Tanya Long, COO Argility -retail concepts and resources

Lockdown leads to long-term retail behaviour changes

ajustus Jul 15, 2020

Retail Behaviour Changes

By Tanya Long, chief operating officer, Argility Technology Group

As people embrace technology more than ever before to support all aspects and consequences of isolation, there are bound to be new buying behaviours.

I’m sure you would agree that the ‘new normal’ is now so clichéd, I think we are all tired of hearing about it. But certainly, there are new buying behaviours being observed, and of course, strong indications that while people are afraid of getting sick, they are more fearful for their economic stability and future.

Research variously indicates that priorities, certainly at the beginning of the pandemic, centred on basic needs, sending demand for hygiene, cleaning and staple products through the roof. On the other hand, as lockdown continued and people were confined to their homes, there was an increase in searches for luxury, non-essential items or attempts to at least think about planning a travel for leisure trip, showing that people are increasingly in need of a means by which to spoil themselves.

Apparently, the factors that influence brand decisions are also changing, with a penchant for home-grown products being seen to escalate. One trend that is very likely to continue post-pandemic is the move to digital commerce for grocery shopping.

People are said to be embracing technology more than ever to support all aspects and consequences of isolation. The ways in which people spend their leisure time are changing with related social distancing measures, and again, these habits are likely to be sustained.

Surveys indicate that 61% plan to continue watching news channels post-COVID-19, with 55% prioritising family time. Entertainment, learning and DIY are also said to have risen. These trends are reflected in the types of apps that consumers are downloading, related to entertainment, news, healthcare and education.

Essentially, technology is playing a major role in how these interactions occur. Consumer packaged goods companies are urged to increase their focus on digital over traditional tools if they are to engage with consumers and improve experiences.

Calculating what kind of consumer is emerging from the current scenario may well become the difference between survival and growth, or closure.

The EY Future Consumer Index on behaviour across five key markets shows how the pandemic is creating new consumer segments.

While it is acknowledged that the global consumer was already evolving at speed pre-COVID-19, the process now appears to have become exponential. Calculating what kind of consumer is emerging from the current scenario may well become the difference between survival and growth, or closure.

It is emerging that there are key issues for retailers to consider if they are to remain competitive.

The EY index advises retailers to invest greater effort in distributing personalised content that engages potential customers and offers information that attracts their attention. Investment in better online and in-store experiences that address consumers’ interests are also recommended. E-commerce offers the potential to attract recurring purchases, as do well-structured loyalty programmes.

The EY report identifies four segments of consumer behaviour as follows:

  • Save and stockpile – 35% of those surveyed
  • Cut deep – 27%
  • Stay calm, carry on – 26%
  • Hibernate and spend – only 11%

Consumers in this last category − hibernate and spend – are said to be mostly aged 18-44 and are the ones identified to be most concerned about the impact of the pandemic. But only 40% of them say they are shopping less frequently.

While 42% say the products they buy have changed significantly, 46% say brands are now more important to them. However, it is well-established that brands need to realign with these changes in consumer spending behaviour.

The ones who deliver seamless authentic solutions and excellent customer experiences will undoubtedly emerge winners in a crowded marketplace.

What’s happening in SA?

Retail is the third-largest sector of our economy and is a labour-intensive industry in South Africa.

Statistics SA data shows the last time quarterly retail sales grew more than 3% was in the first three months of 2018, with consumer confidence slumping deep into negative territory in the third quarter of 2019 and consumer inflation at a 10-year low – this is all pre-COVID-19, of course.

An Investec report highlights the sectors of South African industry that have been hardest hit by closures and lockdown restrictions. Obviously, the restaurant industry and hospitality generally are the hardest hit.

In terms of retailers that will emerge relatively unscathed, the food sector is cited to be fairly untouched, with drug and pharmacy retailers being in pretty much the same position. Both are said to have retained a dynamic market share.

Of course, job losses appear to be an inevitable outcome of lockdown strategies, which in turn has a ripple effect as the fewer the jobs, the less the spending power and the more the damage to the economy.

However, as has been stated in the foregoing, the smart retailer that invests in targeted marketing will emerge triumphant. But to do that it will need to acquire the right technology that can take data and turn it into business advantage and get the retailer closer to the customer.

This is where data analytics has a major role to play. It is about extracting trends and patterns and using those insights to make better decisions and influence future outcomes, which ultimately leads to the ability to understand changing behaviours and satisfy new consumer demands.

Source: IT Web

Tanya Long, COO Argility Technology Group

Tanya Long, COO Argility Technology Group

Tanya Long, chief operating officer, Argility Technology Group.
Long has 30 years of industry experience. Her career in the IT sector started in 1988 in IT support for point-of-sale solutions. She moved formally into software development with UCS/Argility in 1989 as a developer and progressed through to team leader, account management, project and development management roles, which led her into various industries and corporations.

In 2017, Long returned to Argility (having previously worked at the company in a technical capacity) as human capital executive, where she reunited her retail, IT, leadership and HR knowledge to drive her zeal for transformation.

In her capacity as COO, Long is responsible for overseeing operations, with a specific focus on human capital, sales and marketing, and ensuring the company culture and vision shows up daily for customers through an engaged technical team of experts.

Continue Reading
SkyData – Temperature Monitoring and Control for SA’s Pharmaceutical

SkyData – Temperature Monitoring and Control for SA’s Pharmaceutical sector

ajustus Jul 13, 2020

SkyData – Temperature Monitoring and Control for SA’s Pharmaceutical sector

Eamon McCann, CTO, the Argility Technology Group, outlines some of the challenges facing the pharmaceutical and medical sectors with regards to thermolabile products.

The South African Pharmacy Council (SAPC) strictly governs the procurement, storage, and distribution of thermolabile – defined as a product or substance readily destroyed or deactivated by heat – pharmaceutical products. These rules are in accordance with the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) specifications.

Companies that store and distribute these products must ensure that they comply with SAPC GPP (Good Pharmacy Practice) regulations of ambient, fridge or cold room temperatures, making it essential that the temperatures are constantly monitored in order to remain within optimal range otherwise the efficacy of the products can be compromised and a broader range of pharmaceutical products cannot be stored.

It’s also necessary to guarantee adherence to compliance requirements including diligent temperature recording and history so implementation of an automated system capable of monitoring and raising timeous alerts is crucial.

The significance of the Internet of Things (IoT)

IoT has opened-up a world of possibilities in the medical and pharmaceutical arenas and Argility’s SkyData platform provides IoT remote monitoring and alert capabilities for devices at designated fridges and storage units.

What does SkyData do?

The platform empowers companies to connect devices and deploy applications that enable automated data collection and analysis, remote device management, contextual and real-time decision making. It permits businesses to monitor and manage any number of data points presented from various devices and may be used to scrutinise and administer anything on a dashboard from temperature; humidity to: utilities – electricity; water; gas usage and assets such as vehicles, billboards, machinery and more.

In the pharmaceutical use-case the platform monitors devices that are connected to the fridge to monitor the internal temperature and the external ambient temperature.

Once data is communicated from the IoT devices Argility’s Skydata platform will take care of device management, business rules, security, alerts, notifications, dashboards, and reporting as well as the storage and management of historical data.

Given the device agnostic nature of the SkyData IoT platform, any future business monitoring needs can be satisfied by deploying additional IoT devices and sensors into the physical environment which can then feed additional data points into the platform without requiring another software platform. SkyData can monitor humidity, pressure, CO2/air quality, gas, water and electricity usage, GPS location and more.

Multiple notification mechanisms are available allowing SMS, email and mobile app. push notifications to be configured for any level of alert severity, this typically managed from low through to critical levels of alerts.

Reporting – leading to compliance

Access to real time dashboard and daily/monthly exception reports are made available to designated people.

SkyData platform dashboards

SkyData platform dashboards

Three standard reports are distributed daily by email to either designated stores: regional or national facilities:

  • Exception summary report – provides a summary of min, max, average temperature per asset, including recent alarms raised.
  • Alarm report – provides a list of threshold breaches as per the defined rules
  • Daily temperature report – list of the temperature readings for the preceding 24 hours – compliance report for inspectors.

Data is stored on SkyData for a period of three years and can be made available when required.

Key Features and Benefits

  • Web based administration, configuration dashboard and third-party device management.
  • Secure User and role-based authentication and notifications.
  • Scheduled and automated extracts and reports.
    Multiple pre-integrated wireless and wired devices and sensors.
  • Communicate wirelessly via long range battery powered device.
  • No connection required to electrical circuit – fridge can be moved without affecting the device.
  • Cross platform mobile friendly data visualisation dashboards (Android and iOS)
    • Dashboard summaries and drill down features
    • Ability to view data across multiple stores
    • Ability to view detailed data points within a specified store/location

SkyData is functionally rich and an application fit for many environments including pharmacies; hospitals; clinics; veterinary clinics and more.

Click here for a detailed case study – Informed Decisions and SkyData partner to deliver greater efficiencies for Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Laboratories.

For more information contact our Business Consultants on 011 712 1300, email info@argility.com or visit our website, www.argility.com

Continue Reading
Tanya Long, COO Argility -retail concepts and resources

Changing behaviours post COVID-19: A retail challenge

ajustus Jul 8, 2020

A Retail Challenge

By Tanya Long, Chief Operating Officer, Argility Technology Group.

The virus is reshaping the consumer goods industry in real-time, rapidly accelerating long-term underlying trends in the space of mere weeks and months.

Let me begin by saying that like many of you, I’m feeling a tad COVID’d out. The retail sector must be so tired of reading about what to do to survive COVID-19: go online, be more diverse, etc.

What has struck me in the past three to four weeks is the need to endorse a spirit of hope. I feel many of us are tired of looking to essentials and are seeking to look to the future for ways to spoil ourselves – maybe poring over travel brochures, or splurges on non-essential leisure goods as opposed to necessities.

It is just five months since the World Health Organisation declared the COVID-19 outbreak a global pandemic, which in turn has impacted every country on earth and hailed an era of uncertainty on both the economic and social fronts.

The retail and hospitality sectors took the brunt of the initial shutdowns. The retail sector has always been one of the biggest barometers of change – due to the adapt, or die, competitive aspect of this arena.

The closure of many brick-and-mortar outlets in favour of online offerings is just one example of how consumer purchasing patterns are changing the entire fabric of the industry. Therefore, retail has always had to evolve and to do it rapidly.

Consumer behaviour has changed dramatically, posing challenges for retailers that need to keep pace with the change or risk loss of trade and/or customer loyalty simply because they have not anticipated or made hasty preparations to satisfy new consumer demands.

I decided to do some homework and see what research surveys are revealing on this topic.

Research by Bazaarvoice − which boasts a network of over 6 200 brand and retail sites as its client base − reveals high demand for leisure goods during lockdown and not just basic necessities. It analysed different patterns and changes in behaviour, from increases and decreases in product page views, to orders placed, reviews submitted and questions asked. It reviewed this data globally across more than 20 product categories and compared it to the same period in 2019, as well as the earlier months in 2020.

People are responding in a variety of ways that are being manifested in behaviours and purchasing patterns, as they attempt to get to grips with a new normal.

Results reveal how people were shopping in March 2020 at the beginning of the lockdown and showed that customers started to really embrace online shopping, setting themselves up for what appeared to hail a long period spent at home.

The statistics showed a 21% increase in online orders in March 2020 versus March 2019, and in a survey conducted with over 3 000 members of the Influenster community, 41% of respondents said they were currently shopping online for things they would normally shop for in-store.

This would seem to confirm we are having to change our normal shopping habits and look to purchase more items online than normal. A comparison between March 2020 and the same period in 2019 saw a 25% increase in page views. This is said to be possibly because consumers must now search for new products because they are housebound. It is also possible they are purchasing brands they are not familiar with due to anticipated limited product availability.

An Accenture report notes COVID-19 will permanently change consumer behaviour, attitudes and purchasing habits, and predicts many of these new ways will remain even in post-pandemic times.

This survey reports that while purchases are currently centred on the most basic needs, people are shopping more consciously, embracing digital commerce and buying local. This latter trend, if reflected in the South African market, could be good for business here.

The report also notes that to manage isolation, consumers are using digital to connect, learn and play, and anticipates they will continue to do so.

One pattern reportedly being endorsed across the globe is the move to a virtual workforce as more people work from home and are enjoying doing so.

Consumers view products through changed eyes

So, in so far as we are all now living differently, buying differently and in many ways thinking differently – the pandemic’s economic and social impacts have been immense. Patterns include supply chain disruption and retailers closing their physical doors only to strengthen their online presence.

The virus is said to be reshaping the consumer goods industry in real-time, rapidly accelerating long-term underlying trends in the space of mere weeks and months. Accenture research is indicating that new habits formed now will endure beyond the crisis, permanently changing what we value, how and where we shop, and how we live and work.

Perhaps the next question in the evolution of retail specifically is for the sector to determine what consumer goods businesses should offer if they are to be prepared for what comes next.

Fear certainly fuelled the initial panic buying of staple goods – hence the shortages of items like toilet paper that ended up leading the social media memes.

Obviously, consumers are deeply concerned about the impact of COVID-19, from all perspectives, be it health, economic, continued availability of necessity goods, etc.

People are responding in a variety of ways that are being manifested in behaviours and purchasing patterns, as they attempt to get to grips with a new normal.

It is likely there will be a greater reliance on retail technologies incorporating artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities, becoming the order of the day as companies attempt to familiarise themselves with their consumers’ reactions and develop personalised strategies to cope and retain the trade.

Albeit the days of one size fits all marketing have long been over – the need for strategies that reach out and capture the attention of this new complex consumer is now greater than ever.

* In my second Industry Insight in this series of two, I will have a look at what may be new and everlasting shopping habits.

For more information contact our Business Consultants on 011 712 1300, email info@argility.com or visit our website, www.argility.com

Source: IT Web

Continue Reading

Argility enhances capabilities of its retail driver delivery solution – MultiTrax

ajustus Jul 2, 2020

The Argility Technology Group’s retail driver delivery solution, MultiTrax, has been expanded to include an additional module that automates driver delivery scheduling (DDS). This is a powerful addition to this innovative product, especially in COVID-19 times, where retailers are scrambling to retain trade and move to online purchases with timeous delivery.

MultiTrax – developed in-house by Argility – empowers businesses with the ability to schedule deliveries and track drivers. This easy-to-use app permits efficient route planning, proactive customer notifications, enhanced proof of delivery (POD) processing and maximisation of driver availability. It is a comprehensive delivery system hosted in the cloud that enables drivers to effectively execute on deliveries allocated to them through their smartphone. Moreover, it achieves this with real-time visibility on a management dashboard that enables central planners to effectively schedule deliveries.

The latest DDS Planning module facilitates uploading of outstanding delivery lists – per store or across multiple stores; selection of available drivers; deliveries for selected drivers are added directly to their individual calendars via a drag-and-drop capability. “Through this feature-rich additional module, driver deliveries can be placed on an area map which automatically location tags customers’ addresses for easy route viewing. It also automatically calculates route and expected delivery time, as well as unload and assembly time. Driver progress can be viewed by planners via an online map view,” says Stefan Terblanche, Argility Retail Solutions Consultant.

The DDS module is not only valuable for warehouse transportations, but can also schedule supply on behalf of stores, or can be used directly within a store for management of its own deliveries.

“Integration with current retail or warehouse management solutions is available – removing the need to rip and replace current solutions to move business forward. PODs can be integrated in real-time, speeding up processing time and removing the need for POD data capture confirmation,” says Terblanche.

“Drivers using the MultiTrax app on their smart mobile devices are able to view clear route plans; delivery time targets and communicate directly with customers, via SMS. This latter in turn allows for proactive customer notifications of delivery times/delays, or requests for estate access codes. This is all achieved without intervention from central planners. It further provides contactless POD via image uploads and customer device SMS authentication,” he adds.

MultiTrax business benefits include decreased telephone costs from central planners; enhanced driver route planning and management; maximisation of customer experience through better notifications and direct driver contact negating unnecessary customer waiting.

“MultiTrax enables businesses to manage their delivery fleet efficiently while driving down operating expenses related to salaries and fleet cost. Elevated control is now possible when using owner-operated private transporters that are pre-vetted to represent the company’s brand on deliveries.”

Terblanche confirms that future releases of MultiTrax will include item dimensions for delivery vehicle space volumetrics planning.

“One of the most attractive features of MultiTrax is that it is hosted in the cloud as a software as a service solution (SaaS), allowing businesses to focus on operational excellence while Argility looks after the technology enablement,” he concludes.

For more information contact our Business Consultants on 011 712 1300, email info@argility.com or visit our website, www.argility.com 

Source: IT Web

Continue Reading
As a retailer, isn’t it time to embrace artificial Intelligence?

As a retailer, isn’t it time to embrace Artificial Intelligence?

ajustus Jun 30, 2020

By Sonja Leoncini

Retailers need to stay current and with the impact of COVID-19 and downturn of the economy, the game has changed. Now, like never before is the time to keep competitive and sustainable; don’t wait, act now. Retailers are always scrutinising ways to improve profits and grow business and AI is an essential tool . You have data – yes? Then make it work for you in a way that will allow you to engage and improve your relationships with your customers through personalisation. Create loyalty by running targeted campaigns focussed on the customers’ preferences, improve stock management, cut costs, release capital. Ultimately, grow your business and improve your bottom line. Within 3 days of loading your data onto Argility’s PredictRetail solution, you can start to see results.

How do you do this, is it so simple? Start using Argility’s PredictRetail solution which has been developed to address retail and supply chain challenges and affordably make the best use of data both current and historical.

PredictRetail Solution

Argility PredictRetail Solution

 

What is this and how does it work? Let me elaborate:
Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML) and Data Science (DS) are all underlying disciplines of the PredictRetail solution. Modern technologies like AI, ML, DS and big data have become popular by words which everybody talks about but not everyone fully understands. People often get confused.

First let me give a view of what Artificial Intelligence is; simply put it is the simulation of the human thought process by machine. This is achieved by creating a neural network that is able to reason learn and self-correct. What makes AI attractive is that it does all this with lightning speed.

Machine Learning learns and improves itself without the need for direct programming. Instead ML focusses on algorithms which learn to understand things from structured data in order to get the insights that can be used to make predictions. In simple terms use the lessons of the past to predict the future.

Data Science is the ability to extract useful insights from the data which includes many skills including, mathematics, machine learning, statistical modelling, data engineering visualisation and pattern recognition.

To summarise; Artificial Intelligence is the simulation of the human reasoning by machines. Machine Learning is a subset of AI that focusses on a specific activity. Data Science uses ML to achieve its ultimate goal which is the real world application of Machine learning and Artificial Intelligence to provide solutions.

Some common business applications include behaviour forecasting, recommendation engines, anomaly of fraud detection, personalised marketing, customer service and chat bots.

PredictRetail is a software solution that has been developed to provide decision support for retailers. It used the aforementioned skills to of AI, DS and ML techniques to provide actionable insight from data. PredictRetail is part of a larger ecosystem and aims to supplement business processes both existing and new.

Want more information as to how this can work for you – Contact our Business Consultants on 011 712 1300, email info@argility.com or visit our website, www.argility.com 

Continue Reading
MultiTrax retail driver delivery solution

MultiTrax – delivery and driver management solution

ajustus Jun 2, 2020

MultiTrax – delivery and driver management solution

MultiTrax, delivery and driver management solution

By Tanya Long, COO Argility Technology Group

Planning deliveries, scheduling and tracking drivers have, at no other time in history, been more important as retailers jostle to retain and grow trade and move to online purchases with timeous delivery.

MultiTrax – developed in-house by Argility – empowers businesses with the ability to schedule deliveries and track drivers.  This easy to use App permits efficient route planning, proactive customer notifications, enhanced proof of delivery (PoD) processing and maximisation of driver availability.  It is a comprehensive delivery system hosted in the cloud that enables drivers to effectively execute deliveries allocated to them through their smartphones. Moreover, it achieves this with real-time visibility on a management dashboard that enables central planners to effectively schedule deliveries.

MultiTrax has now been expanded to include an additional module that automates driver delivery scheduling (DDS). This is a powerful addition to this innovative product facilitates uploading of outstanding delivery lists – per store or across multiple stores; selection of available drivers; deliveries for selected drivers are added directly to their individual calendars via a drag and drop capability. Through the DDS feature-rich additional module, driver deliveries can be placed on an area map which automatically location tags customers’ addresses for easy route viewing. It also automatically calculates the route and expected delivery time, as well as unload and assembly time. Driver progress can be viewed by planners via an online map view.

The DDS module is not only valuable for warehouse transportations, but can also schedule supply on behalf of stores, or can be used directly within a store for management of its own deliveries.

Integration with current retail or warehouse management solutions is available – removing the need to rip and replace current solutions to move one’s business forward. PoD’s can be integrated in real-time, speeding up processing time, and removing the need for PoD data capture confirmation.

The selection process for the MultiTrax DDS delivery scheduling is enabled through user-friendly drag and drop functionality, providing planners with visual and easy to understand views.

MultiTrax DDS allows customers with no POS or e-commerce integration to obtain all the foregoing benefits. In the case of manual smaller environments, DDS permits customers to pull the data from a manually captured Excel spreadsheet or capture deliveries manually into the system for planning allocation and execution. MultiTrax DDS is, therefore, is a valuable and attractive proposition for small and large enterprises.

MultiTrax DDS functions and features:

  • Upload outstanding delivery lists – per store or across multiple stores.
  • Select the drivers available.
  • Deliveries for selected drivers are added directly to the drivers’ calendars via drag and drop functionality.
  • Drag and drop the drivers’ deliveries onto an area map, which automatically location tags the customers delivery address for planners easy route viewing.
  • Automatic calculation of route times plus added functionality, that includes unloading and assembly time.
  • Proactive calculations of actual expected delivery time to customers.
  • Driver progress can be viewed by planners via an online map view.
  • Additional functionality is available to include item assembly time requirements allowing maximisation of delivery routes and maintained customer satisfaction levels.
  • Future releases of MultiTrax will include item dimensions for delivery vehicle space volumetric planning.

By using the existing MultiTrax driver application features on their smart mobile devices, drivers have:

  • Clear route plans.
  • Delivery timing targets.
  • The ability to communicate directly via SMS with customers allowing for proactive customer notifications of delivery time, or delays, or requests for estate access codes – without intervention from central planners.
  • Contactless proof of delivery ability via the use of image uploads and customer own device SMS authentication.

Benefits

  • Central planner decreased telephone costs.
  • Driver route planning and management is enhanced.
  • Customer experience is maximised through improved customer notifications and direct driver contact – no more unnecessary customer waiting.
  • Manage your own delivery fleet efficiently or drive down operating expenses related to salaries plus fleet costs by controlling and using owner-operated private transporters that are pre-vetted to represent your brand on deliveries.

For more information contact our Business Consultants on 011 712 1300, email info@argility.com or visit our website, www.argility.com

Brief Bio: Tanya Long – Chief Operating Officer, Argility Technology Group

Are you feeling the heat? Calling all Retailers of Pre-Cooked; Frozen and Refrigerated FoodTanya Long, COO Argility Technology Group

Tanya has 30 years industry experience and is currently the Chief Operating Officer of the Argility Technology Group.

Tanya’s career in the IT sector started in 1988 in IT Support for Point of Sale solutions. She moved formally into software development with UCS/Argility in 1989 as a developer and progressed through to: team leader; account management; project, and development management roles

Tanya is an internationally Certified Consciousness Coach, Enneagram Practitioner, and leadership speaker and facilitator.  She is considered a specialist in the fields of culture and engagement and often presents at conferences on the topic of engagement, leadership and coaching.  Her strengths lie in her exceptional people management abilities and dedication to precision and execution.

In 2017, Tanya was appointed Human Capital Executive at Argility where she reunited her Retail, IT, Leadership, HR and coaching knowledge to drive her zeal for transformation.  In her capacity as COO, she heads up the Sales and Marketing and HR teams whilst driving performance and processes within the group.

Tanya’s vision is to ensure that the Argility Technology Group is filled with engaged, skilled and innovative individuals delivering outstanding customer-centric solutions.

Continue Reading
Are you feeling the heat? Calling all Retailers of Pre-Cooked; Frozen and Refrigerated Food. SkyData

Are you feeling the heat? Calling all Retailers of Pre-Cooked; Frozen and Refrigerated food.

ajustus May 29, 2020

Are you feeling the heat? Calling all Retailers of Pre-Cooked; Frozen and Refrigerated food.

By Tanya Long, COO Argility Technology Group

What is your worst nightmare this week? Whilst Covid-19 related challenges may be all-consuming at present, temperatures not correctly set or monitored resulting in non-compliance with health regulations and stock losses could be adding unnecessary stress! Temperature control is a business imperative for all retailers stocking pre-cooked, frozen, refrigerated food and cold beverage products. It is crucial that these products are stored in optimal environmental conditions to preserve quality and guarantee customer satisfaction. For products that are subject to formal regulation, it may also be a requirement that historical temperature data is logged and stored for compliance reasons.
Argility can help you achieve this goal through our IoT management solution, SkyData. The SkyData platform links to device-agnostic probes that constantly monitor fridge and freezer temperatures, logs historical data, and triggers alerts when thresholds are breached to authorised users.

SkyData platform supports capabilities such as email/SMS notifications, data visualisation, dashboards, and reporting, which can be further enriched with predictive analytics and machine learning. By utilising the wealth of data available from Skydata, businesses will be able to take swift action from insights gained.

SkyData platform - how it works

Argility SkyData Platform – how it works

 

What does SkyData do?

The platform empowers companies to connect devices and deploy applications that enable automated data collection and analysis, remote device management, contextual and real-time decision making. It permits businesses to monitor and manage any number of data points presented from various devices, and may be used to scrutinise and administer anything on a dashboard from temperature; humidity to utilities – electricity; water; gas usage and assets such as billboards, machinery and more.

Businesses are increasingly pressured to optimise returns on assets, increase productivity, and improve operational efficiencies. As you move to introduce new refrigerated and frozen food products to meet growing demand, you need to ensure that environmental conditions are monitored and kept at optimal ranges. It is also vital to ensure that you comply with regulations specifying temperature ranges at which different food products must be stored and keep a record of the temperature readings.

If the specified storage temperature range is breached, SkyData notifies you immediately by SMS and email. This allows you to immediately take corrective action and prevent products from being damaged or compromised. It also prevents stock loss and of course, most importantly removes risking the health of customers.
The SkyData platform registers each fridge and freezer individually, and each one can have its own unique temperature range settings, with detailed dashboard reporting where required.

Who should be looking at this product?

  • Supermarkets and speciality food stores
  • Liquor stores, Taverns, Bars
  • Restaurants
  • Store types:
    • Individual stores
    • Chain stores
    • Mall stores
    • Hyper stores

SkyData can integrate into any business operational system, feed from and to multiple data sources and deliver data sets to any mobile device. It provides for web-based administration plus configuration and it includes mobile apps for both Android and iOS for remote access – anytime, anywhere.

The bottom line is that this IoT platform is set to transform asset and resource monitoring management – now that’s something to keep the nightmares at bay!

For more information contact our Business Consultants on 011 712 1300, email info@argility.com or visit our website, www.argility.com

Brief Bio: Tanya Long – Chief Operating Officer, Argility Technology Group

Are you feeling the heat? Calling all Retailers of Pre-Cooked; Frozen and Refrigerated FoodTanya Long, COO Argility Technology Group

Tanya Long, COO Argility Technology Group

Tanya has 30 years of industry experience and is currently the Chief Operating Officer of the Argility Technology Group.

Tanya’s career in the IT sector started in 1988 in IT Support for Point of Sale solutions. She moved formally into software development with UCS/Argility in 1989 as a developer and progressed through to team leader; account management; project, and development management roles

Tanya is an internationally Certified Consciousness Coach, Enneagram Practitioner, and leadership speaker and facilitator.  She is considered a specialist in the fields of culture and engagement and often presents at conferences on the topic of engagement, leadership and coaching.  Her strengths lie in her exceptional people management abilities and dedication to precision and execution.

In 2017, Tanya was appointed Human Capital Executive at Argility where she reunited her Retail, IT, Leadership, HR and coaching knowledge to drive her zeal for transformation.  In her capacity as COO, she heads up the Sales and Marketing and HR teams whilst driving performance and processes within the group.

Tanya’s vision is to ensure that the Argility Technology Group is filled with engaged, skilled and innovative individuals delivering outstanding customer-centric solutions.

Continue Reading
How do retailers get a piece of the delivery pie MultiTrax

How do retailers get a piece of the delivery pie? by Tanya Long

ajustus May 25, 2020

I would hazard a guess that at the moment if one was to hold a 2 am online webinar, there would be countless heads of businesses awake to attend. Sleep has been evading many due to worry and planning on how to survive this Covid-19 pandemic.

Questions like: “How do I pivot my business?” “How do I make up for lost revenue?” “How do I draw customers back in spite of decreased ability to spend?” and be smart about it all?
You may also be asking yourself “With my current cash flow how do I get a piece of the delivery pie without it costing me an arm and a leg?” “How do I retain my existing customer base?” “How do I make my business attractive to new customers?”

Let’s be honest with ourselves about two things: now is the time and speed of implementation is vitally important. Covid-19 is a digitisation catalyst that cannot be ignored. Goods delivery as primary customer touchpoint is now more important than ever.
As tempting as it may be, it isn’t a matter of hiring 5 drivers and sending them off into the sunset with deliveries, but rather investing in a driver delivery application for optimal scheduling and tracking.

One that allows you to efficiently plan your deliveries. One that proactively informs customers of arrival times and upon delivery allows contactless delivery confirmation (especially important during these Covid-19 times). Exceeding customer expectations and delivery efficiency is vital. The absence of which the bitter taste of the delivery pie could hurt your business more than help. We all know that an unhappy customer could spread poor customer service news like a brushfire through social media platforms.

What I’m suggesting is that in order to smartly transform you’ll need to invest. Surprisingly the investment doesn’t need to break the bank.
Smart technology businesses are rising to the challenge with affordable solutions to goods delivery as an optimised process.

Argility’s customer-centric MultiTrax delivery application gives you control over the quality of your delivery touchpoint. Why not drop one of our team a message to get your business quickly into the running – info@argility.com? Or check out the solution at www.argility.com/multitrax/

Also read: Home Delivery – The new normal

Brief Bio: Tanya Long – Chief Operating Officer, Argility Technology Group

Tanya Long, COO Argility Technology Group

Tanya Long, COO Argility Technology Group

Tanya has 30 years industry experience and is currently the Chief Operating Officer of the Argility Technology Group.

Tanya’s career in the IT sector started in 1988 in IT Support for Point of Sale solutions. She moved formally into software development with UCS/Argility in 1989 as a developer and progressed through to: team leader; account management; project, and development management roles

Tanya is an internationally Certified Consciousness Coach, Enneagram Practitioner, and leadership speaker and facilitator.  She is considered a specialist in the fields of culture and engagement and often presents at conferences on the topic of engagement, leadership and coaching.  Her strengths lie in her exceptional people management abilities and dedication to precision and execution.

In 2017, Tanya was appointed Human Capital Executive at Argility where she reunited her Retail, IT, Leadership, HR and coaching knowledge to drive her zeal for transformation.  In her capacity as COO, she heads up the Sales and Marketing and HR teams whilst driving performance and processes within the group.

Tanya’s vision is to ensure that the Argility Technology Group is filled with engaged, skilled and innovative individuals delivering outstanding customer-centric solutions.

Continue Reading
Home Delivery MultiTrax Argility

Home Delivery – The new normal by Tanya Long

ajustus May 21, 2020

Home Delivery – The new normal by Tanya Long

During this 8th week in Covid-19 lockdown, as with probably many others, I’ve realised that I need to be more creative in fulfilling my personal shopping demands. Just popping down the road to the shop, is not an option at present. Sadly what I think the next few months will bring is more of the same. Times are definitely ‘a changing’.

Like thousands of other consumers, I’ve resorted to online shopping. Suddenly the war for connectivity has started in my home. Where I used to bemoan that WiFi was on my teenager’s Maslo hierarchy of needs, I’ve started to congratulate myself for foresight and great parenting. What is true is that whilst my generation may be slightly slower on the uptake of technology, crisis brings about change.

Last week, confronted with no lockdown end in sight, I forged ahead and took the online delivery plunge. In under 30 minutes I managed to order printer cartridges from one retailer; groceries from another and dinner from my local takeout. That evening dinner promptly arrived and during the next three days the goodies appeared hassle free on my doorstep. I have to admit it felt a bit like Christmas.

Would I do it again? Absolutely.

After doing the sums, I realised that the ROI of the small delivery fees, superseded possible petrol costs, time and frustration. I found myself focused on buying what I needed and not overfilling my shopping basket (in spite of it being easy with just one click). Not to forget the convenience of it all. Definitely a reason to smile.

I wondered to myself, what had been holding me back from online shopping before? I realised it was habit and the perception that I would pay more. Trust also came into the picture. Once I ordered online, only to receive the goods 10 days after the promise date and upon opening the box to find the wrong item!!! Well, with my most recent purchases, I was impressed. The providers had gotten the experience right. And as we can all agree positive customer experience is everything.

So heads up to all those constrained retailers out there, I’ve decided that online shopping and home delivery will become my new normal. And I think that there are many other consumers who feel the same.

As a retailer, are you ready for it?

Why not take a moment to investigate the benefits of the Argility MultiTrax delivery application or contact us today on info@argility.com to explore options with one of our team.

For more information visit our website, www.argility.com

Brief Bio: Tanya Long – Chief Operating Officer, Argility Technology Group

Tanya Long, COO Argility Technology Group

Tanya Long, COO Argility Technology Group

Tanya has 30 years industry experience and is currently the Chief Operating Officer of the Argility Technology Group.

Tanya’s career in the IT sector started in 1988 in IT Support for Point of Sale solutions. She moved formally into software development with UCS/Argility in 1989 as a developer and progressed through to: team leader; account management; project, and development management roles

Tanya is an internationally Certified Consciousness Coach, Enneagram Practitioner, and leadership speaker and facilitator.  She is considered a specialist in the fields of culture and engagement and often presents at conferences on the topic of engagement, leadership and coaching.  Her strengths lie in her exceptional people management abilities and dedication to precision and execution.

In 2017, Tanya was appointed Human Capital Executive at Argility where she reunited her Retail, IT, Leadership, HR and coaching knowledge to drive her zeal for transformation.  In her capacity as COO, she heads up the Sales and Marketing and HR teams whilst driving performance and processes within the group.

Tanya’s vision is to ensure that the Argility Technology Group is filled with engaged, skilled and innovative individuals delivering outstanding customer-centric solutions.

Continue Reading
Retail South Africa - The landscape and opportunities Argility

RETAIL SOUTH AFRICA – The landscape and opportunities by Sonja Leoncini

ajustus May 19, 2020

RETAIL SOUTH AFRICA – The landscape and opportunities by Sonja Leoncini

For the many years I have been involved in the supply of retail solutions including software and hardware, I have always found it difficult to get lists of store retailers in South Africa. I tried many sources such as, market research agencies, large hardware, and software vendors – all to no avail.

So, I recently conducted research of my own and came up with some results based on information from stats, various shopping malls and small retail strip malls. Granted, I did not go as far as remote areas and concentrated mainly on the larger provinces but as my information grew and I viewed the charts, as I added more information the one point that came through clearly was that the vertical market share remained the same throughout.

Let me explain: FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods), Hospitality, Fashion, Building, DIY, and homeware have the larger share of the market along with the many retailers I named as the “specialty” sector. The larger Tier is, of course, the Corporate or Blue-Chip retailers, such as The Foschini Group, Pick n Pay, Shoprite, PEP and so on. The next Tier forms our well-known multi-store and often multi-chain retailers and includes the likes of Busby and Cape Union Mart. You will find that most shopping malls are made up 70% of these types of retailers’ operations with the balance being independent single stores or small multi-store operations. The rest of the market, whether they be multi-store, single store owners or district specific – are often difficult to source and solutions tend to be sourced through vendors supporting these specific markets.

I also found that up until recent years, retailers “sweated” their solutions, seeing them as a necessary expense, but not as particular value adds to the business and often not keeping up to date on market and customer demands, which in this day and age changes at the speed of lightning. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced retailers to urgently revisit their existing technology strategies, making gaps more apparent. Today, however, retailers are increasingly reaping benefits by fast-tracking the implementation of new technology offerings and digitally transforming their solutions in order to survive. This in turn enables them to provide support systems that improves their business operations allowing them to acquire customers and provide superior service.

Technology driving retail growth

In today’s world of new technology, increasing innovations, customer expectations, plus an often complicated supply chain – make retailing a challenging arena in which to function. However, new technologies often offer optimal affordable solutions making it easier to implement a seamless operation.

The advent of big data and Artificial Intelligence (AI), bringing up to date wide scoped information to manage the business and make educated decisions based on machine learning, have produced results no one could imagine a few years ago. This is all to the benefit of Retailer, Supply Chain and Customer.

South Africa tends to lag with some of this modern technology because of various obstacles such as: infrastructure, high cost of investment, skill sets and length of time to see ROI. In today’s economic tough times investment decisions are tough and difficult decisions to make but, in the end, it translates into sustainability and growth for your business – so, it’s worth it. South African technology businesses such as Argility are steaming ahead with world class competitive solutions at an added benefit of rand based pricing plus engaging local skills.

The SA e-commerce platform has been slower to adapt than in other countries, although some local retailers and e-commerce operations have got this right, e.g. Takealot, One Day Only, Pick n Pay and Woolworths. These retailers understand the market needs of fast turnaround, efficient delivery and the many options e-commerce offers a customer in terms of buy online and collect in store, order and receive, buy online and return at the store, buy online and return collections.

Retailers selling through brick and mortar stores, on-line or through the various social media platforms, must get the right systems in place. I am being bold in suggesting that you need efficient stock management making sure you have stock in the right place, at the right time. However, if you are wise you need to go beyond the standard information provided in your ERP systems. You want stock to satisfy customers but also to keep optimum levels and not waste capital on excess stock that could be used in other areas of business. Argility’s PredictRetail provides a next level Artificial Intelligence tool delivering improved information and forecasts keeping optimized stock, satisfied customers, and improved bottom line profits.

Using the Loyalty System to Best Advantage

Retailers want to take every opportunity to gain information and grow their customer database. With loyalty schemes in circulation consumers carry many cards to receive benefits. Why not use this information at another level. You can increase customer traffic and bottom line profits through Beacon technology. By installing a small Bluetooth device within a range and a software management platform, you can proactively communicate with your shoppers. All they must do is download your store application from an App store onto their smart device, Apple or Android and they become available to you. You can inform them of specials, new stock, promotions, product information etc. In addition, applications can also be made available to your staff to further provide customer satisfaction and service such as product and technical information, stock availability, even going as far as placing an order to be finalized at the till point.

Argility offers many solutions to support retailers in their journey through the Digital Transformation of their businesses with core and value-added software and services.

Retail SA - The landscape and opportunities ATG Ecosystem

ATG Ecosystem

PredictRetail using AI and data science, offers a multitude of ways in which to analyse data being captured. This is achieved regardless of whether it is about: improving business operations; stock control; loyalty; promotions; customer information etc. PredictRetail displays information on many different views of dashboards with drilldown capabilities.

A Beacon of Advantage amidst a Sea of Competition

SenseView is our Beacon technology platform that offers enticing information to shoppers and sales associates and results in superior customer service. Think about knowing whether your loyal customer is in your store and greeting them by name plus knowing what type of goods they could be interested in.

We support on-line shopping through our digital asset management platform Damsense. Managing and storing whatever media you are using by linking to a central database of digital assets such as images, videos, packaging for stock products.

Argility also provides a digital delivery solution (Multitrax) to manage deliveries and collections from start to finish with seamless ease. We can engage either directly with your stores, warehouse or with your chosen courier service to provide them with a superior tool to enhance their operations.

Fleet solutions

If you have your own fleet of vehicles, we can go one step further and manage your fleet for you through our subsidiary company, Fleet Domain.

These solutions are owned and developed by the Argility Technology Group, based on over 35 years of delivering successful products to the South African retail, supply chain and fleet markets.

We welcome your engagement to discuss our solutions and how they can add value to your business.

Give us a call and let us tell you more. 011 712 1300; email info@argility.com or visit our website www.argility.com

ABOUT

Aegility Technology Group (ATG) Logo

The Argility Technology Group – is a leading innovator and implementer of customised enterprise software solutions for the retail and supply chain industries. Our vast experience combined with a depth of proprietary software and skills enables us to address the multitude of challenges facing businesses in today’s digital transformation era.

We solve complex business problems by supplying and supporting various customised software solutions such as Point of Sale, ERP, Warehouse Management, Fleet Management, IoT management software, Proximity Marketing, Data Science (Artificial Intelligence) solutions and more. We strive to become an extension of our client’s businesses and not just another solution provider.

The group’s origins trace back over thirty-five years as a leading software supplier to the retail sector. Decades of long, prosperous customer relationships bear testament to our customer-centric culture, exceptional service, and innovative thinking. From single systems to the digital transformation of an entire organisation – we have the solutions, skills, and experience.

The Argility Technology Group is comprised of: Argility; Cquential Solutions, Fleet Domain; SkyData Communications, and strategic partners, Ashanti AI, and Neo Retail Solutions. All are foremost technology developers and suppliers of customised enterprise software solutions for the Retail, Supply Chain, Fleet industries as well as a comprehensive IoT framework that enables local enterprises to integrate, manage and optimise their growing IoT ecosystems.

Continue Reading
AI Supercharged retailer PredictRetail Argility

AI and Supercharged Retailers by Sonja Leoncini

ajustus May 12, 2020

After lockdown …. what next?

Sweating out existing technology, expecting customers to return to their old ways of shopping will not be an option in the aftermath of Covid-19. Retailers need to be quick on the draw to respond to this new era. Customers have had time on their hands to browse or shop online and I believe there will be a dynamic change in the way they custom shop, bringing more challenges and competition for your market share. This is going to be an exciting time to use technology at its best to sustain and grow your business.

It’s not a time to miss opportunities. Many retailers have centralised data for information, and put tools in place to support product plans, stock optimisation and customer intelligence. However, few have thought about moving beyond these measures, but make no mistake, the retailers who have will be the winners in the race for market share.

Everyone is talking about Artificial Intelligence (AI) but how many retailers are utilising this incredible technology?

Very few I think – which is short sighted. Argility has a super intelligent affordable solution to support retailers in this quest, called PredictRetail. It is based on predefined data learning models – where data has been trained to correlate and thus provide meaningful information linked to a situation, supported by data-science (using scientific methods, processes, and machine learning algorithms), specifically focused on retail business goals. The Argility team has harnessed years of retail solution experience with the goal of extracting information and thereby provide realistic and usable analytics to solve business problems more efficiently and effectively.

Retailers can use data to gain valuable insights regarding stock demand, and customer analytics. This will enable businesses to become more customer centric with personalised messages and focused product offerings which will be more likely to enhance customer interest and sales, through promotional and marketing activities. PredictRetail helps businesses to identify relationships between customers product transactions and services by analysing data and producing results that enable you to better predict supply and demand by identifying trends and hidden patterns. This will also empower you with optimum stock holding and enable you to release capital for use in other areas of your business.

South Africa tends to lag when it comes to implementation of some of these modern technologies, due to various obstacles such as – infrastructure, high cost of investment, skill sets and length of time to see ROI. However, this is not the time to dawdle. In today’s economic times this is often a hard decision to make but it is also very much in keeping with the old adage “snooze and you lose” – this is the time to act and outstrip the competition.

Give us a call and let us tell you more. 011 712 1300; email info@argility.com or visit our website www.argility.com

Continue Reading
Beacon Technology proximity marketing Senseview

SenseView a Beacon for future growth by Sonja Leoncini

ajustus Apr 28, 2020

SenseView a Beacon for future growth

In an increasingly competitive market we all – regardless of the sector in which we are operating – want to capture every opportunity to engage with existing and potential customers. Products or services – it doesn’t matter what we are offering – the goal is customer engagements that result in sales.
Knowing where and how to target customers with relevant (to their interests) information, is the name of the game. For example, in a shopping mall there are a multitude of options.
How many times as a consumer yourself, have you been in a store intending to purchase but because the sales assistant could not provide information on a product – frustrated – you leave. The scenario is irrelevant but possibly familiar, it can happen in a car dealership or any retail outlet.
Therefore, as a business owner, you want your sales assistant to have the right product information and specifications available on the spot so that they retain the interest and follow through to closing the deal. You want/need to be able to distribute information on new: products; services and promotions to your customers – but the trick is getting the right information to the right customer.

If you are in the hospitality industry you want to inform guests of activities; restaurant menus and promotions. Imagine the beauty of being able to provide intelligence on artifacts via mobile phones in, for example, a museum.
Examples abound regarding the application and need to provide on the spot details such as: specifications; pricing or new services – the latter could be delivered to clients sitting waiting for an appointment in a bank.

John Sanei’s exploration of digital trends notes – the digital revolution is futile without a customer focus* and going forward, should be the changing “need states” of consumers. He details five defining need states as follows:

  1. Hyper-personalisation
  2. Hyper-convenience
  3. Hyper-trust
  4. Hyper-recognition
  5. Hyper-value.

He goes on to say that without taking these factors into account, digital cannot have its required impact on business. In essence, hyper-informed consumers are driving purchase decisions and patterns.

The technology exists and is available for you to drive information to a specific targeted customer category such as loyalty shoppers. Industry becomes more technology driven as each day passes and customers and clients are expecting the best service from you or they will go elsewhere. Many of the new technology opportunities to improve business often require large investments. This includes gearing up for a full omni-channel environment (bringing solutions together), moving to 4th Generation technology and of course, AI and the Internet of Things (IoT). The intention with all of these technologies is, of course, to bring business benefits to enable you to run efficient business operations and this they do. But sometimes at a cost.
With today’s economic climate your business wants to ensure that your spend on technology will bring a return on investment (ROI) without capital outlays and lengthy implementation roll out. Your goal is to see a fairly immediate bottom line improvement.

How do you achieve this?

Beacon technology is one technology solution that allows you to do all of the above. It is part of the IoT ecosystem. It brings real benefits that provides value add to you and your customers in a relatively short space of time, and without the need for costly investments. Beacon technology has the power to change the way consumers access information and personalises the relationships between organisations and their customers. Customers can tailor settings to receive notifications according to their individual preferences and behaviours.
Whether you are in retail, hospitality, banking and financial services, car dealerships or shopping malls both you and your customers will benefit.

Argility SenseView – Merging the Digital and the Physical World

Argility SenseView is a powerful cloud-based platform that allows consumers to receive opt-in, proximity based, communications via their mobile devices. Using state-of-the-art, easily deployed beacon technology, getting the right content at the right time is now a reality.
Argility’s latest innovation, SenseView, delivers content-rich messaging in real time through the Argility-built platform. Using low energy Bluetooth to connect smartphones to strategically placed beacons which trigger messages when someone approaches, enters or leaves a specified location.

Please contact us for more information about this exciting new technology: 011 712 1300; email info@argility.com or visit our website www.argility.com

* Digital revolution is futile without a customer focus

Continue Reading
Marko Salic ATG CEO NEO Retail Solutions

ATG expansion continues with strategic investment in Neo Retail Solutions

ajustus Apr 22, 2020

The Argility Technology Group (ATG) has announced a strategic investment in Neo Retail Solutions – a company that specialises in the development, design and build, plus marketing, of automated retail technology solutions.

This is the enterprise software solutions group’s sixth investment in just over two years.

Neo develops smart, integrated selling platforms for high-risk fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) such as: medication, baby formula, batteries, shaving and tobacco products. Due to theft, many retailers cannot put these items onto their shelves. Neo Retail Solutions enables retailers to physically manage high-value categories in real-time via a cloud platform, thereby eliminating losses.

Marko Salic, CEO of ATG, notes that, historically, retailers resorted to moving these high-risk/high-value items to behind tobacco kiosks or in locked cabinets, which negatively impacted on sales. “Neo’s unique automated retail technology platform integrates menus of these goods into the stores’ point of sale. Once payment is made at the till point, a scan and collect function on the dispenser makes stock access easy anywhere and at any time. These systems are already successfully deployed in major supermarket chains.”

Salic says this investment is a strong addition to ATG’s current retail – including AI and IOT offerings, as well as supply chain and fleet expertise. “This move enhances our portfolio and expands our range and service delivery for current and future customers. Neo Retail Solutions is a good fit for ATG that will augment our goal of digitally transforming our core business activities. Also, the platform is ideally suited to incorporate many of the retail market leading innovations we have developed over the years,” says Salic.

Ben Jansen van Rensburg, Sales Director, Neo Retail Solutions, says the company has a number of products in development, some dealing with the dispensing of high-value lines and others with open shelf inventory monitoring and management.

“Essentially, our market focus is on maximising convenience and securing stock while at the same time increasing the exposure and sales of high-value products. Neo Retail Solutions solves the problem of over and under ordering of stock, high shrinkage and low sales of premium FMCG items. The same platform can be used to provide 24-hour convenience solutions with mobile payment options,” says Jansen van Rensburg.

He adds that retailers require inventory security and real-time stock location intelligence, and Neo delivers both.

Jansen van Rensburg confirms that, initially, Neo is operating in South Africa, but has its sights set on global exports.

“The Argility value proposition for us is that we now have a partner with wide-ranging retail and technology capabilities. Its market reach in different retail categories equips it with a unique insight into the SA retail landscape. Argility’s experience – which spans almost 35 years in the development of retail technology – leveraging scale and expertise to achieve market share, was definitely a deciding factor in our discussions. Most importantly for us was the fact that we immediately connected with the Argility people, culture and business ethos and discovered a shared view of how retail is developing. This partnership will enable us to tap into ATG’s expertise to solve problems at scale,” he concludes.

For more information contact Argility on 011 712 1300; email info@argility.com or visit our website www.argility.com

Source: IT Web

Continue Reading
Tanya Long Argility embraces Industry 4.0 tech

The Lockdown Series: Argility embraces Industry 4.0 tech

ajustus Apr 20, 2020

The Lockdown Series: Argility embraces Industry 4.0 tech

#TheLockdownSeries explores the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on small businesses, how they prepared for lockdown and it’s impact on operations and employees, as well as lessons learned that we can take into the post-Covid-19 era.
The Argility Technology Group (ATG) is a South African enterprise software development and services organisation predominantly focused on the retail and supply chain arenas.
The company provides end-to-end solutions inclusive of: managed services; service desk and industry 4.0 technologies. The latter is inclusive of data science, predictive modelling & advanced analytics; the internet of things; location technologies and cloud computing and gateway control platforms (GCP).
Tanya Long shares with us how the coronavirus has impacted The Argility Technology Group…

How has Covid-19 impacted your business?

From an operational perspective, the only “impact” has been that we haven’t physically been at the office. Otherwise, work continues as normal as we have been able to leverage off of our technology platforms to collaborate and work remotely.
Sadly, the hard lockdown had impacted on our customer base as they are primarily in the non-essential retail sector. We have been working with our customers to assist them wherever possible to ensure that all parties come out of this lockdown and are able to get back on track.
“This has been an ideal opportunity to focus on digital transformation research and development, which will be vital for many retailers post Covid-19. In essence, this scenario has gifted us with an opportunity to do some really innovative development projects, which we are excited to showcase.”

How did you prepare for the lockdown?

We were well-prepared from a Health and Safety (H&S) plus operational perspective and just needed to ramp up existing practices.
At-risk employees were promptly identified and sent home to mitigate their exposure. As an organisation, we had invested a few years ago in ensuring that we utilised cloud infrastructure for all of our operations and that our employees were able to work remotely. All external meetings were changed to virtual meetings.
We also ensured that there was a stream of useful and reassuring information around the current situation, to both staff and clients. The latter is ongoing, with email, telephonic and social media communication.

What’s the biggest challenge you are facing during this pandemic?

The only real challenge has been, in some instances, connectivity. Where staff experience challenges in this regard, e.g. a temporary interruption of internet services, we defer work until such issues are resolved, which is typically within an hour or two. Any time lost is made up thereafter. Our ICT team are also on standby to assist where required. Luckily, these challenges have been few and far between.
“What has become extremely important is intentional communication with our teams and something that we will continue post-Covid-19. Not only for task management and collaboration but also to maintain morale and promote unity.”

What sort of assistance will you need going forward?

The biggest challenge will be to get everyone back into the normal 8-5 workday and traffic. It is likely that most people will probably be so happy to be around their colleagues and back at the office, that this may not in fact be a challenge at all.
We acknowledge that there will be a knock-on impact from an economic perspective, so we will be carefully monitoring and mitigating costs whilst continuing to honour our obligations. A further challenge due to the economic knock-on would be monitoring payments coming in, as so many businesses have been negatively impacted.

If you are able to operate, what steps are you taking to continue operating?

The lockdown has actually highlighted ATG’s competencies and capabilities in terms of being able to work remotely without impacting our service levels; and has in fact underscored our core competencies.
The ATG Management Committee meets on a weekly basis for a situational review and we keep in touch with various teams on an ongoing basis, and with our clients. We will be ready and able to hit the ground running once the all-clear sounds.

What measures have you put in place for your employees?

We have ensured that everyone has the capability to work remotely – as explained, via virtual meetings and check-ins etc. Continual reassurance from a management perspective, checking on employee’s wellbeing, and emphasising that managers and execs are on call should they wish to chat, be it on a work-related or a personal basis. Highlight access to our Employee Wellness Program should that be required. And, of course, post-lockdown, the essential H&S measures will continue, as before, in addition to the aforementioned measures.

Are you communicating with your customers? If so, how?

Yes, we are – on an ongoing basis. Account managers and execs are in constant communication with various stakeholders. Due to the strong existing relationships we have with our customers, it has been relatively easy to keep in touch. This validates the importance ATG has always placed upon our client affiliations. It is the essence of our approach to business – we partner with our customers.

How are you offering assistance to your customers who rely on your services?

As per the point above, we are constantly in touch, and our service levels have not been impacted. In fact, we have received several accolades during the lockdown period, around the efficiencies and support we have been able to provide to our customers during this challenging time.

What do you predict the next 6 months will be like?

The next six months will be demanding, due to the economic conditions which will prevail, however, with careful governance, we anticipate that ATG will emerge from this time stronger and even more dedicated to providing exceptional service. We will have learned new skills and reinforced our knowledge pool. We believe that the ATG DNA of Dialogue, Navigation and focus on Aspirations is what will help us ride this wave. From a human perspective, we will be even more grateful for our people and our relationships, and we will continue to support these valuable resources.

Now is the time to innovate and experiment. What is ATG doing?

ATG prides itself on being at the forefront of innovation. 4IR technologies have been our focus for some time now and during this time, we have had the opportunity to fast-track development on our IoT, Data Science – Artificial Intelligence (AI), delivery tracking solutions.

What has been your biggest lesson from all this?

The biggest lesson for all of us, worldwide, has probably been the changed perception of what is truly valuable.
“ATG has been inspired by the continued dedication and commitment of our amazing teams; we have seen how everyone has pulled together under these strange circumstances, reaffirming our faith and trust in our people.”
We will continue to value and support our relationships with staff and customers, and we look forward to nurturing them even further as we go forward.

For more information contact Argility on 011 712 1300; email info@argility.com or visit our website: www.argility.com

Source: BizCommunity

Continue Reading
CEO Marko & CFO Richard revealing next-generation innovations

CES & NRF 2020: Retail’s Big Show

ajustus Mar 31, 2020

Marko Salic, ATG Group CEO shares experiences from Global Retail Conferences in the USA – CES (The Consumer Technology Association) and the National Retail Forum (NRF) 2020.

I was very excited at the prospect of visiting these incredible retail showcase platforms hosted annually in the USA. I kicked off my trip at CES in Las Vegas – this exhibition is renowned for revealing next-generation innovations and has been doing so for the past fifty years.
Approximately 4400 consumer technology companies exhibit at this conference, attracting more than 170,000 delegates from 160 countries. It is billed as the global stage for innovation. CES is the world’s gathering place for all companies watching the consumer technologies development space. It certainly proved no disappointment.
New York City hosts the National Retail Forum (NRF) regarded worldwide as The Retail Big Show that aims to assist retailers to attract and retain customers by dazzling them with innovative retail technology and store designs.

Exhibitors Themes

There were prevalent and repeated themes from exhibitors at both conferences and I have summarised below some of the most significant ones:

  • Software as a Service (SaaS) and cloud are becoming the basis of most new products with big names all building specialised retail offerings. SaaS and cloud is the future and the feeling is that anyone not on that bandwagon will be left behind.
  • Image and video recognition: There were also a large number of products and concepts based on image and video recognition technologies, in my opinion, most are not yet production ready but enough was displayed to forecast what the future will bring in this space.
  • Machine learning was marketed strongly with the main ML/AI themes being the following:
    • Forecasting and self-learning algorithms
    • Demand, planning, assortment, replenishment
  • Customer behaviour analytics and hyper personalisation
    • Recommendations, e-commerce analytics, basket analysis, propensity modelling
  • Image and video recognition
    • Magic mirrors for clothing, shoes and cosmetics
    • Automated checkouts, data collection (foot traffic, sentiment, where the customer is looking, crowd analytics, heat maps etc.)
  • Artificial Intelligence (AI): Every product seemed to have the words ‘AI’ in its marketing messaging, however, it was interesting to note that when I asked vendors to elaborate there did not appear to be much solid context to prop up the marketing language. This served to endorse my opinion that ATG is further advanced on the AI path than many.
  • Workforce Management: This was another prominent focus at the NRF with many suppliers offering products in this domain. It pleased me to see that our group company Ashanti AI with their ML powered Warehouse Workforce Management analytics application is on the right path.
  • Self-checkout and self-service: As expected this was well represented, with many retailers in the US already offering self-checkout in their stores. You self: scan, pack, pay and leave. There are fail safes in place, like cameras with machine learning (ML) checking items, weight sensors validating basket against what was scanned etc.
    Generally, self-service seems to be big in the USA, European Union and Australia.
  • POS Systems: Most of those on display were really just more of the same – some with slightly more modern user interfaces. Again it was interesting to note that nothing outstripped what we have developed at ATG – we are right up there with the global best.
  • Interactive screens: My team tell me it takes a lot to impress me but I find this technology exciting. It facilitates the creation of virtual showrooms with 3D models of products, that can be scaled, rotated, and customised etc. I’m sure you can just imagine the great potential for this 4th industrial Revolution (4IR) technology for a range of retail applications including furniture and appliances as well as specialised products such as: smartphones, tablets, jewellery etc. retailers.
  • Augmented reality and virtual reality: were also very interesting but as with AI product slogans lacked substantive real life use cases, or were not production ready. However, one of the displays was quite impressive – it was a mobile app that can be used to scan an item like a couch from a printed brochure into a 3D model; then using your app and camera you can overlay the item into your home to see how it will look, including changing of colour, fabric etc. Fantastic tech with great potential.
  • IoT for Retail: In this space there were three dominant areas:
    • RFID but in quite a broad selection of use cases
    • Beacons and tracking of customers on the floors via sensors and cameras
    • Environment sensing such as temperature, humidity, air quality etc.
    • With the exception of RFID the ATG group already has all of the above capabilities in-house.
  • Chat Bots and Voice Assistants: Last but not least, chat bots and voice assistants were well represented with many good use cases in customer experiences and help desk scenarios. This is an area where there appears to be a lot of investment world-wide.

I would have to conclude by saying that contrary to popular belief we – South Africa and specifically the ATG group – are not far behind global technology trends. In general I saw very little that we are not either doing or capable of doing in ATG or SA which was very encouraging. Many of the companies I engaged with on the trip do not have a footprint in Africa and are seeing this as an untapped market.

So, watch this space as the ATG group continues to build and improve software solutions on our journey to digitally transform retail and supply chain using Google Cloud Platform, AI and IoT.

For more information contact our Sales on 011 712 1300, email info@argility.com or visit our website: Argility

Continue Reading
Forte and Cquential partnership WHM

New partnership drives digitisation in warehouse space

ajustus Mar 31, 2020

ATG group company, Cquential Warehouse Management Solutions (WMS),  and Forte Warehouse Solutions have formed a partnership with the goal of improving warehousing via systems and process optimisation.

Shaun O’Brien, CEO of Cquential WMS, says the shared venture was finalised late last year. “This development is all about improving visibility, throughput and efficiencies within warehousing and distribution. It is interesting to note that we already have a shared client account that both companies are working together to service the best interests of the client,” says O’Brien.

He adds that in the past businesses were blind to the value proposition that warehouse management systems offered. “Those attitudes have changed gradually as organisations have come to realise the enhanced efficiencies and competitive edge that results with the deployment of a best-of-breed WMS coupled with a strong implementation team. 

“Cquential is uniquely positioned to respond to this market trend and we have decided to expand our opportunity window through an alliance with Forte who have all the right credentials for us as an SME with specialist knowledge in the supply chain and warehouse management arenas.

Cquential and Forte’s first combined project involves a third party logistics service provider in Ekurhuleni responsible for operating around eight warehouses on behalf of a large FMCG company. The first stage of the new WMS implementation roll-out is planned to take place in the next three months. “Our first goal and challenge will be going live successfully,” says Forte COO Renko Bergh. He emphasised that a successful WMS implementation involves consultative decision making and customer executive buy-in to ensure that methodical planning is undertaken with the client’s best interest being front and centre of all decisions.

“Firstly it is about using optimal processes to get our client’s data into the WMS, then seamless integration with their enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, followed by dashboards for management and control.  Only then can we start doing things with big data and building true value,” he explains.

WMS, which essentially means going paperless and driving warehouse excellence, can be quite disruptive and generally does not take less than three months to implement. “However, this should not be a barrier to WMS implementation – the benefits far outweigh deployment time issues,” says Berg.

O’Brien concludes: “We don’t just sell a system, install it and move on. Our customer service model is one of partnership – walking the journey with the client ensuring that we continually add value to their warehouse operations”.

Source: Freight & Trading Weekly

Continue Reading
Eamon McCann CTO of ATG

Argility showcases SkyData IOT platform for Retail Supply Chain

ajustus Jan 16, 2020

SkyData is transforming asset and resource monitoring and management, says Eamon McCann, CTO of Argility.

The Argility Technology Group – a leading innovator and implementer of customised enterprise software solutions for the retail and supply chain industries – is showcasing its SkyData innovation, a device-agnostic IOT enablement cloud platform that is set to transform businesses through remote asset and resource monitoring and management.

SkyData is a flexible framework built using open source enterprise grade technologies. The platform empowers companies to connect devices and deploy applications that enable automated data collection and analysis, remote device management, contextual and real-time decision making. It permits businesses to monitor and manage any number of data points presented from various devices, and may be used to scrutinise and administer anything from utilities like electricity, water, gas usage, to temperature and assets such as billboards, machinery and more.

Businesses are increasingly pressured to optimise returns on assets, increase productivity and improve operational efficiencies. According to Argility CTO, Eamon McCann, if these assets and vital resources are to be better managed, it’s essential to develop real-time insights that facilitate the optimisation of performance.

“Given the stringent operating and regulatory conditions governing safety and environmental footprint to which companies today must adhere, the ability to monitor is actually not a luxury – it is a necessity.”

Organisations need real-time visibility of their operations and asset performance to enable quick and informed decision-making. McCann says SkyData improves routine maintenance operations, reduces costs and minimises potential safety or environmental hazards.

He emphasises the platform has a role to play in myriad use cases, including monitoring and management of the cold storage/chain; environmental conditions such as air quality, temperature, humidity, moisture, carbon dioxide levels; and dry contact may also be examined and controlled. Plus it can be used for the ring-fencing of assets with GPS tracking as it is a powerful remote asset management enabler.

“Taking a high-level view of the platform capability, there are many uses for SkyData.  Utilities management and the environmental applications are just two examples of the significant roles it can play in a world where climate change, ageing infrastructure and generally diminishing resources need to be monitored and managed,” says McCann.

Across the board, users can access the platform to acquire regularly updated information around performance. “This in turn can be interpreted into typical usage patterns, allowing for alerts and alarms for anomalies. For example, in water management, expedited notifications of excess usage due to leaks can save an organisation significant time and money.  Businesses with stringent manufacturing or storage compliance requirements will not only be able to track, monitor and manage their milieus, resources and assets, but will also be able to easily produce audit trails of their quality processes for real-time insights.”

The extensible platform support capabilities such as e-mail/SMS notifications, data visualisation, dashboards and reporting can be further enriched with predictive analytics and machine learning. It is based on the IOT MQTT standard with integration capabilities, which use REST APIs.

“SkyData can integrate into any business operational system, feed from and to multiple data sources and deliver data sets to any mobile device. It provides for Web-based administration plus configuration and it includes mobile apps for both Android and iOS for remote access – anytime, anywhere. The bottom line is that this IOT platform is set to transform asset and resource monitoring management,” concludes McCann.

Source: IT Web

Continue Reading
FleetDomainfleet management system slashes costs for SA logistics firms

Fleet Domain online fleet management system slashes costs for SA logistics firms

ajustus Dec 9, 2019

Fleet Domain’s online Fleet Management Information System (FMIS)  is reducing operating costs and improving safety for leading South African logistics firms.
Jai Kalyan, Managing Director, FleetDomain, a subsidiary of the Argility Technology Group, says Fleet Domain’s FMIS offers an impressive value proposition to the market due to the affordable pricing. Moreover, local customers are reporting rapid ROI on the system.
“When fleets are managed more effectively, the risk is reduced and operational savings as high as 15% can be achieved,” said Kalyan.
“This is significant when you consider that a fleet of 100 passenger vehicles, LDVs and panel vans can cost around R24 million a year to operate.”
Benefits achieved by effectively managing the fleet and influencing driver behaviour can be as high as a 28% increase in driver compliance and 50% decrease in accidents; while savings possible by better management of delivery routes, reduced speeding and harsh braking can be as high as 30% on accidents and 15% on fines and downtime.

Fleet Domain FMIS

The comprehensive Fleet Domain FMIS system enables fleet owners to efficiently manage operations, multiple service providers, drivers and vehicles through a single integrated platform, thereby reducing operating costs and improving safety. Featuring a full suite of integrated modules, FMIS delivers all the information needed, in a self-service, easy-to-use and seamless environment.
The system simplifies fleet administration, mitigating fraud risk and helping fleet owners make informed decisions about the running of the fleet, with modules including driving licences and PrDPs, vehicle licences, COFs and permits, fuel management, maintenance management – including: servicing; repairs and warranties; fines management compliant with the new AARTO legislation; accidents; trip logging; inspections; acquisitions; disposals and reporting.
The solution also consolidates and enhances information from existing services and solutions such as fuel cards, tracking devices and onboard computers, and automatically flags exceptions according to parameters set by the fleet owner. The constantly updated manufacturer information on vehicle specifications and costs, together with per vehicle reporting on consumption, workshop maintenance history and total cost of ownership, is a strong drawcard for fleet owners and dealerships.  This allows for manufacturer comparison and informed decision making on purchasing and selling for the fleet, thereby maximising fleet cost efficiencies.

Ongoing Product Enhancements

Kalyan notes that product enhancements are ongoing with the goal of simplifying fleet management processes.
“Our most recent updates include the use of Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and scanning modules, which have streamlined and expedited driver take-on by using technology to scan in drivers’ licences, ID documents and vehicle registration discs,” said Kalyan.
“Another recent addition is that of an Inspection Sheet with related photographic evidence and comments allowing for tracking and resolution of fleet maintenance actions. “Additional to its multiple features, FleetDomain meets the needs of local fleet owners by offering one of the most unique, flexible and powerful security systems available today, with the advantage of no capital outlay.  Users simply need an internet connection, and a login name and password to run the application.”

Source: Intelligent CIO

Continue Reading

Argility’s invests in Ashanti AI

ajustus Nov 28, 2019

Argility’s invests in Ashanti AI

Argility’s acquisition journey continues with investment in artificial intelligence solutions business Ashanti AI

Argility – a member of the Argility Technology Group – has revealed it has made a substantial investment in artificial intelligence (AI) solutions business Ashanti AI, a BBBEE level two start-up. 

This is the enterprise software solutions group’s fifth investment in two years.

Argility CEO Marko Salic says due to the alignment of a mutual vision and mission, the company sees this as a strategic investment to bring Ashanti AI into the Argility ecosystem.  

“This emerging business will be a strong addition to our current retail, supply chain, Internet of things (IoT) and fleet expertise, and we feel it will serve to drive our focus on combining analytics with trending 4IR technologies supported by our current products and solutions.

“The synergies between Argility’s vision and Ashanti AI’s mission made this investment very appealing to us and a good fit that will augment our goal of digitally transforming our core business focus arenas using intelligent software, data science/AI, and IoT. Ashanti AI assists companies to increase revenues, make decisions faster and improve processes using AI.

“Combining these strengths will serve to enhance the Argility Technology Group’s portfolio and thus expand our solutions and service delivery for current and future customers,” confirms Salic.

Ashanti AI CEO and founder Takalani Madzhadzhi is an actuary with a financial services background. He heads up a team of data scientists with a vision to provide the best AI solutions for partners and customers. The company’s current customer base includes a number of blue-chip corporates plus partnerships with strong international consultancy firms. 

“We started as part of an incubation hub linked to a data science academy. Since leaving the hub, we have grown our client base and developed a number of proprietary solutions,” notes Madzhadzhi.

He adds that going forward, the company is focused on building predictive analytic products for the retail, supply chain and financial services sectors.

Source: IT Web

Continue Reading
Heritage Day - Ikageng Building a future

Argility is working to Build a Legacy for Future Generations

ajustus Oct 16, 2019

Argility is working to Build a Legacy for Future Generations

As we approach Heritage Day on Tuesday 24th September, Nobuhle Zwane, Argility’s Human Capital Manager explains how Argility is working to Build a Legacy for Future Generations.

Instead of looking to the past this Heritage Day, we at Argility feel that SA organisations should be planning for the future.

Heritage Day gives all South Africans an opportunity to celebrate their history and cultural heritage, the day also offers an excellent opportunity to reflect on the legacy they will leave their descendants. For us,  the Argility Technology Group team,  it is more about focusing on building a positive, empowering culture for young South Africans.  Something that future generations will be able to celebrate as their shared heritage.

It is our vision to build the heritage of generations to come and to achieve this the first step is to start with investment in the youth of our great country.

We believe that the future depends on helping SA’s youth to become the best that they can be. This is why our corporate social investments focus heavily on education and youth development.  We also do not believe in an approach of throwing money at development efforts and walking away – this can all too often be a method used in corporate South Africa.   Argility does it differently – our staff – from the executive level down – roll up their sleeves and engage actively with our CSI projects and their beneficiaries.

Our current two youth development projects that we have engaged with are: Ikageng Itireleng and Releasing Eagles.

Ikageng Itireleng, an NPO in Orlando West, Soweto, which cares for and supports over 800 orphaned, vulnerable children and youth in the community. Ikageng’s prevention and therapy programmes, individual and family interventions, group work sessions, seminars and structured meetings aims at collective empowerment and facilitating processes that help the poor, vulnerable and marginalised to regain control over their lives.

Releasing Eagles,  supported by Argility, strives to raise the level of consciousness among the youth around their purpose in life and their impact on their world. Releasing Eagles creates platforms and environments where the potential of young leaders is incubated and nurtured through strategic mentoring partnerships and with youth workshops, staged in Cape Town and Johannesburg.

Programmes such as these don’t simply offer short-term assistance – they actively work to change and empower young people to improve their lives. We believe that if all of corporate South Africa started focusing on initiatives that deliver sustainable impacts that truly empower our youth, we would go a long way towards achieving our country’s development goals.

The African proverb “It takes a Village to raise a Child” could not be more true.  The Argility community has embraced this philosophy and on this coming Heritage Day we ask other organisations to do the same.

Visit our website: Argility 

Nobuhle Zwane – Human Capital Manager, Argility Technology Group

Continue Reading