The robots are here

Bossa Nova recently unveiled a collection of 6' tall robots that are equipped with barcode scanners and cameras to help manage the 200,000+ products lining Walmart's shelves. In two minutes, these robotic store associates can image 80' of aisles and capture as much as two terabytes of raw data. 

Although the industrial sector has long served as a proving grounds of sorts for technology before it makes its way to the consumer realm, these units are some of the first collaborative robots to go mainstream. Whereas robots have worked alongside humans on packaging and assembly lines for some time, the Bossa Nova units are among the first to make their presence known to the general public.

The precision and reliability demanded in the manufacturing environment helped prepare these robots for autonomously roaming 100,000 square-feet of store aisles – dodging co-workers, customers and miscellaneous objects along the way thanks to its embedded LiDAR system. An internal mapping platform combines with sensors to not only "learn" the store layout, but stop and wait if it crosses paths with a person, or re-route its path if a new display is detected.

The scanning application analyzes shelf depth for assessing inventory levels and proper product placement. The efficient handling or manipulating of such objects is still a challenge for robots, so a human cohort uses the aforementioned information to re-stock shelves and address misplaced items - for now. 

This next level of robotic development could be vital in helping brick-and-mortars keep pace with online retailers. According to a WIRED article, Amazon utilizes up to 100,000 robots to pick orders and bring items to humans for placement in shipping boxes. 

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The power of the mobile phone and your business!

Brief:

• Starbucks said its mobile order and pay service grew to 11% of transactions in U.S. company-operated stores in the first quarter of 2018 from 10% in the prior quarter. The Starbucks Rewards loyalty program helped to drive mobile growth with an 11% membership gain to 14.2 million from the prior year. Member spending made up 37% of U.S. sales, according to a company press release.
• The company, which now has the ability to offer mobile order and pay to customers who don’t belong to its loyalty program, plans to ramp up the service to all customers in March, company president and CEO Kevin Johnson said in a conference call with investors. The growing popularity of mobile payment is leading the company to test cashless stores in the U.S.
• Starbucks is also keeping an eye on blockchain technology, which distributes the same history of transactions among a network of computers and underlies digital currencies like bitcoin, as part of its efforts to be a leading innovator in mobile payments, Howard Schultz, executive chairman and former CEO, said on the call.

Insight:

While Starbucks isn’t planning to form a digital currency or invest in blockchain technology, the company is mindful of adapting to changing consumer habits, as seen with the commercialization of the internet since the mid-1990s. Digital currencies will need to be "legitimatized by a brand and a brick-and-mortar environment, where the consumer has trust and confidence in the company that is providing the transaction," Schultz said. While the executive made it clear Starbucks is not investing in blockchain at the moment, the chain's well-established strength in digital payments positions it to jump at the opportunity when the timing is right. 

As I have said many times on here and on other sources, the use of phones on ordering and searches is growing exponentially. Now is the time to look at mobile phone application!

More to come!

Joe Rossini

KRS going to the Planet Comic-CON 2018

KRS Corporation, LLC of Louisburg Kansas, the creator of the Universal Bottle Clip, also called the Bottle Caddy, will be displaying at the 2018 Kansas City PLANET COMIC-CON, February 15 to February 18, 2018 at the Kansas City Convention Center. The Universal Bottle Clip is made in the USA and designed to hold a beverage bottle around the neck. Our clips fit 95% or more of the bottles currently used. Our clips come in multiple colors or we can manufacture specific colors for your needs. KRS will be selling single versions of  this product in multiple colors at the show. For more information please visit the Bottle Clips web page at http://bottleclip.net. For more information about Planet COMIC-CON KC visit their web site at http://planetcomicon.com/.

More to come!

SEO and how it can help you

I have shifted a lot of my concentration lately on SEO marketing. I am helping companies get listed in the search engines but more importantly getting them leads. I have taken a different strategy and that is I use multiple ways to bring leads. It is my belief that getting ranked is ok but getting leads is much better! What would you rather have, a lead or just being in Google? I say most people will say bring me leads.
Leads are the life blood for a sales team and I know on the rare occasions that i was given a lead I loved it. Most of my career I had to find my own leads so I feel very much for the sales team. I can bring leads and some can be into the millions of dollars if sold.
How do I do it you ask>
I hse social media, use pr rekeases, use email releases and more. Talk to me and I can show you how I can bring you golden leads!

More to come

Joe Rossini