Internationally-renowned research firm IDC recently released the IDC Innovator for Computer Vision in China’s Retail Industry report. AInnovation was chosen as an IDC Innovator for its “retail full value chain” solution based on two core technologies — computer vision and automated machine learning — as well as several of its retail products.

IDC Innovators are a set of emerging IT technology vendors whose products and services have entered the commercial stage and whose revenues are under US$100 million. These vendors offer a groundbreaking business model within a certain market and/or an innovative new technology.

IDC believes that artificial intelligence (AI) will play an important role in the digital transformation of the retail industry, properly connect the supply and demand sides, create new value at the retailer level and a new experience at the consumer level. The challenge is how to create new value and new experiences at scale. The cost and ease of implementation of the solutions are important issues that retailers need to consider when choosing AI technology vendors.

Based on the analysis of retail-focused AI vendors and the survey of emerging companies in terms of company size, products and technologies, industry and customers, layout of the ecosystem and future development strategies, AInnovation was finally chosen as an IDC Innovator for Computer Vision in China’s Retail Industry.

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Why AInnovation Was Chosen as an IDC Innovator

AInnovation is a professional AI2B company established in March 2018, it provides complete artificial intelligence solutions in retail, manufacturing and finance area, and commits to deep understanding of retail business scenario, meeting business requirements, providing software and hard integration products and solutions for enterprise users. AInnovation combines technological innovation with quick industry applications. It has served Nestlé, Mars, Yonghui Superstores and other domestic and foreign retail giants.

IDC Innovator Assessment

• AInnovation provides an end-to-end artificial intelligence retail solution, building a “retail full value chain” around “people, goods, scenarios” and “research, production, supply, sales and service”, opening up consumption to manufacturing, covering goods full value chain for R&D, manufacturing, warehousing, supply chain transferring, customer marketing and services.
• Smart Vending Machine: Users can open the door by code-scanning or face-swiping, arbitrarily select the goods, and close the door to accurately deduct the quick-pay-fee. This scenario relies on computer vision technology and is dual-verified by gravity sensing. The data and algorithms for visual recognition are processed in the cloud, enabled lower stand-alone costs.
• Shelf Intelligence: Via use of image recognition method to achieve comprehensive monitoring of channel displays, it can effectively show the status of goods displayed on shelf, freezer and floor stack, and can also be customized with KPI analysis to realize intelligent Channel monitoring.
• Covers the retail in front, middle and backstage data intelligence applications: In the back end, AInnovation provides refined operations for supply chain replenishment work, providing high-precision demand forecasting and replenishment recommendations at the inventory unit (SKU) level, increasing turnover rate, moving sales rate, reduce the loss of goods and the stock-out rate. Combined with front-end smart vending machine, shelf intelligence and precision marketing solutions, it helps retail enterprises realize data intelligence in front, middle and backstage.
• Relying on the whole industry chain solution: AInnovation’s customers cover all kinds of retail enterprises, including domestic and foreign industry leading retail brands (such as Carlsberg, Friso, Mars, Nestlé, Wyeth, Gerber, JuliusMaggi, Totole, etc.) and chain shopping centers (such as Yonghui Superstores).

Key Differentiator

• AInnovation develops technical products and industry scenes at the same time and it has outstanding performances in artificial intelligence algorithms, software and hardware computing power; in the retail industry application level, from “people, goods, scenarios” and “research, production, supply, sales, service” to provide comprehensive coverage on front, middle and backstage application integrates the needs of industry users and realizes two-wheel drive of technical products and industry scenes.
• AInnovation shows good software and hardware integrated products delivery capabilities. Different from some artificial intelligence enterprises, only a single software or “software + service” solution is provided, The hardware in AInnovation’s solution not only refers to the server-based infrastructure, but also includes visual recognition/positioning/detection/measurement equipment and intelligent terminal products by software and hardware optimization. It has good software and hardware adaptation capabilities, which facilitates industrial users to obtain commercial monitoring data.
• AInnovation has comprehensive technical system layout. It focuses on improving R&D strength, and the proportion of R&D talents exceeds 70%. Through the establishment of a three-layer technical system layout of “AInnovation Scientist Research Committee –AInnovation Research Institute — AInnovation Engineering Algorithm R&D Team”, the technical advantages are consolidated. In 2019, among six assessment results of the face detection contest WIDER FACE’s three evaluation subsets of Easy, Medium and Hard criteria, the company ranked first in the overall evaluation (get five of first rank in the six sub-items, and one second-place rank). Besides, AInnovation has more than 100 innovative algorithm patents.

Challenges

The degree of informatization in traditional industries is generally insufficient. How to train artificial intelligence models when data volume is insufficient is a common technical challenge in the industry. At the same time, how to screen out the business scenarios that are suitable for artificial intelligence applications so that they can avoid waste of manpower and R&D resources, is also a problem that needs careful consideration.

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