Reports on the Latest Retail Technology Experience by Fujitsu Transformation News Editorial Staff

Table of Contents

1. Retailtech Japan 2023: Real Exhibition for the First Time in Three Years
2. Editorial Staff Experienced Fujitsu’s Latest Retail Technology
3. Keynote Speeches by Top Management Delivered at the Online Exhibition

Retailtech Japan 2023: Real Exhibition for the First Time in Three Years

Retailtech Japan 2023 was held at Tokyo Big Sight for four days from February 28, 2023. The exhibition brought together leading companies that provide advancing digital transformation (DX) technologies for the distribution and retail industries, where they delivered the latest information on systems, solutions, and related equipment. Due to COVID-19, Fujitsu had only exhibited online for the past few years; in 2023, however, it held a real exhibition in addition to an online exhibition for the first time in three years.
This time, Haruka Nakatani, an editor of Fujitsu Transformation News, visited the Fujitsu booth to experience its latest technology. The next section provides a report on her experience.

Editorial Staff Experienced Fujitsu’s Latest Retail Technology

So many booths of numerous companies and a large number of visitors at the venue reflected the mounting expectations for technology in the retail industry. Soon after entering the venue, we found the Fujitsu booth and went inside.

The first thing that caught our attention in the booth was Flexible Commerce (Brainforce). This is a solution that flexibly supports in-store and online shopping with a data infrastructure in the cloud and enhances the shopping experience through utilization of data that are linked to core systems and point-of-sale (POS) systems. Several related solutions were displayed at the booth, but the one that especially caught our eyes was unique-looking Smart Cart. This cart is equipped with a tablet having an AI-sensor camera, and once a customer logs in to their account and adds items to the cart, they can automatically make payments. Unlike the walkthrough checkout system (Scan&Go), where the product is scanned by a smartphone, which has already been put into practical use, Smart Cart can be used to complete the process without preparing your smartphone. Nakatani, as a Scan & GO user, is very much looking forward to the practical application of Smart Cart.

The next exhibit she focused on was a self-checkout machine. They have actively been introduced due to increased needs for "contactless" under the COVID-19 pandemic. Because customers, not store clerks, operate the cash registers on their own, problems with fraudulent operations such as scan omissions have been experienced. Here, we were able to see a demonstration of a service that monitors tampering at self-checkout machines.
An AI camera installed at the top of the register shows the shopper scanning the barcode of an item, checking the number of items. If the number of items scanned does not match the number of items put in the shopping bag, the AI detects it, turning on a light and displaying the message "the clerk is coming” on the screen. The system watches over self-checkout operations on behalf of store clerks, so it is highly expected that the burden on stores will be reduced.

Next, we noticed many cameras installed on the ceiling of the booth. According to the employee in charge, the number of people in the booth and the degree of crowdedness are measured in real time based on the camera images, with a heat map displayed on an LCD outside the booth. Making consideration for privacy, the heat map at this venue was set to not recognize a person's facial features. This kind of camera analysis technology is already used in some stores aiming to become “smart stores.”

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You may notice an area that stands out on the heat map as being packed with people (upper left). Nakatani, being curious to see what was being exhibited, of course went in.

Here, Fujitsu Business Application Operational Data Management & Analytics, demand forecasting software as a service (SaaS), was introduced, which was adopted by all Marugame Seimen Sanuki udon restaurants operated by TORIDOLL Holdings Corporation. We saw examples of how AI can predict customer demand to reduce food loss and optimize energy management. Details are presented in the next section, along with the keynote speeches given at the online booth.

Keynote Speeches by Top Management Delivered at the Online Exhibition

In addition to brochures and videos introducing solutions, the online booth delivered keynote speeches from top executives of leading companies driving DX in the retail industry. They presented DX strategies, secrets to succeed, collaboration with Fujitsu, and other future prospects. Furthermore, the adoption of the AI demand forecasting service for all Marugame Seimen restaurants, as mentioned above, was discussed by Mr. Yasunori Isomura, Executive Director, CIO, and CTO of TORIDOLL Holdings, and Ichiro Aoyagi（as of March 2023）, Deputy General Manager of SVP Uvance Division and General Manager of Data Analytics Center, Business Management Division（as of March 2023）.

Contents of the discussion

After introducing the AI demand forecasting service, we have let it learn various company data such as POS sales records, sales calendars, and sales promotion campaigns, as well as weather information. This enables the forecasting of daily and hourly store traffic and sales volumes for each store, and automation of indirect tasks such as allocating personnel and considering the amount of food to prepare, which will ultimately lead to a work-style reform for employees. The service also enables automatic management of electricity and water, large quantities of which are consumed in stores, as well as reduction of costs and environmental impact, leading to sustainable management. By using this, the company will be able to devote more manpower and time to the tasks it focuses on, and be one step closer to realizing TORIDOLL Holdings’ slogan, "Filling Our Planet with Dining Experiences That Will Move You.”
At this time, the system has only been introduced to Marugame Seimen in Japan, but in the future, TORIDOLL Holdings will consider introducing the system to other domestic business brands and Marugame Udon overseas.
In the conclusion of the talk, Mr. Isomura stated that he expects SaaS offerings for various other services, not just AI demand forecasting, and Aoyagi responded that he would like to meet the expectations by providing the key solution Fujitsu Uvance, which can accelerate business and contribute to resolving social issues.

Detailed information on this TORIDOLL case is also available on the case studies page (Japanese).

Retailtech Japan 2023 ended successfully like this. Fujitsu will continuously deliver solutions to customers in the distribution and retail industries, being committed to tackle social issues and future challenges in tandem with customers. Fujitsu Transformation News will continue to introduce Fujitsu’s devoted commitment.

Related Information

• [Press Releases] Fujitsu delivers digital transformation with AI demand forecast service for TORIDOLL noodle shops throughout Japan