Commerce has gotten a lot quicker. Mobile devices are everywhere. The Internet of Things (IoT) looms to tie everything together. The barcode sits squarely in the middle of it all.
In an interview with PYMNTS, Scandit CEO Samuel Mueller delved into the plans to bring the digital and physical together well before the point of sale, on the shelves and in the warehouse. The company has its roots in data capture, barcode scanning and mobile checkout, too.
Now flushed with $30 million in new capital, raised in part through a Google investment arm, the company is leveraging data, driven by machine learning (ML) and augmented reality (AR), to help firms get better at keeping what consumers want in stock … and get better at consumer relationships.
The company’s data capture platform, well, captures everything from barcodes to data provided through the cloud, to image recognition. The scanning software can be integrated across devices and apps.
However, it is the AR functions — giving a visual overlay product of information projected onto the physical items — that may be the new frontier. The visuals get displayed across mobile devices and goggles, and can be used in conjunction with everything from clothes to packages. When applied to online store shelves or warehouse pallets, the visuals wind up giving the worker a wealth of information in one glance.
“This is a dramatic improvement in the customer experience that can be created by empowering the associate with the right information at the right time,” Mueller told PYMNTS.
The nine-year-old company said that it will look to accelerate global expansion. Mueller explained just where the company has targeted its growth and how it plans to build a client roster that includes Macy’s, Bed Bath & Beyond and others.
Click here to lay eyes on a new way to see retail — quite literally.