29 Jun - Revolutionizing Store Operations: AiFi’s Powerful Synergy with Microsoft and Verizon
AiFi’s AI-powered autonomous store solutions are redefining the retail landscape. How? By harnessing the combined power of Microsoft's robust infrastructure and Verizon's top-tier connectivity.
In the dynamic world of retail, staying ahead of the competition requires a strategic combination of cutting-edge technology, seamless operations, and unwavering efficiency. This is especially true for convenience stores, travel rest stops, and even stadium and amusement park concessions. Often, these retailers struggle with optimizing store operations due to a lack of technology or expertise, leading to inefficient inventory management and high operational costs.
According to Statista, 73% of IT executives working in retail report enhanced productivity, operational cost reductions, and faster time to profitability as the top benefits of artificial intelligence (AI). That’s why AiFi’s AI-powered autonomous store solutions are redefining the retail landscape. How? By harnessing the combined power of Microsoft’s robust infrastructure and Verizon’s top-tier connectivity.
At AiFi, we value the importance of our partnerships with companies including (but not limited to) Microsoft, Verizon, PwC, Qualcomm, HP, and Nvidia. These partnerships are essential to unlocking our potential across different markets and verticals, and propelling us into new propositions, new opportunities, and new solutions.
In this blog, we delve into the revolutionary partnership between AiFi, Microsoft, and Verizon that is transforming store operations as we know them—with the same goal in mind: to make shopping better.
AiFi + Microsoft Cloud for Retail = Smarter Store Operations
AiFi first began working with Microsoft in November 2021, after being impressed by its scalability and vast partnerships across retail including, fast cloud service, remote data access, and retail space savings. Once the partnership kicked off, Microsoft’s solution helped AiFi support a broad range of store formats, and we saw significant customer growth.
With Microsoft Azure, AiFi is the first autonomous store technology to prove its ability to scale by opening more than 50 stores with Żabka Group, the operator of the largest chain of autonomous stores in Europe.
How the Partnership Between AiFi and Microsoft Works
Microsoft Cloud for Retail, in partnership with AiFi, offers the Smart Store Analytics app that brings frictionless checkout data from AiFi through the Retail Cloud AiFi Connector.
The app transforms the data into the standard retail data model from Microsoft Azure Synapse database templates to provide semantic consistency across apps and deployments. Standardized metadata and self-describing data in Common Data Model facilitate metadata discovery and interoperability between data producers and apps such as Microsoft Power BI, Microsoft Azure Data Factory, Microsoft Azure Databricks, and Microsoft Azure Machine Learning packages.
As a result of the above, retailers gain:
- The capability to monitor smart store activity and traffic
- Help with staffing decisions
- The tools to optimize inventory management
- A reduction in the installation/deployment timeframe and lowered costs
- Accurate 1P consumer insights
Learn more about the AiFi + Microsoft partnership here.
AiFi + Verizon's 5G Network = Faster Connectivity
According to Verizon, their “5G Edge technology enhances applications by hosting them at the edge of the network—closer to your devices and endpoints. This helps lower response times and boost performance, so you can collect, process and analyze your data faster.”
With Verizon’s high-quality equipment and reliable network connectivity, AiFi is able to ensure that our autonomous stores are always connected, enabling smooth data transmission, improved store operations, and uninterrupted customer interactions. This is exactly what we did the weekend of May 5-7, 2023 at the Miami International Autodrome for the 2023 Miami Grand Prix.
For the second year in a row, AiFi powered a Verizon 5G autonomous store at the renowned Formula 1 race. Verizon’s Cashierless Store solution tapped its 5G network and AiFi’s computer-vision technology inside a unique outdoor (“AiFi To-Go”) format which welcomed nearly 1,000 fans throughout the event.
How the Partnership Between AiFi and Microsoft Works
AiFi uses Verizon’s 5G network to power AiFi To-Go deployments and deliver a bundled solution that is easily deployed at any indoor or outdoor location.
The addition of Verizon’s MEC (Mobile Edge Computing) eliminates the need for traditional servers, which reduces hardware and maintenance costs by 60% compared to other autonomous shopping solutions.
Learn more about the AiFi + Verizon partnership here.
Final Thoughts
This synergy between AiFi, Microsoft, and Verizon guarantees that retailers can rely on the most powerful infrastructures and only certified, high-quality equipment for their stores.
By leveraging Microsoft’s cutting-edge technologies, including artificial intelligence and cloud computing, AiFi enhances its autonomous systems, enabling seamless store operations, real-time inventory management, and personalized customer experiences.
With the help of Verizon’s 5G network, AiFi speeds up store operations through rapid connectivity, ensuring the store operates at maximum efficiency. Additionally, this partnership enables customers to swiftly and effortlessly complete their shopping in record time.
To learn more about all of AiFi’s partnerships and discover how each can help you improve your store operations, request a demo! We’d be happy to discuss the possibilities with you.
