In 2008, Alan O’Herlihy founded the company, which is located in Blackpool, Cork, Ireland. Everseen is a business that has created a Visual AI™ platform to automate business processes. Their technology provides complete visibility and enhances the customer experience by providing a comprehensive view of the entire business process. They offer solutions for both supply chain and retail process intelligence.
They recently raised €65 million (~$71.32 million) in a Series A funding round led by Crosspoint Capital Partners to expand their business according to a “targeted” roadmap .
How does Everseen’s technology work?
Everseen’s technology uses cameras on the ceiling and software that can see and understand images to watch and study how customers and products interact in stores. It can recognize and follow objects that matter, such as SKUs, and see what customers and staff do with them.
For example, it can notice when a customer does not scan an item at a self-service checkout and remind them to fix the mistake. It can also tell when items on a shelf are running low and notify the staff to fill them up.
Everseen’s technology can work with a retailer’s existing systems, such as an order management system, to provide information and quick analysis. It analyzes video of a huge number of products and customer interactions every day.
What is Visual AI?
Visual AI™ is a technology that allows computers to understand and interpret visual information in the same way that humans do. This means that computers can recognize and categorize objects in images and understand the meaning behind them. Visual AI™ is used in many applications such as facial recognition, visual search, and QR code scanning. It can also combine visual information with other types of data to provide more comprehensive insights.
Who are Eversreen’s customers?
Everseen has some of the world’s leading retailers as its customers. It works with over half of the world’s top 15 retailers, such as Walmart, Kroger and Tesco. It has deployed its technology in over 6,000 retail stores and at more than 80,000 checkout lines. Everseen says that its technology has increased in adoption during the pandemic as retailers and shoppers looked for different ways to sell and buy.
What are some of the benefits of Everseen’s technology?
It can:
- Reduce shrinkage by detecting and correcting missed scan behavior at self-service and staffed checkouts. It can also prevent product switching and basket-based loss.
- Improve customer experience by reducing customer alert interventions, nudging customers to scan correctly, and providing a holistic view of the entire business process.
- Improve operational efficiency and customer service levels by alerting staff to issues that need immediate attention, such as out-of-stock items, process errors, and training needs.
- Increase perpetual inventory accuracy by tracking the movement of products from distribution centers to shelves to shoppers’ bags.
- Provide near-real time analytics and insights by connecting with a retailer’s existing systems and tools.
What are some of the challenges that Everseen faces?
It has to:
- Deal with competition from other computer vision and AI companies that offer similar solutions for retail, such as Amazon Go, Grabango, Standard Cognition, and Trigo.
- Ensure that its technology is accurate, reliable, and scalable enough to handle the complexity and diversity of retail environments, products, and behaviors.
- Balance the trade-off between preventing theft and preserving privacy of customers and employees, as well as complying with regulations and ethical standards regarding the use of video surveillance and AI.
- Cope with the changing dynamics of the retail industry, such as the impact of the pandemic, the shift to online shopping, the labor shortages, and the customer expectations.
Video of how Everseen works:
How does Everseen compare to its competitors?
Everseen has several competitors in the computer vision and AI space for retail, such as:
- Amazon Go: Amazon’s cashierless convenience store concept that uses cameras and sensors to track what customers take and charge them automatically.
- Grabango: A startup that provides checkout-free technology for existing stores, enabling customers to shop and pay without scanning or waiting in line.
- Standard Cognition: A startup that offers autonomous checkout solutions for retailers, using cameras and AI to track what customers buy and charge them via an app.
- Trigo: A startup that develops computer vision technology for frictionless shopping, allowing customers to grab items and go while being charged automatically.
Factors that differentiate Everseeon from its competitors
Some of the factors that differentiate Everseen from its competitors are:
- Everseen focuses on reducing shrinkage by detecting and correcting missed scan behavior at self-service and staffed checkouts, as well as preventing product switching and basket-based loss. Its competitors mainly focus on providing checkout-free experiences for customers.
- Everseen works with existing store infrastructure and can connect with a retailer’s existing tools and systems, such as an order management system. Its competitors require new hardware and software installations and integrations.
- Everseen provides a holistic view of the entire business process, from distribution centers to shelves to shoppers’ bags, and can alert staff to issues that need immediate attention, such as out-of-stock items, process errors, and training needs¹². Its competitors mainly focus on the point of sale.
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