News • Page 26 of 96 • SAP.iO

5 companies reinventing their customer experience with startup innovation

Understanding your customers and engaging with them through personalized experiences is essential for any business. SAP.iO has been working with innovative startups from around the world to help extend our customers’ investment in SAP solutions for E-Commerce, Customer Data, Sales, Service, and Marketing. Today, over 40 SAP.iO startup solutions are integrated with SAP’s Customer Experience portfolio and are available on the SAP Store for customers to discover, learn, and adopt.

We are proud to highlight 5 inspiring stories featuring companies that are delivering world-class customer experiences powered by startup innovation.

McDonald’s & Wagawin: Bringing coupons online to increase customer engagement

Wagawin helped McDonald’s switch from their traditional paper printed coupons to a digital version powered by their platform that integrates with SAP. Their recent campaign achieved more than 2 million ad impressions and provided McDonald’s with valuable insights on customer engagement and preferences.

Wagawin works with SAP Commerce Cloud, SAP Customer Data Cloud, and SAP Customer Data Platform and is available on the SAP Store.

Express & Jebbit: Driving a seven-figure sales increase by nurturing loyal shoppers

Express was looking for a new way to deepen their engagement with their loyalty members. They partnered up with Jebbit to understand customer preferences by providing members with monthly quizzes and challenges that featured incentives like bonus points or monetary credits. While Express initially planned to deepen engagement, rather than conversion, they successfully brought in seven figures of revenue between direct and incremental sales resulting from this program.

Jebbit works with SAP Emarsys Customer Engagement and SAP Customer Data Platform and is available on the SAP Store.

Lidl & parcelLab:  Personalising delivery to build loyalty and increase returning website traffic by 85%

With the help of parcelLab, Lidl was able to increase customer loyalty by delivering automated, personalised shipping messages to their customers. This new experience resulted in 85% of customers returning to Lidl’s webpage and a 12% increase in average basket size.

parcelLab works with SAP Commerce Cloud and SAP Upscale Commerce and is available on the SAP Store.

Werder Bremen & Pico: Deepening fan relationships

Werder Bremen of the Bundesliga is one of the oldest German professional sports clubs with over 40,000 active members and nearly 2,000,000 loyal fans. They worked with Pico to deepen these relationships by creating an automated service to provide fans with unique options for redistributing tickets issued for games that were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pico works with SAP Customer Data Cloud and is available on the SAP Store.

Unilever & Teamcore: Analysing and prioritising retail tasks to boost sales

Unilever found it challenging to manage all the information of the thousands of products and understand what happens in retail stores once products are delivered. By leveraging Teamcore, they now analyse and prioritise huge data sets to accurately understand the reality of what is happening in each store. In addition, the solution automatically generates proactive reminders for tasks like rotating merchandise that leads to improved KPIs and better communication between the retail stores and corporate office.

Teamcore works with SAP Sales Cloud and is available on the SAP Store.

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SAP.iO In San Francisco, Funding Announcement, Supply Chain Management

Verusen Raises $25M in Series B Funding

Verusen, an Atlanta, GA-based provider of tools to manage materials for global supply chains, raised $25m in Series B funding.

The round was led by Scale Venture Partners with participation from current investors Glasswing Ventures, Flyover Capital, Zetta Venture Partners, Forte Ventures, BMW i Ventures, and Kubera VC.

The company intends to use the funds to accelerate its global footprint, and further build out its AI-driven technology platform expanding its reach in both the Indirect MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Operations) and Direct Materials space.

Crosschq Launches Unique Platform To Source Talent With Candidate Referral Network “Crosschq Recruit”

Crosschq, pioneers of the Talent Intelligence Cloud powering a revolution in data-driven hiring and people analytics, announced the launch of Crosschq Recruit, the world’s first recruiting platform built specifically to help companies source qualified talent directly from the professional networks of job applicants.

Crosschq’s Recruit allows talent leaders to effortlessly build talent pools of highly qualified candidates who are open to new career opportunities. This pool is built from individuals who served as a Crosschq 360 reference. When acting as Crosschq 360 reference, that person is invited to “opt-in” and be considered for new job opportunities across the entire Crosschq@ customer base. Profiles of candidates who “Opt-in” are enriched and matched through the Crosschq Talent Intelligence Cloud™ and are directly delivered to the inboxes of recruiters.

Mention Me secures £18.5 million Series B investment led by Octopus Ventures

Mention Me, the customer advocacy platform, has secured a $25m Series B round, led by Octopus Ventures. Lead investor from the prior round Eight Roads Ventures also participated.

The London-based scale-up helps businesses turn referrals into a strategic channel for acquiring high-quality customers, while gathering valuable first-party data that amplifies wider marketing activity.

Mention Me will use the funds to support its vision to make every brand think advocacy-first by expanding into the US, investing in its partner network (which includes Klaviyo, TrustPilot, Ometria and SAP) and developing its product offering. This includes further development of Mention Me’s approach to applying AI and machine-learning to referral data, so brands can more effectively identify their biggest fans and optimise the wider customer experience to drive customer advocacy.

The platform’s unique Referral Engineering® technology has already delivered more than 4.5 million referrals totalling more than USD $1.5 billion in revenue for clients globally. Sports brand Puma, international franchise Pret a Manger, InsurTech unicorn Bought By Many, Europe’s leading online florist Bloom & Wild and international fashion retailer ASOS are among its 450-strong client base.

The funding will also be used to grow the team following a series of senior hires. This includes Roy Robinson from Boxever as CPO to lead product development, Ash Rama, previously at Trustpilot, as VP People and Rebecca Hooley joining from private equity firm Livingbridge as CFO.

Innovating Retail Sustainability with Startups leveraging SAP.iO

https://events.sap.com/noam/nrf/en/videopage.aspx?v=oluBrjrC1RmjVd4M11BDCyn5//79teGPMq+DGevdtkr0ft7t+m5PcL4AdgijZ2ITqCH1mnGNAJ831GmCK+8RXeza1AuCgy2VD+zAkWXZS3U=

This week at the SAP Digital NRF Experience Chantal Emmanuel, CTO and Co-founder of Limeloop, and Kange Kaneene, Vice President SAP.iO Foundries North America sat down with Megan Meany to discuss how Limeloop is innovating to save waste from packages associated with online shopping via reusable packaging paired with a shipping platform that provides reverse logistics, security and more.

Catch the interview here!

SAP.iO In Berlin, Tel Aviv, Business Technology Platform

Alternative Data: Why You Need it & Where to Start

Today’s most critical asset in helping companies make better strategic decisions? Data. And in order to be a successful data-driven company with a competitive edge, internal data just won’t cut it. Companies must incorporate alternative data sources into the mix in order to take advantage of data-based insights, identify microtrends before they become exponential, and to successfully make key strategic business decisions. A perfect example of an alternative data source to tap into? Insights generated by SAP Partner NWO.ai whose solution harnesses machine learning techniques and human metadata to identify global cultural shifts early and throughout the lifecycle of trends.

The biggest challenges facing the alternative data era

As the complexity of companies and their source systems are growing at a rapid pace, business leaders are facing extreme difficulty in effectively managing these expanding systems of data. The complicated and time-consuming onboarding of data is simply not an option for organizations that need to operate efficiently and with agility. Organizations need a seamless and simple solution for accessing and onboarding data, while simultaneously preparing their systems for the cloud.

Fix the Massive Truck Driver Shortage with Data

Hidden in the furor about disrupted supply chains is how the experience of the drivers delivering all those goods directly impacts the customer experience. That’s where Wise Systems comes in, offering an artificial intelligence (AI)-based delivery management platform that originated at the Media Lab at MIT, when three of the company’s co-founders responded to a professor’s challenge to find the best way to change one billion lives with data.

“The free flow of goods is the lifeblood of communities,” said Allison Parker, vice president of Marketing at Wise Systems. “We decided to apply machine learning to real-time data that captures what’s happening on the ground so organizations can better plan and continuously improve every last-mile route and delivery. Drivers have an intuitive, easier experience managing their schedule directly from their mobile devices, while fleet managers have up-to-the-minute plan tracking for resource allocation and utilization.”

NWO.ai Selected to Participate in Season 7 of La Maison des Startups LVMH

NWO.ai, a leading strategic intelligence platform that is revolutionizing the future of external data for enterprises, announced it has been selected to participate in season 7 of La Maison des Startups LVMH.

La Maison des Startups LVMH is a unique initiative in the luxury industry, helping fast-track industry startups to navigate LVMH Group and start new conversations with Maisons on a global scale. The program welcomes international startups each year to drive business with LVMH Maisons and build the future products and services of the luxury industry.

NWO.ai’s participation in this exclusive program will enable LVMH Maisons to potentially spot emerging consumer trends and understand the drivers behind them before these trends become exponential. Further, these advanced capabilities will give LVMH Maisons the ability to leverage these insights from disparate alternative data sources with zero setup time.

Office leasing proptech Estie completes $9m Series A

Estie, a Japanese proptech operating an office leasing and rental office matching service, announced raising a approximate ¥1 billion ($8,750,000 USD) Series A, according to TechCrunch Japan. The company says it will use the funds to strengthen its HR team recruitment and plans to expand both its product and operation departments in order to build, develop and support its multi-product commercial real estate offering.

Lixo raises €3.5 million from Demeter Partners, Raise Seed For Good and 50 Partners

Lixo, a Paris, France-based SAAS developer of analytics tools for the waste management and recycling industries, announced closing a seed funding round at €3.5 million ($4M).

The money was raised locally from France from investors including Demeter Partners, Raise Seed For Good and 50 Partners, joined by angel investor Amaury Bierent (Ovive and Optyma).

Lixo, founded in 2019 by CEO Marjorie Darcet, developed technological solutions for the waste management industry, helping with waste tracing and recovering it. The tools uses computer-vision and sensors in order to sort the waste and analyze its quality composition in real time. The company says it works with french partners, including waste collectors such as Veolia and Brangeon, sorting centers such as Tiru, Sotraval, Kerval, recyclers Norske Skog , Freudenberg, Wellman and cross-functional and national players such as Citeo or Valorplast.

SAP.iO In New York, Supply Chain Management

Sustainable Retail Business Solutions from SAP Showcased During NRF 2022

The retail industry’s $3.9 trillion contribution to the U.S. annual GDP makes it the nation’s leading industry for private sector employment and uniquely positioned to address climate change.

As recently as the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) meetings, the National Retail Federation (NRF) stated, “Retailers will continue inventing and implementing pragmatic climate change solutions because the needs identified at COP26 demand nothing less.”

To help retailers digitally transform to make their businesses sustainable, SAP is featuring a number of offerings, including these:

The new SAP Intelligent Returns Management solution was built to optimize the returns process for the retail industry. The solution uses routing and dispositioning decisions driven by artificial intelligence (AI) to guide products from customers’ hands to the final dispositioning steps, ultimately maximizing customer experience and company margins while also mitigating waste.
The recently updated SAP Assortment Planning application now offers advanced category management capabilities. It uses customer data science, assortment strategies, business rules and AI to plan space-aware, localized assortments with a user experience designed for the needs of today’s category manager. Customer-centric, relevant assortments increase customer loyalty, boost profitability and support a more sustainable supply chain.
The SAP.iO Foundries program is a network of startup companies with integrations to SAP solutions, including:
- Algramo, offering a circular platform that encourages consumers to buy in a more convenient, affordable way with zero waste and connects people, brands and retailers in an engaging way to change consumption habits
- EcoCart, helping thousands of e-commerce brands offer carbon-neutral products
- Everledger, leveraging blockchain and the Internet of Things to offer transparency into supply chains for clarity on quality, origin, sustainability footprint and compliance standards
- EVRYTHNG, helping customers run their businesses differently with real-time data intelligence from each of their products end to end, from factory to consumer and beyond
- Inspectorio, with a dynamic and risk-assessment-based quality compliance program that provides digitalization, automation, transparency and traceability
- LimeLoop, offering a platform for sustainable shipping including reusable packaging, real-time tracking and predictive analytics
- Specright, providing a purpose-built platform for specification management that fundamentally changes how brands, suppliers, manufacturers and retailers manage data and collaborate to bring products to market

Hanko.io’s new FIDO2-based passwordless IAM solution features biometric capabilities

German startup Hanko.io has released a new passwordless Identity and Access Management (IAM) solution. Hanko Identity uses FIDO2 and WebAuthn technologies to entirely eliminate passwords from the login process.

Instead, the tool enables logging in via a technology that Hanko calls Passlinks, essentially magic links sent to a user’s email. The Passlinks technology works via Hanko’s Authentication API and creates a session for that user while simultaneously validating ownership of the email account.

After signing in via Passlinks, users will then be able to set up WebAuth login locally on the device, using biometric authentication.

For context, WebAuthn technology is currently supported on all end-user devices running Windows 10 and 11, Android, and most Apple devices.

According to the company, Hanko Identity is particularly easy to implement in a company’s own technology stack, while also being highly customizable through its white-label capabilities.

In addition, since the solution does not require the use of passwords at any time, tech teams will not have to deal with forgotten passwords, phishing attacks, or the compromising of user data through server hacks.

“The integration of two-factor authentication or biometrics on top of passwords can complicate the user experience and is often a more extensive software project that will cost time and, therefore, a lot of money,” comments Hanko CEO Felix Magedanz.

“We are happy that with Hanko Identity, we managed to build a solution that eliminates all these problems.”

meQuilibrium Incorporates Biometrics Technology into its Digital Resilience Platform

meQuilibrium, the leading digital resilience platform, brings biometrics into its mobile platform through its innovative new Breathe Coach technology, which enables members to obtain heart rate variability (HRV) feedback anytime, anywhere on a smartphone. meQuilibrium is the first digital employee resilience solution to incorporate biometrics into a mobile platform, providing users with a non-invasive intervention for creating balance between breathing and heart rate in order to build the foundation for resilience from a physiological point of view.

meQuilibrium’s new Breathe Coach tool transforms the smartphone camera lens into a biometric sensor which analyzes members’ breath and heart rate with the touch of a finger. Breathing patterns are instantaneously displayed directly on the smartphone screen, providing immediate, visual heart rate and breath mapping feedback, plus aggregate improvements over time.

Breathe Coach guides users through the practice of resonance breathing, balancing the nervous system by aligning breathing with heart rate, which in turn, can reduce stress. Resonance breathing can be especially beneficial to the mind as it triggers a relaxation response in the body.

“Our new biometric technology integrates the physical with emotional and mental wellbeing, teaching users how to relax on command, reduce stress, calm anxiety, and manage other symptoms using the camera and screen of a smartphone,” explains Adam Perlman, MD, Chief Medical Officer and co-founder, meQuilibrium, who also serves as Director of Integrative Health and Wellbeing for Mayo Clinic Florida. “Breathe Coach unlocks the power of HRV and resonance breathing to ultimately train the mind and body to keep stress at bay.”

Cogniac Applauded for Enabling Widespread Commercial Adoption of Computer Vision Systems

After recent analysis of the global Computer Vision industry, Frost & Sullivan recognizes Cogniac with the 2021 Global Entrepreneurial Company of the Year Award for Computer Vision. The company develops easily deployable, cost-effective, and highly customizable Computer Vision solutions, enabling widespread commercial adoption across different industries. The Computer Vision platform is capable of ingesting video and images from virtually any visual inspection task. Tracking, detecting, comparing, contrasting and assessing product quality changes for analysis at a global enterprise scale. Computer Vision systems are used in manufacturing and industrial environments such as automotive and mill and mining, where they increase quality and reduce cost. Such systems are also used for asset inspection, tracking, and management in transportation including railways and trucking, and in various logistics, government, and safety/security applications.

3i Inc. Receives CES 2022 Innovation Award For Pivo Pod X

Pivo Inc. of 3i Inc., a metaverse technology company that develops products utilizing artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR), and virtual reality (VR), announced that it has been named a Best of Innovation Award Honoree at CES 2022. The announcement was made on January 3rd in the media event, which precedes the Consumer Electronics Show 2022 (CES 2022), the world’s largest consumer electronics exhibition show.

Pivo Pod X, Pivo’s award winning product, is the new addition to the company’s robust lineup of auto-tracking smart pods that enhance the capabilities of your smartphone. Pivo Pod X is a re-envisioning of the original Pivo Pod with its added software features, longer battery life and highly requested vertical tracking. The Pod X, along with its powerful suite of apps, enables creators to produce dynamic, high-quality photos, videos, 360° images and 3D virtual tours. Thanks to Pivo’s proprietary Face, Body, Object and Animal Tracking, creators are no longer limited to stagnant content, even when creating alone. The product is set to be released in the second quarter of 2022.