Pizza chain teams up with Ford to test self-driving deliveries Domino’s Pizza is conducting a second round of self-driving delivery vehicle testing, with a focus on the customer experience. The two-month test in Miami, in partnership with Ford Motor Co., will leverage the learnings of the first round of testing, but will add the element of delivery in a larger, urban setting. “Our first round of testing the customer experience in Ann Arbor provided some great learnings and insights, including the fact that there are customers who are interested in this as a delivery option,” said Kevin Vasconi, executive vice VP and CIO of Domino’s. “Our testing is focused on the last 50 ft. of the customer experience, between the front door and the car. While we work to refine that interaction, we also need to understand how operating this type of delivery in a more densely populated city will impact the customer experience and the specific delivery challenges it might present.” For the test, a Ford Fusion Hybrid vehicle – manually driven but outfitted to look like a self-driving vehicle – will take deliveries from a Miami Domino’s store to customers who have ordered online and chosen to participate in the test. Participating customers will be able to track the vehicle via GPS and will receive text messages as the self-driving vehicle approaches. The texts will also provide them with simple instructions on how to unlock the Domino’s “heatwave compartment” inside the vehicle using a PIN code. “As the automotive world evolves towards self-driving vehicles, we hope to put ourselves in a leading position by bringing our customers the delivery option that best meets their needs, now and in the future,” said Vasconi. Domino’s Pizza is the largest pizza company in the world based on sales. It operates more than 14,800 stores in over 85 markets, and had global retail sales of over $12.2 billion in 2017, with more than $5.9 billion in the U.S. and more than $6.3 billion internationally. https://www.chainstoreage.com/... Last edited: 27-Feb-18 10:48 PM
regidk · Feb 27, 2018 10:47 PM · 132 views
May be it's gonna be like...Fast Track on toll bridge? Santa Clara, Calif.-based AiFi, a self-described “computer vision technology company,” said Tuesday it has created a scalable checkout-free solution for stores of any size. AiFi has teased a pending rollout with a major retailer on a scale CEO Steve Gu said would be “orders of magnitude bigger than the Amazon Go store.” “Consumers and businesses alike want to be efficient and with a checkout-free store, consumers have an incredible shopping experience,” Gu said. “The shopping experience now demonstrated and widely promoted by Amazon is just the tiniest taste of what the AiFi technology will do for retailers — with shops that range from tiny to huge.” AiFi’s concept uses artificial intelligence, sensor and camera networks and an integrated system to make a checkout-free experience possible for any retailer, the company said. AiFi said that its solution combines AI algorithms that can track people in real-time and recognize actions and products with a camera technology that it said can adapt to a large store or a small corner store. Systems in AiFi’s solution continuously track shoppers in-store, recognizing them as they make their way through the aisles — even recognizing people shopping together as a group. As with Amazon Go, with AiFi’s technology, shoppers can walk out the store and be charged for what they pick up without standing in a checkout line. According to Gu, Americans spent roughly 37 billion hours in line last year, during which more than 90% of retail sales came from physical stores. The new focus for retailers is convenience for shoppers and increased inventory management capabilities for retailers. AiFI’s technology can recognize tens of thousands of SKU item numbers based on AI, the company said, noting that once installed with no major retrofitting, it offers retailers inventory management data and insights into shopping behavior and preferences. Once it rolls out at the end of the year, AiFi will highlight that a retailer doesn’t need to have Amazon’s scale to deliver on convenience, Gu said. “Because our technology is massively scalable, tens of thousands of stores worldwide can become a ‘grab-and-go’ type of retailer,” he said. “Our solution helps stores run more efficiently and provides customers with a better shopping experience. Run in, grab what you need and continue on with your day. Easier for shoppers and more insights and real-time statistics for stores so they can better serve their customers and manage overall operations.” https://www.chainstoreage.com/... Last edited: 27-Feb-18 10:52 PM
regidk · Feb 27, 2018 10:50 PM
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