Verizon Business and Deloitte are combining 5G and mobile edge computing (MEC) into a retail industry digital platform that has a variety of use cases aimed at making retail data more actionable, improve engagement with customers and make employees more efficient.
The platform can be combined with artificial intelligence, augmented reality, video cameras, sensor-based analytics and other tools. The two companies are working with SAP to integrate SAP Customer Activity Repository and SAP S/4HANA into the platform as well.
Deloitte and Verizon Business have developed enterprise-wide use cases that focus on back office application integration and a customizable approach to “accelerate outcomes” and improve ROI.
An example is a use case in which near real-time intelligence addresses out-of-stock shelf inventory by sending notifications to in-store associates to restock and to the distribution center to replenish inventory. The benefits can increase sales and margins, improve availability and give associates more time to interact with customers. Other use cases can tackle planogram compliance and frictionless/cashier-less checkout.
“It’s an exciting moment to unveil this innovative retail collaboration with Deloitte and SAP,” Verizon Business CEO Tami Erwin said in a press release about the Verizon Deloitte retail platform. “We are entering a new era of technology-led disruption at the exact same moment every retailer is looking to accelerate digital transformation, increase productivity and improve customer experiences. We’re ready to open the doors to Verizon’s transformative 5G and mobile edge compute platform and look forward to helping our customers reimagine everything from their employee experience and supply chain to end-customer use cases.”
This isn’t the first time Verizon Business and Deloitte have collaborated on applications involving 5G and MEC. In December, the companies said that they would work together on a combination of 5G and MEC that would create “real-time enterprises.” At the time, the companies said the first deployment would be a smart factory platform that predicts and identifies quality defects on the assembly line and notifies management.
