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How CPG Brands Keep Up with Retail’s Fastest-Moving Consumer Demands

Nobody understands the frustration of consumers who can’t find the products they’re looking for more than the experts at Teamcore, an artificial intelligence (AI)-based startup with operations in Latin America and the United States. Teamcore’s cloud-based software platform uses machine learning to power intelligent workflow automation that tells consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies and retailers why products aren’t selling and what they can do about it fast.

“We help CPG companies and retailers make sure products are available when their customers are ready to buy,” said Sergio Della Maggiora, founder and CEO of Teamcore. “Whether someone is shopping online or in a physical store, our retail execution platform based on intelligent workflows helps connect data across the supply chain – from warehouse to shelf, virtually or in-store – so companies don’t miss out on sales opportunities.”

Intelligent Automated Workflows Boost CPG Sales

Based on sales data analytics, Della Maggiora said that Teamcore’s machine learning algorithm detects when products aren’t selling as planned and, in over 94% of cases, finds the root cause of the problem before assigning a task. Unlike garden variety alerts, Teamcore’s intelligent workflow notifications keep going until they reach the people who solve the problem. If someone in replenishment can’t find the product in the warehouse to restock virtual or in-store shelves, the workflow automatically routes that task to the appropriate store sales representatives, all the way up to regional store and supply chain managers.

“Teamcore connects the whole CPG and retail team for opportunity detection sales and doesn’t stop until someone actually fixes the problem,” said Della Maggiora. “Over time, the collected data trains the model, improving its accuracy and ability to make predictions about potential issues.”

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Anthill Deskless Workforce Software Solution Now Available on SAP Store

Anthill AI Inc. announced that its Anthill Deskless Workforce Software solution is now available on SAP Store, the online marketplace for SAP and partner offerings. Anthill’s solution integrates with SAP SuccessFactors solutions and delivers talent management communications for the deskless workforce to customers.

“Often, the most overlooked workers are deskless workers, found in manufacturing, retail, and supply chain related jobs, especially when it comes to talent management solutions,” said Muriel Clauson and Young-Jae Kim, Anthill’s co-founders. “By integrating our offering with SAP SuccessFactors solutions and offering it on SAP Store, Anthill looks forward to providing customers with the ability to better meet the needs of their deskless employees, by connecting with them and helping to develop their skills.”

Anthill Deskless Workforce Software is a machine-learning enabled, SMS-based solution built for the unique challenges and needs of the deskless workforce, those who never work at a desk or computer. Anthill helps deskless workers stay in the loop; feel valued and heard; and get the right opportunities for reskilling, training and advancement. With the Anthill solution, customers can reach their deskless workers with engagement, reskilling, and operational communications — employees can communicate and learn more about themselves via text, while employers gain actionable, data-driven insights about their employees. In 2021, Anthill participated in the SAP.iO Foundry New York program, during which it focused on building out its solution.

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Pexapark to accelerate the energy transition

More than 80 companies across Europe are currently using Pexapark’s Operating System, to manage, sell and buy renewable energy. Over the past 12 months, revenues tripled and the team grew from 20 to almost 50 members, a growth rate that is now recognized by the Innosuisse Certificate.

In 2017, the three co-founders Michael Waldner (CEO), Florian Müller (CTO) and Luca Pedretti (COO), established Pexapark driven by the mission to empower renewable energy players to thrive in post subsidy markets. The idea came up at a time when the renewable energy sector started undergoing a fundamental change with markets transitioning from a heavily subsidized system to an open market. Energy revenues are subsequently becoming volatile, technical and complex to manage, and investors are struggling to oversee their assets in an effective manner.

Headquartered in Schlieren, Pexapark has created a platform that offers investors a more effective solution to manage the energy sales of their wind farms and solar parks. Through its renewables operating system, Pexa OS, the start-up offers an all-in-one solution that helps clients to execute robust strategies for the sale of their renewable power via PPA (power purchase agreement) transactions and other hedging instruments through active portfolio and risk management software and advisory services.

Over 80 leading energy companies including Enel, Uniper, Encavis, RWE, BP and Abo Wind utilise Pexapark’s solutions to support their commercial renewable energy activities. Most recently, IKEA became one of a growing number of major corporates to sign a customer agreement with Pexapark, utilising its platform to support their green energy procurement strategy. Renowned industry giants including SAP.io and EEX have also joined the start-up’s partnership and collaboration agreements list. “Working with such reputable companies is an indication that we are addressing a major pain point in the sector. As the renewable energy industry continues to grow, we envision our start-up becoming a major player worldwide as the leading green energy trading platform,” says Waldner. Thanks to the continued trust by its customers, Pexapark has seen a threefold increase in revenues on a year-on-year basis.

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How CPG Brands Keep Up with Retail’s Fastest-Moving Consumer Demands

Nobody understands the frustration of consumers who can’t find the products they’re looking for more than the experts at Teamcore, an artificial intelligence (AI)-based startup with operations in Latin America and the United States. Teamcore’s cloud-based software platform uses machine learning to power intelligent workflow automation that tells consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies and retailers why products aren’t selling and what they can do about it fast.

“We help CPG companies and retailers make sure products are available when their customers are ready to buy,” said Sergio Della Maggiora, founder and CEO of Teamcore. “Whether someone is shopping online or in a physical store, our retail execution platform based on intelligent workflows helps connect data across the supply chain – from warehouse to shelf, virtually or in-store – so companies don’t miss out on sales opportunities.”

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Wise Systems Raises $50 Million in Series C Financing

Wise Systems announced it has raised $50 million in Series C financing led by Tiger Global Management with participation from new and existing investors that include Section 32, Valo Ventures, Gradient Ventures, and Prologis Ventures.

Wise Systems’ real-time, automated system powers delivery and service operations with drivers worldwide across the last-mile industry. The company will use the financing to further accelerate product development, market expansion across key geographies, and address the increasing global demand for the company’s next-generation dispatching and routing solutions.

“The last-mile industry has undergone radical transformation over the last five years, driven by a combination of technology, customer appetite, and disruptive newcomers like Wise Systems,” said Chazz Sims, CEO and co-founder of Wise Systems. “With this latest round of funding, we’re excited to invest further in our business and continue to push the boundaries of innovation and customer experience, embedding machine learning and AI in service of automation, efficiency and carbon reduction.”

A leader in AI technology for last-mile delivery operations, Wise Systems saw significant growth over the two past years, growing 300% year-over-year, experiencing increased demand for the company’s autonomous dispatch and routing technology across a number of markets. Today’s announcement comes on the heels of other significant developments for Wise Systems this year, including the availability of its platform in the SAP App Store and its launch in Japan. In July, Wise Systems announced a partnership with Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC), under the umbrella of Daimler Trucks Asia (DTA), to offer the company’s AI-driven routing and dispatch software to MFTBC customers in Japan. The partnership extends Wise Systems’ reach to the commercial vehicle industry in Japan, one of the busiest last-mile markets in the world.

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How SAP Is Tapping into Startup Innovation

Alexa Gorman, senior vice president and global head of SAP.iO Foundries and Intrapreneurship at SAP, was featured earlier this year by Handelsblatt, the German business newspaper, as one of the “100 female leaders moving Germany forward.”

After years working in business development and strategy roles, Gorman took on joint responsibility for SAP’s startup acceleration programs at the start of May, along with the intrapreneurship team that supports ambitious innovators within the company.

Creating a Win-Win-Win Scenario for Customers, Startups, and SAP

The SAP.iO Foundries program was created as a strategic business unit in 2017. “We saw a need to work more closely with startups in a curated way, as startup innovation was becoming increasingly important for our customers in their digital transformation journeys,” Gorman says. “With SAP.iO Foundries, we are offering them the innovative power of pre-selected startups whose solutions can integrate seamlessly with SAP solutions. And while most of the startups are at an early stage, we do a lot of due diligence to ensure that they will be long-term, viable partners of SAP.”

Photo credit: Steven Lüdtke.

Gorman joined the team in 2017 and set up SAP.iO Foundry Berlin, the first of its kind in Europe. Located across 10 locations today, SAP.iO Foundries make up a global network of top-tier startup programs, including accelerators, that can enable startups to build and scale innovative software solutions that deliver value to SAP customers.

Over the past four years, Gorman and her team have been working with over 330 early-stage startups to bring them into the SAP ecosystem and make them the next generation of SAP partners.

“We encourage the startups to use or integrate with SAP technology and support them in doing so,” she explains. “In exchange, the startups expand their ability to scale more quickly through access to our customers and fast-track support to becoming an SAP partner. Thus, we can ensure that our customers have access to the latest and best startup innovation that increases the return on their investments in SAP.”

The SAP.iO Foundries program has received numerous awards and, most recently, took the lead in GlassDollar’s corporate-startup innovation rankings.

Currently, 135 startup solutions are available on SAP Store. “Every week, new startup solutions are being added to SAP Store where they become available to SAP’s sales teams and our customers,” Gorman says.

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NWO.ai Partners with SAP to Help Consumer Packaged Goods Companies Stay Ahead Utilizing Petabytes of External Data

NWO.ai announced it is one of the first data providers to offer a solution – its Consumer Intelligence solution – on the data marketplace for SAP Data Warehouse Cloud. The data marketplace is a new feature of the SAP Data Warehouse Cloud solution which enables businesses and IT users to directly consume partner data offerings that are available on SAP Store.

By tracking emerging cultural and consumer behavior shifts globally, NWO.ai provides clients with a significant competitive advantage and helps them stay close to their customers. Specifically, consumer product companies can now leverage Consumer Intelligence from NWO.ai to:

  • Analyze and identify potential demand growth drivers
  • Track global cultural shifts by analyzing billions of data points in under 60 seconds
  • Understand consumer sentiment and the leading indicators behind it
  • Deep dive on microtrends associated with products and categories
  • Identify the influential voices and brands that drive the consumer narrative

“We’re thrilled to be extending our Consumer Intelligence solution to the data marketplace for SAP Data Warehouse Cloud via SAP Store, helping customers to further benefit from valuable petabytes of external data that NWO.ai is continuously analyzing. We are pleased to help customers turn unstructured data into actionable insights,” said Pulkit Jaiswal, co-CEO of NWO.ai.

SAP Store, available at store.sap.com, delivers a simplified and connected digital customer experience in finding, trying, buying and renewing more than 1,800 solutions from SAP and its partners. There, customers can find both SAP solutions and SAP-validated solutions they need to grow their business.

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Joanna Riley, CEO And Co-Founder At Censia, Wins Silver Stevie® Award In 2021 Stevie Awards For Women In Business

Censia has announced that CEO and Co-Founder, Joanna Riley, was named the winner of a Silver Stevie® Award in the Female Entrepreneur of the Year  – Business Services – 11 to 2,500 Employees category in the 18th annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business.

Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Award winners were determined by the average scores of more than 160 business professionals  around the world, working on eight juries.

The Stevie Awards for Women in Business honor women executives, entrepreneurs, employees, and the companies they run- worldwide.  The Stevie Awards have been hailed as the world’s premier business awards.

Winners will be celebrated during a virtual awards ceremony on Thursday, January 13, 2022.

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Switzerland-based Archlet raises €8.6M to help companies to make better sourcing decisions; here’s how

Zurich-based Archlet, a B2B SaaS application platform that empowers company buyers to make informed decisions in strategic sourcing, announced that it has secured $10M (approx €8.62M) in its Series A round of funding.

The fundraise comes early for Archlet, as it raised its $2.8M Seed round in January 2021. The additional capital will allow Archlet to further boost product development and to expand into new markets.

The round was led by HV Capital. Existing investors Wingman Ventures, Senovo, and La Famiglia also participated in this round. Business Angel Matthias Hilpert completed the round and said he will continue to support Archlet on its journey.

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SundaySky Video Experience Creator Now Available on SAP® Store

SundaySky video platform delivers 20-30% engagement improvement, deepens customer relationships through integration with SAP Commerce Cloud

SundaySky, an SAP® silver partner and leader in video experiences, announced that the SundaySky Video Experience Creator is now available on SAP Store, the online marketplace for SAP and partner offerings. Customers using SundaySky can now accelerate video content velocity, as well as deploy data-driven contextual and relevant experiences on SAP Commerce Cloud sites and via email to outperform acquisition, retargeting, upsell, and loyalty goals. The SundaySky Video Platform is fully integrated with the SAP Commerce Cloud solution. Additionally, data from SAP Customer Data Cloud or core data services can be leveraged for video personalization with SundaySky’s native data connectors.

SAP Store, found at store.sap.com, delivers a simplified and connected digital customer experience for finding, trying, buying and renewing more than 1,800 solutions from SAP and its partners. There, customers can find the SAP solutions and SAP-validated solutions they need to grow their business. And for each purchase made through SAP Store, SAP will plant a tree.

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Too Good To Go Celebrates 1 Year Fighting Food Waste in the U.S.

Too Good To Go, the tech-for-good company powering the world’s #1 anti-food waste app, today celebrates its first anniversary in the U.S. and the impact it’s had fighting food waste across the country, from New York City, Washington, D.C. and Chicago to Austin, San Francisco and Seattle. Via the Too Good To Go app, available for iOS in the Apple store or Google Play for Android, the company has successfully connected millions of Americans with surplus from local restaurants, bakeries, cafes and grocery stores so delicious food doesn’t go to waste, or further contribute to the climate crisis.

The newest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, released last month, called attention to a shocking reality of the climate crisis, notably that food waste now contributes to 10% of all global greenhouse gas emissions—up from 8% in years prior. With this in mind, Americans now have an easy way to take action against food waste through the Too Good To Go app. In just one short year in the U.S., over 1.5 million Americans and 5,000 food businesses have downloaded the app, and collectively saved over 800,000 meals – the carbon footprint equivalent to 394 flights around the world.

“The U.S. has really embraced our super simple concept for saving surplus food, to the point where we’ve never seen this amount of impact and growth in a new market this quickly,” said Lucie Basch, Co-founder of Too Good To Go. “We’re so excited to bring our solution to even more U.S. cities in the coming months and we can’t wait to see what next year holds.”

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The tech company that claims it can stop employees from quitting

The strongest thought that abides in me is that technology can solve everything.

The second strongest thought is that technology hasn’t solved everything… yet.

Which then leads me to worry that I’ll never see the glorious day when it has.

So I was uplifted to rafters unimagined to learn there’s a tech company that’s solved a fundamental problem of corporate life: the unhappy employee.

Laugh all you will — I did — but GrowthSpace‘s tease is a tantalizing one. It insists that 97% of the people who were subject to its technology said it was “an active incentive for them to stay at their company.”

How does it do this magical thing? Well, in the company’s own words: “Say goodbye to pouring budget into training programs with unknown results. Say hello to an algorithm-powered system backed by real-world skill mapping that ensures the perfect match between employees and experts. Every time.”

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Threats To Employee Wellbeing Intensify As Pandemic Wears On, MeQuilibrium Study Finds

Threats to employee wellbeing continue to intensify well over a year into the pandemic, as evidenced by a 21% rise in burnout and a 17% increase in somatic stress symptoms, a new meQuilibrium study found. The study examined changes in overall wellbeing among 5,474 meQuilibrium members from a broad range of industries representing managers and individual contributors.

“Employee wellbeing continues to be under threat 18 months into the pandemic,” says Brad Smith, Ph.D., Chief Science Officer, meQuilibrium. “Our data shows that workers continue to feel the cumulative mental health impacts of the crisis in the form of increased stress symptoms, burnout, and diminished motivation. We need to take action now to protect employee wellbeing before the clock runs out.”

The study also revealed a particularly large burnout risk increase among younger workers of 64%, which was nearly three times the increase for employees over 30 (22%). The increase in burnout symptoms is especially high among managers (+54%), hospitality (+48%), health care (+32%) and finance (30%) industry workers.

When it comes to gender differences, meQuilibrium found that although men and women are experiencing about the same rate of increase in burnout (+24% in women and +25% in men), men’s somatic stress levels are rising at a faster rate than women’s (+9% for men vs +3% for women).

No matter what job title, gender or industry, a key factor in wellbeing risk is employer support. Employees who felt strongly supported by their employers reported the highest levels of wellbeing and were less likely to report turnover intent.

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HV Capital invests $10M in Archlet’s Series A

Archlet has successfully closed a $10M Series A funding round that will fuel and accelerate our growth journey even further. This round would not have been possible without the incredible team at HV Capital and the support and sparring from our existing investors. Additionally, we look forward to welcoming our new business angel, Matthias Hilpert, who will assist with strategic advice and action planning.

While the pace at Archlet is higher than ever before, we have taken a moment to reflect on our crazy journey. Since we founded Archlet two years ago, we have been on an incredibly satisfying and humbling adventure with many ups and downs, and, as a team, we have learned something valuable from every one of them. In 2021, our customer base has grown like never before, our dreams, goals, and visions have followed. It is this entrepreneurial spirit that makes the A-Team so exceptional, and we are very proud to be part of this crew.

Every day, the team works hard to get us closer to our vision of seamlessly connecting buyers and suppliers in the global supply chains. And every day, our user experience becomes better and even more intuitive. We are already well on the way, but with our additional funding, we are another step closer to offering a powerful end-to-end sourcing experience that can be used by any buyer in any organization.

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Wisy participates in a “Shark Tank” in Las Vegas and wins audience award

Min Chen, CEO of Wisy, presented before a panel of experts at the “Shark Reef” Startup Pitch, the premier event for the consumer goods and retail industry. Wisy won the Audience Choice award given by the audience to the Startup that presents the best solution to the needs of companies in the consumer product good industry and supermarkets. The event organizers selected Wisy for being a resilient, agile, and visionary company.

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