Smart Business Needs Smart Solutions

By: Zabka Polska | 0 Shares 241 Reads

Zabka tests innovative technologies that improve the work of franchisees and intelligently manage the work of installed devices

April 19, 2022 // Franchising.com // In Zabka Smart, operating at Polwiejska Street in Poznan, new technological solutions are being researched to improve the work of franchisees. This unique Zabka store "communicates" with the franchisee and shop assistants and "performs" certain activities for them. Flooding sensors, automatic temperature measurements in the store, energy consumption measurements, or communication on headphones release their time, allowing them to focus on customer service, and at the same time, they are friendly to the planet. After analyzing the results achieved by the store, Zabka will choose the most effective solutions and adapt them in more of the chain’s facilities. This is another step in the implementation of the franchise-centricity strategy, whereby the chain creates innovative solutions to help entrepreneurs run local businesses.

The Zabka Smart project is also part of the Zabka Responsibility Strategy, one of the main areas of which is a concern for the environment, including achieving climate neutrality by 2025 and increasing franchisees' satisfaction with the cooperation with the chain. Smart technology is energy efficient and greatly improves the work of the franchisee.

- Zabka is one of the most innovative franchises on the market. We develop local entrepreneurship based on new technologies so that entrepreneurs can easily adapt their business to current challenges and better meet customer expectations. New, intelligent solutions applied in Zabka in Poznan, support our franchisees in managing their store but are also energy-efficient. This helps us optimize costs and make us environmentally friendly - says Adam Manikowski, EVP, Managing Director in Zabka Polska.

Solutions used in the Zabka Smart
Zabka Smart "communicates" with the franchisee and shop assistants and "performs" certain activities for them. Thanks to the headphones, the shop assistants receive messages regarding the possible breakdown of refrigeration equipment and the need to secure the goods, or information about situations requiring human intervention, such as no sausages in the roller or coffee in the coffee machine and the need to clean these devices. This solution guarantees the full availability of the offer to the customer, and proper maintenance and operation prolong the life of the equipment in the store.

Thanks to temperature measurement, it is easy to adjust the temperature in the store to the current weather conditions, and the ability to generate reports for the State Sanitary Inspectorate significantly relieves the franchisee. Measuring energy consumption allows franchisees to verify the correct operation of devices and to search even more efficiently for new methods of optimizing consumption and managing energy in the store. Flooding sensors will detect faults in refrigeration equipment, the system will automatically notify the service about them, which guarantees a faster response time for the service team, and enables online verification of its effectiveness, resulting in reduced costs and reduced store downtime. An important objective of the Zabka Smart project is to improve the security of franchisees and shop assistants. Video system in front of and inside the store, voice messages in front of the store deter potential burglars. And the sensors installed outside will automatically alert the security guard when the intruder is detected.

Zabka Smart franchisees and employees perform tests
- The solutions used in the store significantly improve its operation and allow us to focus on what we do best, i.e. sales and customer service. It is very important to build a good, local relationship with our customers - says Marta To?wi?ska, franchisee of the store at Polwiejska Street in Poznan.

Smart technologies are tested by the franchisee and the employees of the store at Polwiejska Street in Poznan. Their opinions and suggestions for changes will be among the factors constituting the basis for the selection of the solutions to be adopted in the next phase of the test in more stores.

Other advanced technology tools
Zabka already provides franchisees with advanced technological tools, e.g. Cyberstore application to manage the stores from smartphones, or automated checkouts. To further increase the security of the operation on the market, Zabka also introduced - as the first chain in Poland - new collective insurance for franchisees. The "Business Policy" is a unique initiative aimed at minimizing the risk of business failure within the framework of own business operations - at the time of termination of the cooperation it allows to cover possible financial losses.

SOURCE Zabka Polska

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