Tecnología para Tiendas Inteligentes

Trabajo de Fin de Grado en Doble Grado en Ingeniería Informática y Matemáticas, Facultad de Informática UCM, Departamento de Ingeniería del Software e Inteligencia Artificial, Curso 2020/2021Smart stores technologies exemplify how Artificial Intelligence and Internet of Things can effectively join forces to shape the future of retailing. With an increasing number of companies proposing and implementing their own smart store concepts, such as Amazon Go or Tao Cafe, a new field is clearly emerging. Since the technologies used to build their infrastructure offer significant competitive advantages, companies are not publicly sharing their own designs. For this reason, this work presents a new smart store model named Mercury, which aims to take the edge off of the lack of public and accessible information and research documents in this field. We do not only introduce a comprehensive smart store model, but also work-through a feasible detailed implementation so that anyone can build their own system upon it.Las tecnologías utilizadas en las tiendas inteligentes ejemplifican cómo la Inteligencia Artificial y el Internet de las Cosas pueden unir, de manera efectiva, fuerzas para transformar el futuro de la venta al por menor. Con un creciente número de empresas proponiendo e implementando sus propios conceptos de tiendas inteligentes, como Amazon Go o Tao Cafe, un nuevo campo está claramente emergiendo. Debido a que las tecnologías utilizadas para construir sus infraestructuras ofrecen una importante ventaja competitiva, las empresas no están compartiendo públicamente sus diseños. Por esta razón, este trabajo presenta un nuevo modelo de tienda inteligente llamado Mercury, que tiene como objetivo mitigar la falta de información pública y accesible en este campo. No solo introduciremos un modelo general y completo de tienda inteligente, sino que también proponemos una implementación detallada y concreta para que cualquier persona pueda construir su propia tienda inteligente siguiendo nuestro modelo.Depto. de Ingeniería de Software e Inteligencia Artificial (ISIA)Fac. de InformáticaTRUEunpu

IoT-based automated and contactless shopping cart during pandemic diseases outbreak

Coronavirus (COVID-19) is an alarming disease outbreak that has affected more than 180 countries worldwide. It has caused close to 2.5 million deaths and has infected 114 million of the global population as of February 2021. This unprecedented pandemic, has caused severe socio-economic problems globally, catching many sectors off-guard and in a state of suspended uncertainty. While vaccines are just starting to circulate, there is still a need to practice new social norms, including social distancing during daily activities such as supermarket shopping. As such, contactless technology is critically needed and preferable to minimize physical contact and mitigate virus spread. In this paper, an automated shopping cart is proposed as a potential solution to avoid item scanning at cashiers and long queues at payment counters. This innovation leads to reduced risk of exposure to COVID-19. This is done by integrating a typical shopping trolley with Internet of Things (IoT) technology. A radio frequency identification (RFID) tag is attached to every product and automatically read whenever they are placed in a shopping cart. Payment and weighing processes can be conducted at the trolley itself which reduces direct and prolonged contact with both cashiers and other patrons, and at both checkout queues and weighing counters. This proves to be a critical way to break transmission chains

Smart Trolley Apps: A Solution To Reduce Picking Error

An order picking activities refers to an act of retrieving any items from the storage locations in the warehouses. In common situation, these activities is often performed by human. Due to that condition, high human error and high cost impact were spotted on a manual order picking activities. Thus, previous studies have developed various methods to support the practitioners especially in creating a more efficient order picking process. In spite of the vast discussion and evidence that shows an order pickers tend to deviate from its optimal routes and putting the efficiency of these routing approaches at stake, very little discussion were focus on the implementation of smart application through IT usage and device to reduce the problem faced in the warehouse. Thus, it is the main intention of this this paper to presents a detailed analysis on the relative factors affecting the efficiency of order picking activities in the warehouse and suggest the smart trolley as a solution to overcome the problem. The smart trolley apps is then proposed to increase the picking process in warehouse. The results of this paper indicate that extensive use of smart trolley apps as a solution to a more effective ways of order picking

Online shopping behavior in offline retail stores : strategic value for companies?

In a world where e-tailing and traditional in-store shopping live together and complement each other in several shopping activities (Chu, et. al, 2010), little is known about the possibility of an emerging reality in which online and offline shopping merge into one single phenomenon. The purpose of this dissertation is to explore whether consumers are willing to engage in a shopping behavior inside retail stores in a way that is similar to the one they have when shopping online. Additionally, it sheds light on the strategic value the online-offline shopping holds. To accomplish these objectives, a smartphone shopping scenario is designed to represent a situation that enables consumers to perform in-store shopping tasks in a digital manner, mixing and enhancing the features and benefits of e-tailing with traditional retail store experience. Moreover, a research model, that includes preliminary assumptions and eleven hypotheses to be tested, is designed to fundament the research methodology used. Based on this research model and the smartphone shopping scenario, a survey is conducted in order to collect empirical data on customer’s appraisal of the online-offline shopping process as well as their availability to permit recording their shopping data obtained after performing shopping tasks via smartphone. Furthermore, to access the strategic value of the online-offline shopping process, Resource-based View theory is used in order to identify the existence of possible sources of sustainable competitive advantage. The findings from the research show that respondents value the characteristics of the online-offline shopping process as well as they are willing to permit recording their own shopping data so that they are able to benefit from a contextual personalized shopping experience while shopping in traditional retail stores. The dissertation concludes that because customers value the characteristics of the online-offline shopping process they have a strong motivation to engage in an online-offline shopping behavior. Moreover, since they are willing to trade their shopping privacy for a contextual personalized shopping experience, it is plausible to admit that a strategy based on contextual personalization has potential to be strategic for retail companies. In fact, to generate such a strategy, the customer knowledge generated in the process is argued to be a firm resource that, combined with dynamic capabilities to leverage its utility in providing a contextual personalization experience, is considered to be a source of sustainable competitive advantage meaning the online-offline process has potential to be strategic to retail firms

AN INTERNET OF THINGS–BASED APPROACH TO INNOVATE CANTEEN STORES DEPARTMENT’S RETAIL OPERATIONS

In a competitive business environment, retail organizations in the Western world are capitalizing on technological tools and solutions to enhance customer experience and boost sales. Specifically, retailers that adopt Internet of Things (IoT) technologies improve customer experience and achieve cost savings. Yet such innovation is rare outside the Western world. Hence, early adopters of IoT technologies in retail operations in Pakistan could gain a competitive advantage. This study aims to create a deeper understanding of how Pakistan-based Canteen Stores Department (CSD), a retail chain mainly serving service members and their families, can use IoT technologies to significantly modernize and improve its operations and distinguish itself from competitors. To do so, this study conducts a qualitative analysis of scholarly articles on the relevant technologies and on IoT-based products offered by commercial companies. The authors also include findings from discussions with CSD customers and management. The results of the study indicate CSD can use IoT technologies to optimize store layout, offer interactive in-store mapping, automate checkout systems, implement smart shelving and digital price tagging, improve in-store promotions, enhance customer relationship management, and modernize distribution, transportation, and warehousing. The study also offers CSD management guidance on how to implement IoT technologies into retail operations at one location as a pilot.Outstanding ThesisLieutenant Commander, Pakistan NavyWing Commander, Pakistan Air ForceLieutenant Colonel, Pakistan ArmyApproved for public release. Distribution is unlimited

Web-based Industrial Smart Marketplace

The main objective of this dissertation is to create a marketplace for Smart Components based on an online platform. This Marketplace organizes and stores information of industrial machines, so that potential customers can check and compare different devices from various perspectives, such as: remaining lifetime, efficiency, cost, power consumption, reliability, among others. Information on the equipment is filtered according to different levels of privacy. The marketplace besides providing a web interface that allows a user to insert / change information from different devices, is connected to a data-base in which is stored information about the equipment's operations. Additionally, the marketplace must provide tools for integrating interfaces and software used by the industry, which will be provided in the form of downloadable applications, as well as a platform for other types of smart components, and services

The influence of hybrid offerings in customer satisfaction: The “Just Walk Out” stores in Portuguese retail sector

Due to the fast growing of Digital Transformation, technology innovation is always a concern that companies should have in mind to keep their customers satisfied with their services and defend themselves from market disruptors. The Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) sector is not an exception. One of the diverse strategies that companies can follow to fight against market challenges are the Hybrid Offerings. With it, companies can combine their old features with new ones, allowing them to innovate without losing their old customers at the same time they are trying to reach new ones. Since there are limited studies about the impact of Hybrids Offerings on customers experience and company's performance, this thesis aims the understanding of the impact of Hybrid Technologies in the FMCG retail sector, using the technology "Just Walk Out" recently implemented in the stores Pingo Doce & Go - Nova SBE and Continente Labs. The desired outcome of this thesis is to achieve a final theory in a framework format, that explains the relationship between the Hybrids Offerings, Customer Experience and Company's Performance. To achieve the desired outcome, the Grounded Theory method is followed, with the contribution of interviews from the studied companies (analyzed by NVivo program) and surveys to their customers (analyzed by SPSS software). At the end, the final framework is reached, and it is possible to notice that the referred system, represents a positive impact in the customers satisfaction and consequently in company's performance.Devido ao rápido crescimento da Transformação Digital, a inovação deverá estar sempre em mente das empresas para manter os seus clientes satisfeitos com os seus serviços e defender-se de possíveis disrupções do mercado. O sector dos Bens de Grande Consumo não é uma exceção. Uma das diversas estratégias que as empresas poderão seguir para lutar contra os desafios que o mercado apresenta são as Ofertas Híbridas. Ao seguir esta estratégia, as empresas podem combinar as suas antigas características com as novas, permitindo-lhes inovar sem perder os seus antigos clientes ao mesmo tempo que tentam alcançar novos. Uma vez que não existem grandes estudos sobre o impacto das Ofertas Híbridas na experiência dos clientes e no desempenho das empresas, esta tese tem o propósito de compreender esse impacto no sector do retalho de Bens de Grande Consumo, utilizando a tecnologia "Just Walk Out" recentemente implementada nas lojas Pingo Doce & Go - Nova SBE e Continente Labs. O grande objetivo desta tese é conseguir uma teoria final num formato de modelo, que explique a relação entre as Ofertas Híbridas, a Experiência do Cliente e o Desempenho da Empresa. Para alcançar esse objetivo, é seguido o método Grounded Theory. São também realizadas entrevistas às empresas estudadas (analisadas pelo programa NVivo) e inquéritos aos seus clientes (analisados pelo software SPSS). É possível notar que o sistema referido representa um impacto positivo na satisfação dos clientes e consequentemente no desempenho da empresa

Planning and management of E-commerce Website : Guide for startup B2C E-commerce companies

The purpose of this thesis is to help startup B2C E-commerce companies to plan and manage e-commerce website. This thesis is intended to equip current and future e-commerce managers or entrepreneurs with some basic knowledge and practical skills to help them navigate their organisations towards e-business. It does not have any specific commissioner. Thesis will contain most aspects when plan and manage e-commerce website for startups