Stora Enso teams with Atos on ‘intelligent cabinets’ for unattended payment

Stora Enso, a provider of renewable solutions in packaging, biomaterials, wooden constructions and paper, is partnering with Atos, a digital transformation company, to bring automated retail solutions and services to the market. One new service is based on the concept of «intelligent cabinets,» which are RFID-enabled kiosks designed for unattended purchasing using smart phones or standard card payment, according to a press release.

The partnership undertakes the commercialization of the «New Retail as a Service» solution, combining Stora Enso's technologies and the service delivery experience and methodology of Atos.

The Stora Enso solution merges in-store and online shopping and uses sustainable RFID tags to track and trace stored items. These tags are paper-based, providing a plastic-free and recyclable solution for packaging authentication.

To buy a product from the intelligent cabinets, the consumer only needs a compatible payment app or payment card. When the cabinet door is closed, the consumer is charged via the app for the items taken out. Apart from this service, a back-end solution is offered to retailers for keeping track of transactions or replenishment.

The Atos digital services for retail and manufacturing are based on Codex for Retail, a modular portfolio of solutions and services for connected retail services with IoT technologies, underpinned by end-to-end services. This establishes a new set of digital business services for retail with capability for scaling, driving clear business value and bringing clients out of the «pilot trap.»

«While retail is aiming at convenience and efficiency all at once, we drive innovations to combine the localization of brick and mortar with digitalization,» Martin Ros, head of Stora Enso's intelligent packaging unit, said in the release. «With our partnership with Atos, we are entering the automated new retail market, where our sustainable RFID technology can bring the unmanned consumer experience to the next level.»

«For any retail company and consumer goods brand, the topics of sustainability, product control and consumer experience are key values for their point of sales. Combining the Stora Enso smart tracking solutions with Atos' Codex enablement and end-to-end service management, we jointly ensure that customers experience these values every time,» said Philippe Miltin, group senior vice president and head of manufacturing, retail and transport market at Atos, in the release.

Source: Kiosk Marketplace