SAP.iO Foundry Paris launches a new cohort of startups who are redefining the retail customer experience

SAP.iO Foundry Paris with spring 2019 cohort startups at CX Revolution event in Paris on April 3rd, 2019

Look out, Paris: SAP.iO Foundry Paris, SAP’s startup accelerator, kicked off its second cohort of B2B startups on April 3rd at CX Revolution. This program will accelerate eight startups that offer innovative customer experience technologies to retail business and brands. Located in the heart of Paris and led by Sebastien Gibier, SAP.iO Foundry Paris accelerates early-stage startup innovation by providing mentorship, technology integration and access to the SAP ecosystem. With this second SAP.iO Foundry Paris program, SAP is cementing its status as a catalyst for innovation in France by helping its customers access the best-of-breed of emerging technologies and by nurturing visionary startups who are delivering enormous value for countless SAP customers world-wide.

The startups in this new cohort are focused on three areas:

• In-store customer experience
• Big Data and Artificial Intelligence to better understand and respond to customer needs
• Simplification of business processes in the distribution sector (inventory management, replenishment, returns management…)

We’re kicking it up a notch: new cohort, new rules

Over the next ten weeks, the eight startups in this cohort will get the expertise and support of SAP mentors and coaches throughout their learning journey. What’s more, the program has been revamped to offer the startups an even more personalized approach. This includes two days of training per week, including group sessions and personalized sessions tailored to the needs of each startup.

A third day is now open to startups who have applied to the program (over 70) or who are already part of the SAP ecosystem. These startups will benefit from coaching sessions to help them better structure their company and business approach and understand SAP technologies.

SAP customers are more involved than ever in the program and at all levels: in startup selection, coaching, sharing use cases and implementing prototypes. By increasing their interactions with customers, startups will benefit from a stronger business acceleration.

This new program will promote collaboration between customers, partners and startups, enabling the latter to better respond to the real-world problems of large enterprise groups who want to reinvent the retail experience of tomorrow.

Here they come: The 8 startups in SAP.iO’s spring 2019 cohort

Heuritech develops cutting-edge technology combining semantic analysis and image recognition that empowers brands with meaningful data. With its AI technology, Heuritech can analyze the millions of images related to fashion and beauty on social media with a human level of precision.

Indigo Connected Retail is reinventing the in-store retail experience, by creating intelligent and responsive stores that provide personalized shopping experiences and converting stores into a measurable media experience.

MishiPay is a mobile self-checkout solution that brings the best of the online checkout experience to physical retail stores. Their technology enables shoppers to buy a product by scanning the bar code and paying with their mobile phone, and then simply walk out of the shop with their purchase.

Qopius is the European leader in digitizing real-time store shelf-space management. With the AI image recognition technology in their next generation cameras and robots, retailers can double the productivity of store personnel by automating the most repetitive tasks, such as identifying product position and out-of-stock products.

Retail reload’s digital omnichannel inventory solution enables stores to track all their products at the unit-level, from factory production to in-store monitoring. Real-time updates ensure accurate item-level management with RFID technology, allowing retailers to deliver the desired customer experience and product to demanding consumers.

Revers.io is the go-to solution for e-tailers’ returns management. With ten years of experience, they offer customized services for simplifying and automating after-sales logistics for e-tailers. Revers.io proposes solutions adapted to both marketplace merchants and enterprise accounts.

Stockly aims to establish a network connecting brands’ and e-tailers’ inventories. When an e-retailer experiences a stock-out, other sources fill it up. A customer can order from one e-retailer, while another source (brand or other e-retailer) ships the product.

TokyWoky uses AI technology to identify and engage brand ambassadors in real-time and create digital communities on e-tail sites. Hosted on a plug and play or white label platform, the digital community helps retailers understand their customers’ needs and provide a personalized and responsive experience.

Wait, there’s more - SAP will host the SAP.iO Fund and Foundry Paris startups at VivaTech Paris 2019

SAP is hosting all of the French startups in the SAP.iO Foundry Paris and SAP.iO Fund portfolios at Viva Technology Paris 2019 on May 16–17. An impressive 24 startups in all, of which 16 are French and 8 are international, will be on hand at the SAP stand. We’re looking forward to seeing you there. Learn more.