12/03/2020

StoreButler: q.beyond launches store digitalisation platform

• One-stop solution based on cloud and IoT technology
• Connects terminal devices and sensors via edge device at each store
• Price changes in two minutes, 30 percent faster picking processes, 15 percent lower write-downs on best-before products

Cologne, 3 December 2020 — Digitalising all stores: “StoreButler”, q.beyond’s cloud and IoT platform, makes it easier for retailers to deploy digital technologies at their stores. Removing the need to connect and control each new solution separately via company IT, StoreButler takes care of all aspects of data exchange between systems, terminal devices, sensors and apps. Partners such as Neptune, snabble, ReAct and Pricer are supporting the launch version of the platform with their retail solutions. q.beyond is also making internally developed retail solutions available on the platform.

Speeding up digital transformation at stores

“What makes store digitalisation so challenging is the sheer volume of new services, data sources and devices, all of which have to be integrated into the retail IT system", explains Thorsten Raquet, a member of q.beyond’s management. “StoreButler standardises communications with all digital technologies at the store and reduces the time needed to launch new solutions to just a few weeks, or even days.”

Price changes in two minutes, 30 percent faster picking processes

One way in which customers can use the launch version of the StoreButler is to control electronic price tags. Comments Raquet: “Prices can then be changed at all stores in a matter of minutes, for example when prices revert to the old VAT rate at the beginning of 2021.”

Another solution speeds up picking processes by up to 30 percent. When customers order goods by internet and pick them up at the store, smart price tags use light signals to guide sales staff round the shelves when packing the shopping carts.

The StoreButler also displays goods across all stores that will soon pass their best-before expiry dates. The system automatically makes prospective adjustments to the prices. “This kind of approach enables retailers to reduce their expiry write-downs by 15 percent”, adds Raquet. The StoreButler is already used for this purpose at selected stores of a large retail customer of q.beyond.

Cloud and Internet of Things for retailers

The StoreButler is based on a combination of various technologies developed at q.beyond in the fields of cloud and the Internet of Things (IoT). Its main components are cloud technology and an edge device at each store – the StoreButler box. This connects local terminal devices and sensors to central management in the cloud. Via standard interfaces, the StoreButler supplies the digital store infrastructure with product data from the retailer’s merchandising system and processes sensor and device data from the points of sale.

“The crucial benefit of this approach is that retailers now only need one infrastructure for all digital solutions at their stores. They are not tied to one technology provider, but can rather combine the best solutions available on the market in their StoreButler”, explains Raquet. “It is a prime example of our claim at q.beyond: ‘expect the next’. With the StoreButler, we can supply a flexible, extendable and integrated end-to-end solution that, drawing on our sector competence and IT expertise, pools a wide variety of technologies and delivers exactly the solution our customers expect.”

At the beginning of 2021, q.beyond intends to extend the StoreButler with a low-code environment enabling retailers to develop their own apps and immediately use these on the platform.

Find out more about the StoreButler at q.beyond’s website, in the webinar (recording, registration required) or in the podcast “The Intelligent Retail Store” with Thorsten Raquet.

About q.beyond AG

q.beyond AG is the key to successful digitalisation. We help our customers find the best digital solutions for their business and then put them into practice. Our strong team of 900 people accompanies SME customers securely and reliably throughout their digital journey. We are experts in Cloud, SAP and IoT.
q.beyond AG results from the rebranding of QSC AG in September 2020. With nationwide locations and its own certified data centres, it is one of Germany’s leading IT service providers.

Contact
q.beyond AG
Jan Erlinghagen
Corporate Communications
Mathias-Brüggen-Str. 55
50829 Cologne
T +49 221 669-8119
presse@qbeyond.de