The 10 Most Innovative Retail Solution Providers, 2020.

1. www.thebusinessberg.com 2021 Most Innovative VOL. - 01 ISSUE - 01 The RETAIL SOLUTION Providers

4. EDITOR’s Make Retail Great Again! E xpanding in an unorganized retail sector is surely a challenge. So, to take the game to the next level it is beneficial, to leverage corporate partnerships to organize and expand domestically and globally. This is one of the challenges in the retail sector. But owing to the digital transformation initiatives and rising customer awareness, these challenges can be overcome in time. and receive payment online. There is a promising future ahead for the companies in the retail industry. With initiatives like digital and online platforms, small and large retailers both are now interested in these digital platforms. Advanced digital payment methods like UPI and net-banking have also made the process easier with the digital payment companies. The covid-19 pandemic has already severely impacted businesses globally. Although the situation is under control now companies are getting used to the new normal and are pivoting their strategies for the future. Similarly, to develop the strategy according to the needs - ecommerce is the future of the retail businesses. Through ecommerce, retail businesses can have their own store, their own products listed, For adapting to the need of the hour, the retail industry needs to come up with new practices regarding the online transformation of the retail sector. Coping with the changing needs is the only way that retail can dominate in all the industries. This is the sector which is completely customer-driven, if the choices of the customers are neglected retail owners and businesses will suffer

5. EDITOR’sNOTE a serious loss and will be out of the competition. are striving to implement the best in serving the needs of the customers. To meet the demands of the world, retail will have to revolutionize the manufacturing processes by keeping up with the technological innovation and disruption. If we have to make retail great at a faster pace, then companies will have to work as a team and keep up with the demand. However, that has not been the case until now. Also, do not forget to read the CXO standpoints written by the industrial experts and the articles crafted by our in-house editorial team respectively. Reading these articles, and CXOs, will give you deep understanding of the retail sector and the leadership qualities of different leaders as well. Let’s begin! But hereon, it is in the hands of the retail company owners to make it possible and identify the need for it. Both online, as well as offline businesses have to create personalized customer experiences to the changing choices and times. This is the only way retail businesses can transform quickly. DarsHP Darshan Parmar In our latest issue - The 10 Most Innovative Retail Solution Providers, 2020 we explored the importance of retail with technology and companies that

6. 10 INTERACTIVE EDGE Leveraging BI to Enhance Sales Processes in a Dynamic Way C o n t e n t s 18 INTUITION SYSTEMS A One-Stop-Shop Retail Solutions Maestro A r t i c l e s 14 RETAIL INSIGHTS Top Trending Innovations in Retail Business

7. 22 SOUNDPAYS Designing the Digitized Shopping Experience C o n t e n t s 28 TOMPKINS ROBOTICS Taking Automation to the Next Level A r t i c l e s Improve Retail Solutions 26 RETAIL DISRUPTION Using Most Distinctive Ways to

8. EDITORS ART & DESIGN EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Sumita Sarkar SALES VISUALISER David King SENIOR EDITOR Anish Miller SEO & BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Sharon Brooks ART & DESIGN HEAD Asha Bange DEVELOPERS TECHNICAL HEAD Jacob Smile MANAGING EDITOR Darshan Parmar ART & DESIGN ASSISTANT Priyanka Rajage ASSISTANT TECHNICAL HEAD Pratiksha Patil MARKETING MANAGER Mary D’souza CO-DESIGNER Paul Belin EXECUTIVE EDITORS Abhishaj, Aditya TECHNICAL CONSULTANTS Amar, David, Robert ART & PICTURE EDITOR Deepanjali Jena DIGITAL MARKETING MANAGER Alina Sege BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT EXECUTIVES Daniel, Peter ASSISTANT DIGITAL MARKETING MANAGER Amol Wadekar SME-SMO EXECUTIVES Gemson, Nikita RESEARCH ANALYST Eric Smith CIRCULATION MANAGER Tanaji CORPORATE OFFICE The Business Berg Insights Success Media Tech LLC 555 Metro Place North, Suite 100, Dublin, OH 43017, United States Phone - (614)-602-1754 Email: info@thebusinessberg.com For Subscription: www.thebusinessberg.com January, 2021 https://twitter.com/thebusinessberg Follow us on : www.facebook.com/thebusinessberg/ We are also available on : Copyright © 2021 Insights Success, All rights reserved. The content and images used in this magazine should not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission from Insights Success. Reprint rights remain solely with Insights Success. Printed and Published by Insights Success Media and Technology Pvt. Ltd.

10. The Most Innovative Retail Solution Providers Management Company Name Brief Intuition Systems is built on the foundations of innovation, integrity, customer service and community. Anand Asaithambi CEO Intuition Systems The company prides itself on putting the needs of its customers first. Bart Collins President Macro Integration Service Richline Group, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, is a foremost precious metals and materials manufacturer and marketer. Dave Meleski CEO Richline Group Total Solutions Ltd (TSL) is a leading technology solutions company in the East African region. Over the last 15 years, it continues to partner and form strategic alliances to bring quality and innovative solutions to its customers. Jabir Bachani Retail Business Manager Total Solutions RSM is a powerful network of audit, tax and consulting experts with offices all over the world. Jean M Stephens CEO RSM Tompkins Robotics is offering and delivering virtual tours of its autonomous robot (AMR) solutions in use at its facility in Orlando, Florida. Mike Futch President and CEO Tompkins Robotics Care Innovations is a trusted advisor in the rapidly evolving landscape of consumerism in healthcare. Randall Swanson CEO Care Innovations Richard Waryn is spearheading LDK Logistics which is a ‘velvet glove’ logistics solution provider situated in Colorado. Steve Doswell CEO Soundpays Tinu Cherian Abraham Group Manager (Global PR and Media Relations) From end-to-end digital transformations to the development of revolutionary new products and services, UST Global has helped leaders across the world realize their vision and create billions in value. UST GLOBAL Interactive Edge is a leader in data analysis and presentation software for streamlining the retail selling process, category management, and related disciplines. Zel Bianco CEO Interactive Edge

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12. Leveraging BI to Enhance Sales Processes in a Dynamic Way A and swiftly. As the technological advancements take new turns, the dynamics of serving customers right from their first step through the door has become quite complex, yet simple with the availability and deploy- ment of the right tools. dvanced retail experience is changing the outlook of the sales vertical. Digitization has shown us how businesses can transform quickly new products to the retail customer. Typically, the presentations were heavily brand focused and included small amounts of data. Interactive Edge’s team is responsible for building the retail selling presentation for Colgate Total Toothpaste which to this day is their most successful new item launch to date. With current projects, Interactive Edge works with the client’s team to determine what type of implementation would be most appropriate to accomplish the goals and objectives of the organization. Interactive Edge’s team reviews the specific requirements and expectations from an XP3 implementation, specifically the expected business benefits, the scope of the proposed solution and the resources and skill sets required for the project, as well as the customer’s IT infrastructure, hardware, and software requirements. Identifying these tools and implementing them at the right time is the key to a successful retail solution integration. Interactive Edge is one such company focused on enabling optimum collaboration between the manufacturer and retailer when it comes to enhancing the sales process. Interactive Edge is a leader in data analysis and presentation software for streamlining the retail selling process, Category Management, and related disciplines. Interactive Edge solutions are used by some of the world’s largest Consumer Goods Companies including Ace Hardware, Church and Dwight, Danone, Kellogg’s, Jack Links, and Pepsi Cola. Interactive Edge’s headquarters are in New York City. Then, the team requests some sample data and content. With XP3, a set of business intelligence tools, the company gives business users the ability to leverage virtually effectively and efficiently any data to create, distribute and apply best practice analytics in data-driven PowerPoint presentations and Microsoft Excel reports. XP3 Data Workshop allows users to easily load their Nielsen, IRI, SPINS and other data sets. “We started with the idea that sales organizations were starting to utilize laptops for customer presentations using multimedia, slides, product animations, video, and more,” says the team at Interactive Edge. The company leveraged its talented staff of programmers, client service staff and animators to help companies like Colgate-Palmolive, J&J and Nestle introduce their With XP3 Data Integrator, users can define mapping, 10 | January 2021 www.thebusinessberg.com

13. The 10 Most Innovative Retail Solution Providers integration, and roll ups of multiple data sources into a single data source for displaying data at various product hierarchy levels. “Our cloud service, XP3 BI Cloud allows users to view finished PowerPoint presentations and Excel reports online and dynamically change the geography and time- period to be retailer specific,” states Zel Bianco, CEO of Interactive Edge. XP3 reduces the time needed to prep, align, and integrate virtually any data including Syndicated, POS, Panel, Shopper, EDI, and Shipment data, then automates the process of generating retailer-specific, data-driven PowerPoint and Excel output. Clients can take the best in thought leadership and easily share the resulting best practices presentations with the field, providing a thorough, cohesive presentation that reflects the values and strategies of headquarters. Zel Bianco, CEO Interactive Edge is also recognized for providing stellar service and support and best practice guidance in using data sources to generate category and shopper insights along with actionable recommendations for better retailer collaboration between retailers and consumer goods manufacturers. We believe our brand facilitating our message of ‘ease of use’ is now being recognized as critical for greater efficiency and ways of working remotely “We have embraced the cloud, with XP3® BI Cloud™, best in class category management presentations are accessed by end users and customized to each retail customer and ready to download or present via the web,” says Zel. The team at Interactive Edge continues to develop connections through API’s to be able to connect directly to popular data warehouses and are always adding new features to XP3 BI Cloud to make it even more valuable to its client base. In a recent webinar hosted by the Category Management Association and Shopper Insights Management Association in October, Interactive Edge in collaboration with Kellogg’s discussed how to deliver an agile and nimble approach to enhance retail customer collaboration. The panel included Zel and January 2021 | 11 www.thebusinessberg.com

14. Tom Wozbut – Director, Category Management Analytics from the Kellogg Company. The duo put some points across regarding the consumers’ changing behaviors which resulted in roadblocks to the supply chain where the manufacturers were pushed to adopt agile technological solutions. driven presentations to their retail buyers. Zel started his career in the advertising industry at large ad agencies including Young & Rubicam where he worked on both Consumer Package Goods accounts as well as technology accounts such as IBM. Zel handled portions of the IBM account at two agencies over the course of six years. Wanting to be an entrepreneur, he decided to start Interactive Edge along with, Cynthia Carnesi, who also came from the agency side, and another partner who led the technology side of the business. Along with that, some discussion underwent regarding Covid-19 and its impact on the store operations, sudden and mass out of stock condition, customers’ enhancing capabilities to grasp the power of e-commerce, and pressure points like sanitation, etc. Zel and his team became one of the first corporate members of the Category Management Association where IE has sponsored their annual conferences and, in most years, presented Intellectual Property breakout sessions with clients including Acosta, Nestle, Jack Links, Mars and Kellogg’s. According to the statistics, 93% of the collaborators believe that virtual communication with retailers is going to prevail for a long time. “XP3 BI Cloud allows us to take advantage of this trend,” says Tom Wozbut. A Dynamic Leadership The team at Interactive Edge along with Zel introduced XP3 BI Cloud in 2019, which allows customers to have one version of the truth so that a professional, standardized, and consistent strategy and message can be accessed quickly and easily by sales. XP3 BI Cloud is being used very effectively by clients like Pepsi, Kellogg’s, Church & Dwight, etc. As technology evolves, the size, need and use of multiple data sources increased and the need to keep it simple for business users did as well. Zel and the IE team were also contributors to the Category Management 2.0 White paper and other Association of whitepapers. He is on the Category Management Advisory Board at DePaul University along with major CPG companies and retailers. He has been a contributing Brain Trust member of RetailWire since it started. Zel has given presentations at many industry conferences including SAP and ECRM in Paris. He believes that working with partners who are much larger and have hundreds of clients and have a need for Interactive Edge’s solutions, will contribute significantly to its ability to higher. “We have been actively working on partnerships which includes being a Nielsen Connected Partner as well as 1010 Data to name just a few,” shares Zel. The company is also building upon its existing capabilities to include emerging technologies such as tabular data structures, e-commerce data, etc. It is actively building out standard templates so clients can better understand how they are doing in both brick and mortar and e- commerce. Zel and his team have increased the use of web conferencing tools like Microsoft Teams to meet and collaborate with clients. Interactive Edge’s clients use its XP3 BI Cloud solution to access and share data driven reports and presentations that are developed to help sales teams become more comfortable with data analytics and streamline their preparation of data 12 | January 2021 www.thebusinessberg.com

16. INNOVATIONS TOP TRENDING IN RETAIL BUSINESS 14 | January 2021 www.thebusinessberg.com

17. RETAIL INSIGHTS T had any effect on continental America where life continued akin to that on a prized and peaceful island far away in the middle of nowhere. And for close to a century, it has been the most powerful economy that the world has ever seen giving others not just competition but also a reason for growth by being the largest and most prolific of buyers. he United States has always been the Mecca of Selling ever since it came into being. Incidents like the world wars and turmoil worldwide hardly the focus on personal hygiene items has gone up by an estimated +30% over the past year and has clearly been at the cost of more discretionary spending including recreation and food. In a way this could be expected with the increase of the Net penetration but what really brought about the wholesale shift can be attributable only to the pandemic which if it lasts long enough may just solidify into a habit. Marketers and retailers if they are sensitive may support this trend to create new services which besides providing an income, also endears to one’s clients, shopper and even employees. It need not always be with respect to medicines and healthcare per se but may be surrounding activities including healthy living which may have multiple implications, and by extension, income streams. Speaking of buying, if there is one reason which stands out for the US in it being called the “spender’s heaven”, it is the ability to bring about massive innovations in systems and ideas which govern every aspect of production, marketing, sales and logistics of products. Consumer products or otherwise, the US has always been the one place which loved (it still does!) to innovate with ideas to sell in retail, be it by bringing about the idea of franchise or chain retail stores, mail-order and more. For the last five years with the world going digital and online, newer changes and additions in this space has been an almost daily occurrence. What previously took a few years from ideation to final implementation is now a matter of weeks courtesy the internet. The long comatose brick and mortar is seeing a resurgence though in a very different avatar, and more in the nature of an extension to things online. Giving it company are concepts inclusion e- commerce sales and drop-shipping. Retail Trend # 02: Rise of the ethical! Because values matter more than money and growth! Placed on an equal plane of product attributes, what are the factors that bring about differentiation and make brands stand out? Quite simply, the way marketers treat their customers, including taking care of customers’ intense likes and dislikes. And one of the things that go to form intense likes and dislikes in worldwide sales is the way one deals with values, be it pertaining to their own brand and what it stands for, or their stand viz-a-viz others, the industry, and the entire eco-system. For instance, sweatshops in rundown economies may be good to shore up the bottom-lines but would do precious little to shore up sales from those quarters who find such actions grossly inhuman. Adding to this fact of using shady deals to reduce costs is not disclosing the same or disclosing something rosy while continuing the dirty work. Being ethical, transparent, and value-based is a need for brands today that stand far removed from times when it was a fad! Research from established quarters (Forrester) suggest that close to 70% of consumers prefer being clients of brand that have sound values and stand by them, and that over 40% of retail consumers would want to associate with sellers with strong and positive ideals be it related to society, the ecosystem, or politics. Five years in the life of retail these days is way too much. The world in the meantime has moved further in its aim of providing client satisfaction and retention. In the year 2021, the following would be the top trending innovation in retail business: Retail Trend # 01: Renewed and intense focus on healthcare Directly attributable to the Covid-19 pandemic, the focus today is more on being and staying healthy for the longest period of time. From hand-sanitizers to hand-wash soaps to toilet paper, it is personal health and hygiene that has been the focus of consumers. A report by Accenture shows that January 2021 | 15 www.thebusinessberg.com

18. Retail Trend # 03: Sales is about an experience! In fact, sometimes it is ONLY about an experience! experience where you pick and go, and bill without a human interface at checkout, it IS nevertheless a brick-and- mortar- a far cry from the ‘ONLY’ online that the world associated with Amazon and eCommerce. What has brought about this understanding is the fact the consumers still prefer going to a real brick and mortar store and do their shopping despite all the jazz that e-commerce sites come up with. The same trends continue even with direct-to- consumer brands like Casper and Bonobos. If you thought brick-and-mortar was dead and done with, think again! When it comes to giving the consumer the live feeling of an experience, online experiences just do not add up. And this is more evident when the seller/ marketer has brick-and-mortar in plenty and is in the business of giving out experiences. Entertainment for instance or even products for that matter where the “experience” matters. Examples abound like Nike’s flagship store on Time Square that despite its location boasts of a camera- laden basketball court and treadmills that give the feeling of being right where the action is. Though not a sales driver by itself, it nevertheless is a great tourist attraction and a constant brand engagement and awareness tool. The start of this trend was with apparels given the need to interact with in-shop persons to get the right size and fit. Why, even real-estate in the New York area is said to be looking at dozens of B&M offices in the next couple of years to beat the online blues! Retail Trend #6: Even More AR-Powered Shopping Experiences The recent trend points toward valuable real-estate being put to the right use in creating the brand engagement and awareness tools which in time to come could be a great draw for brands. AR-VR, ML, AI, and more are not lab phenomenon anymore. In fact, a Nielsen global survey of 2019 found that consumers were quite aware of these and their capabilities, and how they would change lives in days to come. The best part is that nearly half the respondents said this affirmatively that they were willing to use AR-led technologies to assess products being put forth to them. What it means is that AR & VR could well be necessities in doing business in days to come. Here too the pandemic had its hand in making people aware of the uses and utilities in AR. With online shopping being the only option during the worldwide lockdown AR was the one technology that brought the real and physical very close to the digital. It is in fact reported by IBM in the US that the pandemic has accelerated marketers push towards digitization (by using the likes of AR) by about five years due to the prevalence of the pandemic! Retail Trend # 04: Social Commerce Facebook overtakes Amazon in being the perfect site for people to shop for their needs which could be practically anything under the sun. The internet, and more so social media sites were the first and possibly only place where people met during the pandemic-induced lockdown which possibly brought to facebook the understanding that this could be the best place to let marketers advertise and sell their products- actively as part of the site’s very existence! Facebook and others like it have thus replaced in-store experiences by making these online stores just as interactive and incisive as B&M stores or one’s own website. Where social commerce is different from facebook pages of the recent past is that all buying can be done RIGHT THERE instead of approaching e-commerce sites or the seller’s website. There are others in the game besides facebook like Shopify which has tied up with TikTok and Snapchat. Retail shall never die. Only its form shall change sometimes with the old, dead, or comatose making a comeback. Till then, enjoy shopping, online, offline, or somewhere in between! Retail Trend #5: Brick-and-mortar as an extension to online -Purushottam Amazon Fresh Grocery opened its first store in September 2020. Despite it being a store that gives a seamless 16 | January 2021 www.thebusinessberg.com

20. Intuition Systems A One-Stop-Shop Retail Solutions Maestro T everything-digital era evolving constantly, conventional methods of customer service are being disrupted. he global retail landscape is experiencing a major transformation and becoming intensely competitive. With the landscape of the Dosai Asai foods. They could only find expensive, outdated, difficult to use, humongous legacy systems that were hard to use. This prompted them to put together their own mobile POS system. After exiting the restaurant business, the founders formed Intuition Systems to further develop, build and commercialize this android-based mPOS billing, payments and business management system called Intuition’s Version of Point-of-sales (IVEPOS) which became India’s first android POS platform. The retail industry has undergone substantial changes in recent years to improve business operations and become more customer oriented, to cope with the aforementioned transformation. Both online and offline markets are adapting to overcome any limitations in their services by using various advanced technologies and are creating personalised customer experience pertaining to the changing demands and preferences. Intuition has grown exponentially from a small ops selling software for door to door and local restaurants, to now providing for large payment processors and smaller retailers in more than 15 locations in India and abroad. They hope to continue their momentum and growth. In these times of increasing uncertainty, one of the best resources that retailers and restaurateurs can avail for themselves are the services provided by Intuition Systems, one of the most innovative retail solutions providers. Awards and Accolades 2020 – ‘Top Entrepreneurs that Inspire Us’ Intuition Systems was built on the foundations of innovation, integrity, customer service and community. The company’s cloud-based restaurant point-of-sale (POS) software or retail POS software has more than 100 features including omni-channel management, billing, business management, dedicated APIs (application programming interface), aggregator of third-party apps, CRM, analytics in one single POS system. 2019 - • ‘10 best tech entrepreneurs in IT’ • ‘The 10 most promising POS solution providers’ • ‘The 10 most recommended retail solution providers’ 2018 – ‘Top 25 leading retail & solution companies in India’ With a mission to empower entrepreneurs with a powerful and easy to use software tool, Intuition Systems aspires to build an all-in-one mobile business management, payment, and automation ecosystem making it easier for retailers to conduct business from their store front. 2017 - • ‘The 30 most preferred tech workplaces’ • ‘Top 20 most promising POS’ Humble Beginnings In 2012, the founders at Intuition Systems tried to set up a POS system for their restaurants in Bengaluru, for 18 | January 2021 www.thebusinessberg.com

21. The 10 Most Innovative Retail Solution Providers The IVEPOS restaurant POS and retail POS accepts different payment modes including cards, QR-payment, UPI, etc. and comes with nearly 100 major features including taxes, payments, wallets, loans, e-commerce, etc., and is also available in 78 currencies. Customer is the Boss With a disruptive, cloud-enabled POS and ‘ERP lite’ platform and with more than 100 features that can be seamlessly integrated into a small 5.5- inch mobile POS device, the IVEPOS software can transform the POS hardware into a powerful all in one device and aggregator, using a SaaS business model. This technology can digitally empower all merchants including the micro-merchants to build and run a successful business, perform complex operations, boost revenues, communicate with vendors and customers, avail banking functionalities anywhere, anytime, and at an affordable cost. Intuition merchants are able to provide customers with features for a more personalised, wholesome experience. Anand Asaithambi, CEO The Leader of the Innovators The CEO of this innovative company is Anand Asaithambi. A mechanical engineer, having graduated from Anna University, Anand is a serial entrepreneur with a specialization in FinTech, food technology, and engineering. He has co-founded two companies, Intuition Systems being one of them. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. Anand is skilled in software architecture, robotics, design, UI/UX, product management and marketing. He led Intuition Systems from a start-up to a leading POS, billing, and business management platform company. We envision creating a digital shop that can perform billing, business management, business automation, payments, credit facilities, social media, CRM and everything from just one device. Perseverance Through Adversity Talking about the challenges that Intuition Systems came across, Anand says, “Expanding in an unorganized retail and food sector in India as a small company is surely a challenge. It is beneficial, at times, to leverage corporate partnerships to organize and expand domestically and globally. This is one of the major challenges we see.” “Additionally, educating large number of customers about a product with more than 100+ features and unlocking the value of the IVEPOS system economically is another January 2021 | 19 www.thebusinessberg.com

22. major challenge. But owing to the digital India initiatives and rising customer awareness, these challenges can be overcome in time,” he adds. with key enterprise partners. 3. Building an efficient sales, advertising, and marketing strategy. 4. Special focus on tier B and C cities. The covid-19 pandemic has severely impacted businesses globally. However, companies are slowly getting used to the new normal and are pivoting their strategies for the future. Pertaining to the same, the leadership team at Intuition Systems has developed an omni-channel strategy. They have in progress, an e- commerce web-app that will be created specifically for merchants to conduct online sales. Through this, merchants can have their own store, their own products listed, and receive payment online. “There is a promising future ahead for the company and the industry. With initiatives like digital India, so many small and large retailers are now in a digital platform. The advanced payment methods including UPI has changed the digital payment landscape in India,” says Anand. Another goal for Intuition Systems is to create an ecosystem to manage store automation using mobile and powerful all-in-one android POS system. “We envision creating a digital shop that can perform billing, business management, business automation, payments, credit facilities, social media, CRM and everything from just one device. We also aim at making sales of about 2.5 million licenses in the next four years to our retail partners,” says the team at Intuition Systems. For brick-and-mortar customers, the e-commerce module is integrated to the IVEPOS software suite. So, they can manage both the online digital store and physical store sales integrated from the IVEPOS app. This new omni-channel capability will empower customers to boost sales from both channels and overcome the challenges posed by the pandemic. A Future to Aspire For For Intuition Systems, some of the strategically driven plans and future milestones to scale the business include: 1. Integrating e-commerce and omni-channel sales features. 2. Focusing on product and partnership development 20 | January 2021 www.thebusinessberg.com

24. Designing the Digitized Shopping Experience T conventional modes of customer service are getting disrupted. Even the way a customer shops or shares his/her opinion on their shopping experience is being propagated through technological mediums such as websites, social media, blogs, and vlogs. he global retail landscape is experiencing a major transformation and becoming increasingly competitive. With the advent of the digital era, contributions in the sector: 1. In-store or physical locations of conventional commerce: The ability to make in-store checkout purchases at a safe distance from the counter and salesclerk, while at the same time eliminating any requirement to touch or handle a physical payment device. 2. Out of store: The technology at SoundPays allows for a truly mobile experience. The company enables advertisers and broadcast content providers to engage their audience as they are seeing/hearing their content, whether it is playing on TV, online, OOH signs, live events, or stadium screens. The technology provides a profound opportunity to convert viewers to the ‘power-of-the-moment’ by combining next-generation marketing, advertising, commerce, and user convenience in a truly mobile manner. Viewers can engage while on the flight, while relaxing watching TV or sitting in a stadium: a complete omnichannel offering, provided from a single SDK (software development kit). To keep up with these changes, the retail industry has undertaken drastic changes in recent years to improve business operations and become more customer oriented. Change is the name of the game. One of the major players of this revered game is SoundPays. Started in the year 2015, this Toronto, Canada based company has made quite a name for itself in the retail and purchasing innovation space. SoundPays is an early-stage media-tech company with a cutting edge, mobile engagement solution that utilizes patented ultrasonic sound wave technology to connect consumers to advertising content in real-time. Going Ultrasonic! The customers of SoundPays admire the company for its user-friendly services despite the advanced tech it keeps in its arsenal. Sounds Like a Plan SoundPay’s vision is that every single point-of-sale (POS) will eventually be transmitting the purchased ticket directly to the phone through ultrasonic sound to enable a remote, phone-based payment engagement by the shopper. These patrons are provided with a solution based on the company’s patented technology, that they can deploy at either the media side (enabling advertisements or programming content with supplemental information accessible directly from the content) or at the app/wallet side which allows for receiving and easily accessing the supplemental information. SoundPays aspires to emerge as a new standard in touch- less, contact-less payment. One that will be as universal as QR Code payment currently is in China. Every single screen or display, whether in or out-of-home, will be perpetually transmitting supplemental information (ultrasonically) which can be downloaded and instantly acted upon by any phone, in any location, at any time. This distinguishes both the media content from all competitor content and the app/wallet capability above all other conventional apps/wallets. But what makes the service provider so unique is its patented ultrasonic technology. Fundamental Contributions SoundPays has been instrumental in the transformation of the retail and purchasing landscape through technology in recent times. But to add to its portfolio, SoundPays dictates two fundamental things as its most notable Soundpays sound codes are comprised of a combination of near-ultrasonic inaudible tones derived mathematically based on their patented process for converting 22 | January 2021 www.thebusinessberg.com

25. The 10 Most Innovative Retail Solution Providers frequencies and tones into codes. They are delivered between mid-18 and 20 kHz, tending to the inaudible frequency. When an inaudible sound wave embedded into a video is broadcasted through any type of speaker (TV, phone, computer, digital sign, stadium speakers, etc.), and when the SoundPays SDK is activated from a mobile app or wallet, the mobile device is instructed to listen for tones above 18 kHz. The device microphone picks up this sound wave and the company’s proprietary algorithm then de-codes it into a human-readable 8- or 10-digit code. This 8- or 10-digit code is then relayed to specific product offers which are then displayed on the mobile device screen for review, making it potentially a one-step purchasing experience. When fully enabled using SoundPays Commerce, once a customer clicks on ‘purchase’, the transaction is processed in the cloud: charging the customer’s selected credit card and transferring funds to the merchant’s existing merchant account using the current industry transaction processing ecosystem. Steve Doswell, CEO For security purposes, we instruct the microphone to only listen above 18 kHz. Furthermore, no sounds are recorded, and no microphone activity ever leaves the mobile phone, and no microphone activity is delivered to SoundPays server as all the tones are processed and mathematically calculated locally on the phone. We expect that SoundPays will emerge as a new standard in touchless and contactless payment A Pioneering Leader To develop the commercialization strategy, raise the required funding, and build the team to take the company from a nascent concept to widespread commercial success, they brought in the dynamic Steve Doswell. Steve has been the co-founder or on the initial executive teams of three Canadian start-ups, all of which grew 400-500 employees prior to being acquired. He has also held executive entrepreneurship roles as GM of Ericsson Canada and COO of AOL Canada. At SoundPays, Steve was responsible for the international expansion plan, including the signing of a marquee customer in Europe and lining up the four licensee candidates in Japan. Steve, as the CEO was also the speaker for some notable company awards as: • Finovative Fall (2015) – Best of Show • Street Contxt (2016) – FinTechTO winner • Women in payments (2016) – Unicorn challenge winner January 2021 | 23 www.thebusinessberg.com

26. • VISA Global Contest for FinTech Startups (2016) - Finalist • NTT Data Open Innovation (2017) – Toronto winner • NTT Data Open Innovation (2017) – Global finalist • Financial Innovation Japan Business Conference (2018) – Audience award. objectives for 2020, so this area of our business has not been materially impacted. However, market-based initiatives have been.” Aspiring to Make a Difference When asked about the strategically driven plans that the company plans to implement to scale the business in 2021, the team at SoundPays graciously provided these five of their major focuses: Course-correction and Facing Obstacles Like many retail solution providers, SoundPays had to fare through its share of hurdles. 1. Get their two marquee customers back into play. Both have put their SoundPays initiatives on hold, even after having very positive results in initial 2019 rollouts. The company plans to help them utilize their technology as part of adaptive response strategies to Covid and other issues now facing them. 2. Complete a small ‘Seed’ raise which was started in 2019, but the final closing has been delayed because of Covid-related factors with several of its prospective investors. This raise is specifically targeted towards US VC(s). 3. Complete the product roadmap and R&D initiatives for 2021; including commercializing new technology designed for the TV and FM radio sectors that was patented in 2020. SoundPays also intends to file a third patent in 2012. 4. Close impending contracts with the top-eight of their key pipeline prospects in North America. All of these prospects were initially expected to be in the market during 2020, but all were delayed because of Covid- related matters, and the resulting new priorities. They expect that all will be ready to proceed with initial plans in 2021. 5. Launching in Japan, the company has amassed a group of four potential licensees that it has been in discussion with. It completed highly successful POCs with three of these entities early in 2020. All of these led to discussions and negotiations around commercial launches. SoundPays also signed an agreement with a fourth entity to collaborate on a commercial launch. All four entities are major corporate conglomerates or major brands in Japan. All were impacted by Covid- related delays but should be ready to proceed in 2021. The initial funding was an issue, as it is for most startups in Canada. Streaking relationships and working closely with the major Canadian Financial Institutions (FIs) was an obstacle, as all FIs were at the stage of de-emphasizing and reducing investments in wallets and mobile payments. In fact, by late 2016, most entities were de-funding mobile app strategies, which made it difficult for SoundPays to establish partnerships based on investing in and elevating the capabilities of existing apps. In the early days, it seemed that major entities were highly impressed with the potential of digitally connecting to media content but viewed it as a future concept rather than one to initiate at the time. To emphasize further on the struggle of the team at SoundPays, Steve Doswell stated - “Just as the company started to gain traction and momentum with major entities, Covid hit the scene and suddenly the SoundPays proposition became of secondary importance as retail entities were trying to figure out how to regain traffic in their malls and stores, and while sports franchises were suddenly having to operate with empty stadiums.” The fact that broadcasters, malls, retailers, sports franchises, cinemas are all focused on dealing with the impact of Covid above all, and at the expense of their innovation initiatives represents the startup’s biggest struggle at this time. For adapting to the need of the hour, the company introduced new practices keeping the health and safety of everyone involved into perspective. Now, all of its interactions with customers and prospective customers are exclusively remote. This has made it challenging to proceed with third-party initiatives. Conclusively, SoundPays is proving to be commercially viable in dozens of different sites and use cases. The team is growing, dynamic and enthusiastic, and dedicated to creating new frictionless engagement and commerce channels that will inevitably simplify consumer lifestyle and become an everyday part of our lives. Steve additionally stated, “Internally, our technology team has been able to accomplish our product road-map and R&D 24 | January 2021 www.thebusinessberg.com

28. Using Most Distinctive Ways to Improve Retail Solutions 26 | January 2021 www.thebusinessberg.com

29. RETAIL DISRUPTION U methods to improve the ease of the consumers as well as improve their own business. Changing times lead to changing trend in the world of retail and eCommerce. From innovative retail technologies to surprising different new sales channels can improve the way retail solution providers improve the quality of their solutions. nprecedented time calls for unprecedented, win- win, decisive and innovative solutions. Retail solution providers prefer to use innovative quality of retail solutions. The strong brand identity like Amazon also helps for connecting with shoppers easily and establishing trust. Amazon offers facility and various tools to build unique brand identities. Amazon continues to offer and emphasize opportunities for brands to tell their unique story and build strong brand equity on its platform with good content. Online shopping is there to stay no matter what. During the times of pandemic especially this trend to use online platforms has increased tremendously and it will rise even more in coming times. Shopping experience on a social media platform gives consumers a seamless opportunity to shop online. Social commerce is seeing rise in the recent few months and it can become more integral part of eCommerce experience. Facebook and Instagram are especially offering both sellers and consumers opportunity to do online business through these platforms. Through these two platforms sellers have global audience in front of them. Facebook is creating a more personalised shopping experience. A new approach to influencer marketing is also another innovative way retail solution providers are preferring to use. Influencer content branding is about raw, real aesthetic exposure of products along with genuine captions about it. Authenticity in influencer marketing attracts consumers. Various brands using authentic video for the purpose of keeping their influencer marketing engaging can also help. Different brands creating offline experiences that leverage the technology and convenience of e-commerce is also an innovative retail solution. Tracking metrics that comes with it will inevitably need to continue to expand as different brands become increasingly interested in understanding the increased impact their advertising and different creative strategies have on attracting new consumers to purchase. Amazon is continuing to support and enhance brands’ abilities to advertise and differentiate their brand identities distinctively and creatively. This helps these brands to reach to larger audience. Ethical and values-based brands are also seeing the rise in attracting more consumers. This is also one of the innovative solution retailers are coming up with because many people value transparency, ethics, and value-based purchasing. Offering same day delivery platform to as many number of products possible is certainly very attractive retail solution. Smart speaker shopping option also improves consumer experience. Brands can leverage smart speaker and voice search technology. Increased use of chatbots is also one of the innovative solution retailers are preferring to use. Use of all these various innovative technologies are certainly playing important role in boosting traffic and providing more quality retail solutions. As many shoppers preferring to rely on online shopping especially since the pandemic, retailers are leveraging Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) technology to bridge the gap between the digital and the physical. According to various estimate the pandemic has accelerated online shopping by almost five years. Consumers prefer to use these technologies to assess products. AR, VR these technologies have gone from nice to have to an essential part of e-commerce offerings of retailers. Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology has also a huge role and potential to play to improve the - Sharad Chitalkar January 2021 | 27 www.thebusinessberg.com

30. Taking Automation to the Next Level T many places, business owners have realized the need for adopting technological advancements and the automation of operational processes tops their list. his ongoing pandemic has presented a rise in demand for business processes to be automated at a rapid pace. Due to related restrictions in and portable robotic solutions, making the clients more agile, adaptable, and profitable in today’s dynamic marketplace. Wait…. What is t-sort again? Ideal for small to large distribution operations, t-Sort is a portable, scalable robotic sortation system that operates like a tilt tray or cross belt sorter without a fixed track, with independent robots that move freely along the shortest path to any divert or induction station. It can be used for both item and parcel sortation in a variety of environments and applications, including e-commerce fulfillment, store replenishment, shipping and returns and retail and postal backrooms. The system can process and sort a greater range of goods than any other single type of sorter. Systems have been deployed doing up to 36,000 items an hour In response to COVID-19 and travel limitations, Tompkins Robotics has been offering and delivering virtual tours of its autonomous mobile robot (AMR) solutions in use at the company’s Orlando, Florida facility. The interactive tours demonstrate the various configurations and capabilities of Tompkins Robotics’ award-winning t-Sort systems, including the t-Sort, t- Sort Mini and t-Sort Plus models. In addition to witnessing its solutions in action, companies also get a chance to learn about the technologies that are integrated into the company’s systems, including automated induction and charging; integrated weight and dimension capture; Tompkins Robotics’ proprietary wireless network and warehouse execution system (WES); and new innovations such as an automated sorter exit robot, among others. Awards felicitated to Tompkins Robotics & t-Sort: • Modern Materials Handling, Material Handling Product News and Material Handling 24/7 – 2019 Readers’ Choice Product of the Year Award The company is focused on the robotic automation of distribution operations. Its primary system, t-Sort, consists of autonomous mobile robots that sort a wide range of items and parcels to consolidation points, optimizing client distribution performance and capabilities. • Supply Chain Management Review – 2020 NextGen Supply Chain Robotic Solution Provider Award • Postal and Parcel Technology Interna- tional Awards 2018 – Sorting Centre Innovation of the Year Tompkins Robotics has maintained forward progress during the pandemic and enters 2021 with a large backlog of orders for delivery. These consist of orders for new sites for existing customers and orders for new customers. • Beyond! – 10 Innovative Robotics Solution Providers (2019) “We continue to expand this core system with complementary robotics and integrated material handling systems to automate fulfillment operations,” explains Mike Futch, President and CEO of the company. Its systems maximize performance with mobile, scalable, flexible, • CIO Review – 20 Most Promising Robotic Solutions Providers (2019) 28 | January 2021 www.thebusinessberg.com

31. The 10 Most Innovative Retail Solution Providers and as large as 2,700 individual sort destinations. With its flexible and scalable design, t-Sort is changing the way firms look at material handling across their supply chain. t-Sort is creating a huge paradigm shift in the supply chain and how the basic distribution function of order fulfillment is accomplished. While initially conceived as a parcel sortation solution, Tompkins Robotics has evolved the t-Sort suite across a wide range of supply chain and distribution applications. “Our ingenuity and decades of experience in the design of operations has resulted in a line of products with the ability to provide previously unseen modularity, flexibility, and speed of implementation, all at a lower cost than traditional solutions,” says the team of Tompkins Robotics. The company has developed a solution in its t-Sort product suite that can enhance almost every step in the supply chain. In addition to the original t-Sort solution, Tompkins Robotics’ AMR suite also features the t-Sort Mini for sorting small and lightweight items and the t-Sort Plus, which is capable of handling items up to 66 pounds—six times the weight of the original t-Sort solution. In 2020, Tompkins Robotics also released t-Rail, which enables overhead transportation of goods without disruption to floor-level activities. t-Rail can be used as part of Tompkins Robotics’ new micro-fulfillment solution which optimizes operations in small, standalone distribution or fulfillment centers, hyperlocal operations, or even inside a retail store. The t-Sort applications are used across the entire supply chain. Since the system is plug and play for all elements, a client can make their system any size or shape and ramp up the volume by adding robots. Mike Futch, President and CEO The range of applicable locations to use a t-Sort is at every node in the Supply Chain, anywhere from a large distribution or fulfillment center to the backroom of a retail store Switches and Glitches One of the biggest challenges in the early history of Tompkins Robotics was overcoming the fact that t-Sort was new and different. Firms that had decades of experience in using traditional sortation systems were slow to accept this new technology. Getting the first few customers was difficult as there were no sites to tour, no customer references, and the company was a startup. In addition, Tompkins Robotics’ team was still evolving the t- Sort models, use cases, physical designs, and vendor base. “Our system has improved through this evolution,” says Mike. Currently, the company does not have any major struggles. “We have manufacturing capacity, staff, and technology to meet the demands of 2021 and beyond. If our business were to grow faster than anticipated, then we may January 2021 | 29 www.thebusinessberg.com

32. involved from day one in the evolution of this unique and innovative system, recognizing the potential, designing the applications, and creating the value proposition for Tompkins Robotics' customers. He continues to lead the design and forward movement of the company, driving much of the new application development, new product conceptualization and the integration with partners solving unique problems with complementary robotic automation. His focus is to deliver Tompkins Robotics and its systems to customers across the globe to maximize their service, performance, and operations in ways never possible. have an issue with onboarding new staff to keep up with the demand. However, that has not been an issue to date,” states the team of Tompkins Robotics. It has partnered with integrators such as Bastian, Pulse, and Conveyco, which add sales, marketing, and deployment bandwidth to the firm. It has multiple vendors and sources for procured elements and has partnered with suppliers with the bandwidth to add shifts, staff, and production lines to increase capacity. The company’s team proactively hires new staff to allow them to have a training period prior to full autonomy. “We keep a 13-week and an annual projection of all key elements of our businessthat are updated every two weeks to recognize upcoming issues and adjust to meet them,” says the team of Tompkins Robotics. Mike has had a long, successful, prior career in the U.S. Air Force and as a leader in consulting practices at several firms. He now brings that same level of success to the leadership of Tompkins Robotics and its customers. The demand for robotic sortation is just now picking up speed and Mike, along with his team, is uniquely positioned to lead in this space. Tompkins Robotics patents and unique designs allow it to do robotic sortation better than any competitor and its team is the current leader in AMR sortation. “We will have our largest and best year in 2021. We expect our business to double in 2021 and 2022,” concludes Mike. An Automation Expert Mike Futch is one of the original leaders that created Tompkins Robotics and brought the t-Sort sortation system to life for global customers. He has been 30 | January 2021 www.thebusinessberg.com