by chief executive Ralph Hamers.

    UBS’commitment to more hybrid working contrasts with that of major U.S. rivals which are not only increasingly asking workers to return but also demonstrating relatively critical views about the state of affairs.

    If you can go to a restaurant in New York City, you can come into the office and we want you in the office, Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman said at a recent conference.

    Last year, UBS even explored the potential to have traders operate outside of the office, experimenting with virtual reality headsets for its London-based staff.

  • Inmarsat and Skylo collaborate on world’s first commercial narrowband IoT over satellite solution

    Inmarsat and Skylo collaborate on world’s first commercial narrowband IoT over satellite solution

    Inmarsat will provide Skylo, a satellite-based narrow-band (NB) IoT solution company the satellite capacity backbone to deliver its IoT solutions for connecting machines and sensors.

    The agreement pairs Inmarsat’s exceptionally reliable global satellite network with a complete, easy-to-use IoT solution that provides even the most remotely located application users with real-time, actionable insights; helping improve efficiencies, increase profits, improve sustainability, and save lives.

    The solution is available now in India through a partnership with in-country partner BSNL and expansion plans will be announced later this year.

    “The most effective IoT solutions require a truly resilient and flexible network that can scale as demand grows,” said Rajeev Suri, Inmarsat Chief Executive Officer.

    “Inmarsat’s industry-leading L-band network provides a unique capability for enabling the billions of connected IoT devices in India and across the world that are being deployed at an extraordinary speed.  We are delighted to work with Skylo to provide the IoT fabric that matches their ambition.”

    “Skylo makes simple, reliable IoT connectivity available to everyone at disruptively affordable rates,” commented Skylo CEO and co-founder Parth Trivedi.

    “Even more attractive than a sharp increase in adoption due to low barrier-to-entry is deploying critical new business capabilities as machine data becomes readily available and accessible. Our global IoT connectivity fabric makes way for thousands of life-changing applications — from managing vaccine efficacy during delivery to advancing precision farming, to provide early warnings in the event of natural disasters. We look forward to expanding globally and making our platform available to small and large enterprises, companies deploying new sensors, systems integrators, distributors, Governments and OEMs.”

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  • UOB Deploys AI-Powered AML Solution

    UOB Deploys AI-Powered AML Solution

    The bank’s new artificial intelligence (AI) solution was developed in collaboration with Singapore-based regulatory technology company Tookitaki, after more than two years of validation and evaluation.

    UOB has pioneered an AI solution that is highly accurate in identifying suspicious transactions and connected parties as it combats the increased sophistication in financial crime, it announced on Thursday in a statement.

    The bank’s use of AI enables it to pinpoint higher-priority cases from the 5,700+ average monthly suspicious transaction alerts flagged and to deploy the necessary resources to investigate potential money laundering attempts. The new solution can spot more sophisticated transaction patterns and is more effective at connecting data points with entities using the financial system, UOB said.

    The AI solution, which complements the traditional rules-based method, is being used to screen all customers and transactions involving Singapore-based UOB accounts and will be expanded to cover all UOB accounts globally.

    Our AI solution works concurrently on two AML risk dimensions, which is technically more difficult, but also more fruitful as it helps us to pinpoint criminals trying to pose as customers. UOB will continue to invest in advanced technology to strengthen our AML system to deal with emerging risks,» Victor Ngo, UOB’s head of group compliance, said.

    According to the bank, the new solution has proven an overall true positive prediction rate of 96 percent among high priority cases, which includes transactions and accounts that are deemed most likely to be suspicious and are therefore subject to earlier and more thorough investigations.

    Tookitaki is a graduate of UOB FinLab’s second accelerator program in 2017.

    Going live with UOB is a testament to our ability to develop and to harness the benefits of new-edge technologies such as machine learning to mitigate real-world problems of money laundering,» Abhishek Chatterjee, founder and CEO of Tookitaki, said.

    Founded in 2014, Tookitaki’s revenue growth has surpassed 300 percent over the last two years. It raised $19.2 million in Series A funding in 2019, which the startup said would be used to grow its presence across the U.S. and Asia-Pacific.

  • DHL launches suite of semiconductor logistics solutions

    DHL launches suite of semiconductor logistics solutions

    DHL is revamping its logistics offering for the semiconductor industry by bundling individual solutions under DHL Semiconductor Logistics. This suite of services covers the entire value chain from inbound to manufacturing facilities through to final distribution to end users and provides end to end visibility of products, full compliance with international regulations and maximum security of sensitive and high value goods.

    “With more than 3,000 dedicated employees and 50 facilities worldwide, we have built extensive infrastructure and expertise for the semiconductor industry. With our new offer, we connect DHL’s broad capabilities, enabling us to individually service our customers along their complete supply chain in a cost-efficient way. This becomes crucial for an industry that requires special logistics to be a competitive differentiator,” said Rob Siegers, president, DHL Technology Sector.

    The semiconductor industry is undergoing significant changes due to the increased demand created through trending digitisation and Internet of Things applications. After a moderate growth in 2016, the market is expected to grow in revenues by 16.8 percent surpassing first time a market value of US$400 billion, mainly driven by shortages in the supply in the memory segment.

    In combination with increased merger and acquisition activities, growth coming from automotive and industrial applications as well as wearable consumer devices, changes in manufacturing and supply networks are common. DHL’s new suite of semiconductor logistics services addresses this development and is designed to improve flexibility and agility of semiconductor supply chains.

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  • Ericsson, Cisco to launch joint Wi-Fi solutions

    Ericsson, Cisco to launch joint Wi-Fi solutions

    Ericsson and Cisco have announced an expanded partnership covering the delivery of a new Wi-Fi solution for mobile, cable and other industries’ customers.

    The new Evolved Wi-Fi Networks (EWN) offering combines Ericsson’s 3GPP access and core network technologies with Cisco’s Wi-Fi portfolio.

    The offering will cover pre-integrated solutions including indoor small cells and operator Wi-Fi over Ericsson outdoor access networks and Ciso WLAN.

    Integrating Cisco WLAN with Ericsson macro or indoor access networks will also allow operators to steer users between mobile and Wi-Fi access networks to ensure a superior end-user experience.

    In addition, core network integration will allow operators to offer all their core network services over Wi-Fi for multi-mode devices.

    Design and deployment of new products based on the offering will be handled by Ericsson’s services organization, and the solutions will be bundled with Ericsson managed services as well as customer support, design and deployment services.

    “Our strategic partnership brings together the capabilities of two leading players in networking, mobility and cloud, creating the best end-to-end solutions and opportunities for our customers,”

    Ericsson Head of Region North America Rima Qureshi said.

    “By adding Wi-Fi solutions into the partnership, we will enable our customers to offer best-in-class Wi-Fi in their networks, complemented by our leading 3GPP portfolio and services organization.”

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  • Airtel Digital TV powers HD offerings with Harmonic solution

    Airtel Digital TV powers HD offerings with Harmonic solution

    Airtel Digital TV has deployed a compression headend solution from Harmonic in an effort to substantially improve the HD viewing experience for its customers.

    The high-density, scalable and HEVC-upgradeable video infrastructure solutions from Harmonic is expected to help Airtel Digital TV increase bandwidth efficiencies and significantly improve video quality while lowering operating expenses.

    The deployment is also expected to enable Airtel Digital TV to expand its DTH HD portfolio to over 50 premium channels, making it one of the largest HD offerings in India today.

    “Harmonic’s compression solution allows Airtel Digital TV to deliver superior video quality at low bit rates while adapting to next-generation video compression standards such as HEVC,” said Dan Taylor, general manager in India at Harmonic.

    “Our video infrastructure solutions help customers like Airtel Digital TV reduce OPEX and drive new business growth by simplifying the launch of additional HD channels,” said Taylor.

    At the heart of the headend solution is Harmonic’s Electra X2 advanced media processor, which promises high-quality, low-bandwidth MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 encoding of SD and HD video content for live DTH services.

    The Electra X2 media processors support a wide range of video formats and codecs for satellite delivery, including HEVC, simplifying operations and future upgrades for Bharti Airtel.

    At Airtel Digital TV, the Electra X2 media processors will be integrated with Harmonic’s ProStream 9100 stream processor and ProView 7100 integrated receiver-decoder (IRD), and controlled by Harmonic’s NMX video network management solution.

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  • Made-in-China.com increases website traffic with cloud

    Made-in-China.com increases website traffic with cloud

    Made-in-China.com, a global trade commerce company, has grown its website traffic over 2000 percent using a managed cloud portfolio.

    The dedicated hosting solution from Backspace, which is part of its managed cloud offering, allows the company to have full control over its servers while also enjoying high levers of speed and performance.

    “As an ecommerce company that connects worldwide buyers with Chinese suppliers, it is critical that we provide a user-friendly and quality experience to our customers around the world,” said Tao Yan, IT Manager, Made-in-China.

    The company started working with Racks[ace in 2006 and has since then grew its website traffic from 1 to 2 million to 25 to 35 million today. Revenues also increased from CNY43 million (USD6.9 million) annually in 2006 to approximately CNY500 million (USD80.5 million) a year today.

    “Because of the company’s support, we’ve been able to focus on growing our business year-over-year, as opposed to investing our time handling IT issues, as we did with our previous provider,” Tao Yan added.

    In the eight years that Made-in-China has worked with Rackspace, the company’s infrastructure has also grown dramatically, from just two servers in 2006 to a total of 23 servers hosted in the US, as well as seven cloud servers hosted in Hong Kong.

    While Made-in-China is based in Nanjing, China, over 70 percent of Made-in-China’s web traffic comes from overseas, meaning it needed a reliable hosting provider that could support its business globally.

    “With more and more China-based companies expanding West, demand has spiked for stable and flexible hosting solutions that can manage traffic around the globe,” said Ajit Melarkode, managing director, Rackspace Asia-Pacific.

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