John Ricci
Founder and CEO of Danavation
Danavation’s Digital Smart Label™ technology incorporates artificial intelligence and big data to help retailers optimize and automate their operations.
Times have been tough for retailers lately, and it has never been more vital to optimize operations and effectively engage consumers. Canadian company Danavation Technologies Corp.™, the only electronic shelf label provider that is founded and grounded in North America, understands this mandate deeply. John Ricci, Danavation’s founder and CEO, has over 30 years of experience in the retail industry. He noticed that the industry was missing something — a solution that met and exceeded the needs of modern businesses and tech-savvy consumers. And from that, Digital Smart LabelsTM were born.
A powerful intelligence tool for retailers
Digital Smart LabelsTM are digital e-paper displays that enable organizations — from grocers and retails to health care providers, logistics and manufacturing companies, and beyond — to automate labelling, pricing, product information, promotions, and work- flows in real time.
The benefits of Digital Smart LabelsTM include operational efficiencies, including reducing labour costs and automating tedious manual workflows, as well as giving customers a more engaging experience.
Another major bonus is the added insight that this technology bestows. Unlike legacy paper systems, Digital Smart Labels™ are designed to react in real time. The advanced engineering behind the digital e-paper displays, cloud architecture, software, and, in the near future, data-as-a-service intelligence tools gives retailers valuable insights into consumers’ buying habits. Coupled with parameters such as inventory levels, cost of goods sold, sales velocity, competitor offers, weather conditions, current events, and demand/price-sensitivity, Danavation’s innovative leveraging of AI, big data, and machine learning will allow retailers to automate pricing at the shelf, optimize their product mix, and forecast inventory.
Maximizing revenue with smart price automation
“Maintaining a digital strategy and a pricing strategy is huge in retail,” says Ricci, adding that retailers are currently facing labour shortages. To keep a competitive edge and maintain margins amidst fluctuating pricing and supply, smart retailers want the ability to automate at-the-shelf pricing. The software behind Danavation’s Digital Smart LabelsTM will soon allow for rapid response to competitor activities, adapting offers based on supply and demand plus market trends to increase basket sizes and maximize revenues. “We’re working toward a system where retailers’ pricing will always be competitive,” says Ricci. “There’ll be no need for someone to set price points. The system will do it for you based on data we’re compiling.”
Understanding customer buying habits
The insights provided by Danavation’s Digital Smart Labels™ will also help retailers optimize their product mix. “Our Digital Smart LabelsTM will capture customer data,” says Ricci. “How long are they staying at the shelf how long do they take to buy, what do they buy, when do they buy it? We’re capturing all that data for our retailers so they can map their stores more efficiently.”
An optimized assortment plan — the right products, at the right time, at the right shelf — helps retailers to meet ever-evolving consumer demand and preferences. Using Danavation’s AI and data insights, organizations can get a clear picture of how their revenue will be impacted by assortment decisions. They can then achieve revenue targets with the best-performing product mix by market, store format, shopper segment, or even planogram.
How long are they staying at the shelf, how long do they take to buy, what do they buy, when do they buy it? We’re capturing all that data for our retailers so they can map their stores more efficiently.
Forecasting demand, the smart way
Digital Smart LabelsTM insights will also enable retailers to more effectively forecast demand. This will reduce out-of-stock events, optimize inventory ordering, increase profit margins, and mitigate excess inventory. It will also help to reduce waste, as a huge portion of global food waste is due to grocers’ forecasting and supply chain inefficiencies.
As we’ve all observed firsthand during the pandemic, the digital transformation of our society has shifted into fast-forward. This shift is affecting all industries. We’re working remotely and doing more online, and the acceleration of digital marketing and the automation of business processes across all industries are happening at a higher speed than ever before. Retailers and grocers are witnessing the shift in real time, too. It’s time for us all to enter the digital age.
