1 DeborahWeinswig,ManagingDirector,[email protected]:917.655.6790HK:852.6119.1779CN:86.186.1420.3016Copyright©2017TheFungGroup.Allrightsreserved.
September8,2017
Explorium 2.0: Creating Smart Supply Chains for the New Retail Era
OnSeptember1,theFGRTteamwasinShanghaitoattendthesoftlaunchofExplorium2.0.
1) Explorium2.0isFungGroup’svalue-generatingecosystemforcommercialenterprises,wheretechnologyandbusinessmodelinnovationcometogetheronanexperimentalplatformfordevelopingafullrangeofconsumerproducts,supply-chainsolutionsandservicesrelatedtobrandingandretailing.
2) Theplatformwillfacilitatetheincubationofcompanieswhoseideas,innovationsandtechnologiesarerelevanttotheFungGroup’sbusinesses,andallowfortherapidprototypingofnewbusinessmodels,productsandretailtechnologiesthroughexperimentationandpartnershipswithexternalpartners.
3) Explorium2.0hasastrongfocusoncollaborativeinnovationwithvariouspartnerships—suchasMicrosoftAccelerator,TechNodeandtheBeijingInstituteofFashionTechnology—aswellasthemandatetoshowcasetherichcapabilitiestheFungGrouphasdevelopedoverthecourseofthecompany’s111-yearhistory.
TheHistoryExploriumwasa23,000-squaremeterretail“omniplatformlab,”consistingofaphysicalspaceandaninterconnecteddigitalnetworkofservices,whichprovidedbrandsandretailerswiththeopportunitytoobserveinrealtimehowcustomersinteractwithnewtechnologies,productsandenvironments,andtogathervaluableinsightsintocustomerbehavior.Thelabwasopenforover12months,duringwhichtime,retailers,includingToys“R”US,Gymboree,Build-A-BearWorkshop,StrideRiteandHelloKitty,experimentedbyleveragingdataanalyticstoolssuppliedbyIBMandanumberofretailtechnologiesfromvariousstartups.
2 DeborahWeinswig,ManagingDirector,[email protected]:917.655.6790HK:852.6119.1779CN:86.186.1420.3016Copyright©2017TheFungGroup.Allrightsreserved.
September8,2017
Explorium2.0Explorium2.0isdifferentfromExplorium–thenewconceptbuildsontothelearningsfromExploriuminalignmentwiththeFungGroup’sstrategicvisiontobuildthesupplychainofthefuture.
ShowcasingtheSupplyChainoftheFutureThegoalofExplorium2.0istomoveawayfromthetraditionaltoprovideabalancedvisitorexperiencebetweencontentandinteraction.ThespaceshowcasesthefullbreadthofproductcategoriesthattheFungGroupoperatesin,aswellastheretailchannelsserved,withanemphasisonimportingbrandsandretailconceptsintoChina.Inthissense,Explorium2.0istheretoservethesupplychainend-to-end,whileExploriumwasfocusedonfront-endretail.Thenewspacefeaturesthefollowingelements:
1) Afabriclibraryforapparelmanufacturingthatisequippedwiththelatestdigitaltoolsallowing3Dproductrenderingandvirtualsampling.
2) Aphotostudioforproductstailoredtoe-commercebusinessmodelsaswellasaStyleShoots3Dphotographystudio.
3) A3Dprintingstudiowhichisa3D-printingexperimentationplatformbasedonthepremisethat,inthefuture,80%ofaproductwillbemass-producedandtheremaining20%willbecustomizable.
4) Amultifunctionalspaceforproductlaunches,demosandsamplesalescalled“TheMaze.”
5) ShowroomsforMacy’sChina—ajointventurebetweenMacy’sandtheFungRetailingGroup—andFungOmni,FungGroup’somnichannelsolutionsprovider,whichhelpsforeignbrandsentertheChinesemarket.
Source:FGRT
ThesespacesfallwithintherecurrentthemesoftheFungGroupandLi&Fung—digitalization,innovationandspeed—andwillbeopentostrategicexternalcollaborationswithpartnerssuchastheBeijingInstituteofFashionTechnology.
3 DeborahWeinswig,ManagingDirector,[email protected]:917.655.6790HK:852.6119.1779CN:86.186.1420.3016Copyright©2017TheFungGroup.Allrightsreserved.
September8,2017
BuildingaGlobally-ConnectedInnovationPlatforminChinaTheFungGroup’sgoalisforExplorium2.0tobecomethego-toplatformforretailinnovation,connectingwithstakeholdersallovertheglobefromthelabinShanghai.Forthatpurpose,Explorium2.0hasalreadyestablishedanumberofpartnershipswithkeyplayersintheinnovationandtechnologyecosysteminChinasuchastheMicrosoftAccelerator,GBLabandTechNode.ThesepartnerswillleveragetheExploriumspaceandtheFungGroup’sexpertiseinsupply-chainmanagement,logisticsandretailtocreatesynergiesforthetechnologystartupsamongsttheirportfolios,aswellastheChineseecosystematlarge.Atthesametime,thegoalisforExploriumtoalsobecomeabridgefortechnologycompaniesenteringtheChinesemarketandforChinesestartupsthatarereadytoventureoutintoglobalmarkets,suchastheUSandEurope,wheretheFungGrouphasstrongdistributioncapabilities.
TheCeremonyFungGroupChairmanDr.VictorK.Fungdeliveredopeningremarkson-sitetoabout100invitedguestsfromtheFungGroupanditspartnersintheproject.
Dr.FungbeganhisspeechbydescribingthetransformationpresentlyunderwayintheworldofretailandhowExploriumnotonlybenefitedtheFungGroup,butalsoconfirmedtheGroup’spredictionthatthefutureofretailliesinomnichannel—atrendthatweareincreasinglywitnessingtoday,withmovesintoofflineretailmadebyAmazonandAlibaba,aswellasthemovesbytraditionalbrick-and-mortarretailersintotheonlinespace.
Dr.Fungfurtherhighlightedtheimportanceofcontinuingtoinvestintechnologyandinnovationtocreatemorevalueacrosstheentiresupplychain,leveragingthecapabilitiesofallbusinessesoftheFungGroupthathaveaparttoplayinhelpingtoshapethefutureoftheindustry.
Dr.Fung’sopeningremarkswerefollowedbyanaddressbyKa-ManChang,ManagingDirectorofFungBusinessIntelligenceandHeadoftheExplorium2.0project.ChangunderscoredthatExploriumisaplaceforcooperationwithawiderangeofinternalandexternalstakeholders,suchastechnologyincubators,brandsandretailers,thegovernmentandacademia.Transitioningintoitsseconditeration,Explorium2.0isuniquelypositionedtoserveasaglobalconnectorthatleveragestheFungGroup’scapabilitiesandhistorytocreatevalueforallstakeholdersandpotentialcustomers.
TheceremonycontinuedwithpresentationsfromrepresentativesofthepartnersofExplorium,includingLi&Fung,theBeijingInstituteofFashionTechnology,MicrosoftAccelerator,TechNodeandSinopec,onhowtheirbusinessesandorganizationscanbenefitfromtheseconditerationoftheproject.
Source:FGRT
4 DeborahWeinswig,ManagingDirector,[email protected]:917.655.6790HK:852.6119.1779CN:86.186.1420.3016Copyright©2017TheFungGroup.Allrightsreserved.
September8,2017
ExploriumTourFollowingtheopeningremarks,attendeesweregivenatourofthefacility.Theystoppedbythedifferentspaces,includingtheFabricLab,thephotostudiosandshowrooms,aswellastheco-workingspaces,wheresevenstartupswereshowcasingtheirproductsforthesoftlaunchofExplorium2.0.ThecompanieshadbeencarefullycuratedbyMicrosoftAcceleratorandGBLabtoshowcaseinnovationsinsupply-chainmanagementandretail.
TheStartups
BlackLakeTechnologyisastartupwhichfocusesonprovidingcloud-baseddatacollaboration,monitoringandanalysistoolsformanufacturingcompanies.Thecompanystrivestobringcutting-edgetechnologytothemanufacturingsector,byprovidingusecasesoftechnologyforcollaboration,informationsharinganddataanalyticsatlowcosts.
Cloboticsisacompanywhichbuildscomputer-visiontechnologyforindustriessuchasrenewablesandretail.AtExplorium2.0,Cloboticsshowcasedasolutionwhichtracksshelfspaceandprovidesreal-timeinsightstostoreassociates.
Source:FGRT
5 DeborahWeinswig,ManagingDirector,[email protected]:917.655.6790HK:852.6119.1779CN:86.186.1420.3016Copyright©2017TheFungGroup.Allrightsreserved.
September8,2017
NEXTTAOisaserviceproviderofdataapplicationsintheretailindustry,focusingonimprovingthemanagementofretailstoresbyautomatinginventorymanagement.
Quicktronaimstobecomethemarketleaderofsmartwarehouserobotics.ThecompanyhasalreadypartneredwithanumberoflargeChinesecompanies,includingCainiao,ChinaPost,JD.comandVipshop,forautomatedwarehouseprojects.
Sight+ARprovidesaugmentedreality(AR)technologyandservices,aimedatpromotingARapplicationsandgamification.PartnersincludeAlipay,ChinaMerchantsBank,Xiaomi,GomeElectricalAppliances,KFC,Unileverandmanyotherwell-knowncorporations.
Techsunprovidesartificialintelligence(AI)solutionsandservicestonewretailenterprises,includingthesmartcameraandcomputer-visionsystemSamantha,andtheface-recognitionandnatural-languageprocessingsystemEva.ThecompanyalsohasdevelopedabigdataplatformR2D2foranalyzinghumanfacesanduserbehaviordata.
Yimianprovidesreal-time,preciseandcomprehensivedataanalyticsfordecision-makingthroughmachinelearning,natural-languageprocessinganddatascience.
6 DeborahWeinswig,ManagingDirector,[email protected]:917.655.6790HK:852.6119.1779CN:86.186.1420.3016Copyright©2017TheFungGroup.Allrightsreserved.
September8,2017
DeborahWeinswig,CPAManagingDirectorFGRTNewYork:917.655.6790HongKong:852.6119.1779China:[email protected]
KirilPopovSeniorAnalyst
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