Best AI Transformation & Retail Optimisation Company 2024 – Hesse

Cheil Germany is a branch of Cheil Worldwide Inc., a leading marketing solutions company headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. Cheil Worldwide is a part of the Samsung Group and is the leading business-connected agency specializing in performance-driven marketing across three core offerings in brand communications, experiential, and commerce.. Cheil Germany specifically focuses on a connected commerce approach, integrating technology, data, and creativity. Delivering a seamless customer experience with a brand through data-driven strategies in the omniverse.  Here, we speak with Retail Strategy Director Bumsu Kim , following Cheil Germany’s title in the Global Business Awards 2024.

Located in Hessen, Cheil Germany is the market leader in creating connected experiences that matter. The company combines a client-centric approach with innovative intelligent software to transform field operations and revolutionise the merchandising industry.

Merchandisers encounter many obstacles across the industry, with route planning posing a significant challenge on a daily basis. The ineffective management of routes often leads to frustration, inefficiency, and a lack of visibility. Every route change requires time-consuming adjustment, making the coordination and tracking of merchandisers across Germany incredibly daunting.

Furthermore, management have limited insight into key performance indicators and priorities, which results in slow response times and a lack of flexibility when last minute changes are requested. Such disjointed operations can significantly impact a business’s future and change the landscape of the merchandising industry for worse.

Spotting an opportunity in the market for innovation, Cheil Germany has designed and developed a unique solution to this problem. Smartways, an AI-driven tour planning tool, is the only solution in the market that maximises efficiency, optimises route planning, and streamlines task management. With this groundbreaking offering, Cheil Germany threatens to disrupt the merchandising market.

“In the world of merchandising, we deliver the best possible schedule by clustering appointments, travel time, prioritising high-value customers, and having the necessary tools to complete the tasks,” Bumsu tells us. “By utilising data from previous scenarios and real world challenges, Smartways leverages artificial intelligence by using set parameters, strategies, and generative principles to calculate and balance the different requirements.” 

Smartways was developed as a result of Cheil Germany’s firsthand experience with the challenges of the merchandising industry. Whilst managing over 8,000 retail locations on behalf of Samsung as a part of Germany’s largest field operations organisation, such obstacles were amplified. Lacking the appropriate tools and resources, the company found achieving efficient logistics and driving business objectives to be a major hurdle.

Recognising its client’s pain points, Cheil Germany seized the opportunity to develop a tailored software-as-a-service solution that perfectly matched Samsung’s specific obstacles. Thus, Smartways was born. The company soon found that by reducing the manual workload, Smartways provided a sophisticated approach that facilitated smart decision-making in complex situations.

For Samsung’s field merchandising team, this provided a cost-effective solution that optimised point-of-sale quality and visibility, ensured optimal brand positioning and promotion, and offered the much-needed agility for last-minute changes and large-scale point-of-sale campaigns and rollouts.

“What is most fascinating about Smartways is the story of how it all started,” says Bumsu. “Built and developed internally, it truly started as a grassroots initiative. For someone who loves the feel of a start-up and building something great, this is a great place to roll up your sleeves, get creative, and try something new.”

Since its creation, Smartways has revolutionised Samsung’s field operations by creating the best possible schedules through clustered appointments, minimized travel times, and prioritising high value customers, providing the necessary tools to efficiently complete tasks. After implementing Smartways, Samsung has experienced significant improvements in its field operations, with store visits increasing by over 100%; time spend in stores increasing by 58%; an increase of 222% in ad hoc visits; merchandiser capacity increasing by 145%; and its yearly ROI exceeding €3,000,000.

In fact, the continued success of Smartways has led Samsung to expand its use into other divisions and subsidiaries, now operating across Europe and Brazil, South America’s largest market. The tool has not only aided merchandisers, but has also benefitted various other profiles, such as sales and maintenance teams.

Speaking on the exceptional results of integrating Smartways, Erwin Schwabauer, Sr. Manager Retail Sales & Strategy  for Samsung Electronics Germany, says, “Smartways has innovated the operation of our field force campaigns completely. No other software has allowed us to become as effective and efficient as we have been since its implementation.”

Whilst there are services compared to Smartways, such as OptimoRoute, Portatour, and FLS, the extensive services Smartways provides are unparalleled. Smartways not only plans routes, but also manages tasks based on levels of priority, a feature not found in any similar platform. Smartways offers more than basic route planning and isn’t focused on last-mile delivery.

The company has reached elevated levels of success, driven by its internal culture. By fostering a culture of innovation, productivity and communication, Cheil Germany ensures it receives the very best results from each member of its teams. The company prioritises continual improvement and development, which in turn motivates employees.

Maintaining a strong team is crucial to any company’s success, particularly within the ever-changing world of retail. It is often very challenging to stay ahead of emerging trends and technological advancements, so it is important that companies continuously monitor the market and remain flexible in the face of difficulty.

As Smartways is a software solution, Cheil Germany is not limited in its expansion options. Over time, the company has shifted to a connected commerce approach that integrates data, technology, and creativity to create a seamless customer experience. Such a shift allows Cheil Germany to explore new avenues for growth to enhance its operations, enabling it to further expand its reach and develop more innovative solutions.

In fact, the company has been working closely with its other European subsidiaries to promote Smartways with their clients, as they too will benefit with their merchandising operations. These collaborations will further cement Cheil Germany as a pioneer within the merchandising industry, in addition to streamlining merchandising operations across the continent.

“Given the needs of our clients have shifted over the years, so has the level of our service offerings. As we’ve evolved from a marketing agency to a connected commerce total solutions provider, a SaaS product like SmartWays becomes a natural fit within our scope of product and service offerings. With a focus to support our clients and their merchandising efforts, we help optimize their overall retail performance,” Bumsu notes.

“This type of approach is what has paved the path for our continued success in Germany and global recognition across Cheil.”

In addition to the development of its groundbreaking mobile app, Cheil Germany’s future plans include focusing on its solidifying itself within the European markets. Through strategic partnerships and collaboration, the company hopes to become a major player across Europe, renowned for delivering cutting-edge solutions that significantly improve the structure of the merchandising industry.

Through the introduction of Smartways, Cheil Germany has been successful in its transformation of route management processes. The company has worked tirelessly in its endeavours to bring great change to leading companies through real-world solutions and advanced applications. It is for this very reason that Cheil Germany has been named the Best AI Transformation and Retail Optimisation Company 2024 – Hesse. We at Corporate Vision would like to extend our congratulations to the industry innovators, and eagerly anticipate its future developments.

Looking to the future, Bumsu tells us, “Businesses are working smarter, not harder. This means using the right tools and resources to optimise efficiency and effectiveness. As we continue to build and establish our presence in the European market, we’re constantly evaluating our competitors and how artificial intelligence is evolving to build and deliver a world-class product.”

For business enquiries, contact Bumsu Kim from Cheil Germany on their websites – https://cheil.de/ & https://www.smart-ways.com/