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– Digital transformation is one of the strategic pillars of the Żabka Group. The knowledge we derive from, for example, data analysis allows us to expand our convenience ecosystem and increase its operational excellence. Thanks to our partnership with Microsoft, we are ahead of trends on the retail market also in terms of the use of AI. We see great potential for development in this area. Today, artificial intelligence helps us minimize customer service time, facilitates business for our franchisees, allows us to better select assortments for stores and personalize the offer for customers – says Tomasz Suchański, CEO of Żabka Group.
The cooperation assumes not only the implementation of new services and solutions, but also support for the transformation of organizational culture towards AI. This means even greater openness to learning new competences and exchanging knowledge in the field of the latest technologies.
– Żabka is a pioneer in the retail industry. From the very beginning of our cooperation, it has been a leader in retail innovation, using the power of artificial intelligence to deliver new consumer experiences and strengthening its leadership position on both the Polish and European retail markets. In this new era of artificial intelligence, strong partnerships are not only important to drive continuous innovation, but also to do so in a responsible and trusted way. I am proud of our long-term partnership with Żabka and I look forward to our further cooperation – comments Shelley Bransten, Corporate Vice President, Global Industry Solutions at Microsoft.
Many years of cooperation between Żabka and Microsoft have already resulted in many strategic solutions for the development of the industry based on the most innovative technologies – from the vision of the future store presented together six years ago, to the presentation of the Żabka Nano concept in New York during the largest retail conference in the world – NRF 2023 Retail's Big Show . Żabka was one of the few European companies that received an invitation from Microsoft to participate in this prestigious event and present their innovations.
Artificial intelligence has revolutionized the way we shop, making it almost as easy as opening the fridge. It allowed the development of autonomous Żabka Nano stores, where customers can simply take products from the shelves and leave the facility, and the payment is collected automatically. The first Żabka Nano store was opened in June 2021 in Poznań. Currently, the Żabka Group manages a leading network of autonomous stores in Europe, with 50 outlets. Żabka has been a pioneer of innovation for years – it was the first retailer in Europe to implement Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability, created the largest Azure Marketplace in Central Europe and has long been investing in solutions based on artificial intelligence.
Retail of the future "here and now"
The strategic partnership of both companies means intensive cooperation in the area of using artificial intelligence to automate processes, optimize logistics and assortment, and better understand and meet customer needs. Partners will also work together to develop innovative services and products for consumers, business partners and local communities, using AI-generated data and analytics. Żabka and Microsoft will also ensure that the AI competences of Żabka employees are improved through training, workshops and mutual knowledge sharing.
Żabka is an AI pioneer
As part of the partnership, Żabka Polska will be the first company in Poland to provide 2.5 thousand. its employees with an intelligent assistant – Copilot for Microsoft 365. Copilot embedded in tools such as Outlook, Excel, Word, PowerPoint and Teams will help them perform repetitive and often tedious activities faster and "free up their time" for more creative activities and the development of digital competences. Assistant, among others will summarize the meeting, help in preparing the content of the e-mail, design a presentation or support employees in effective planning of the week.
The partnership between Żabka and Microsoft is an expression of mutual trust and long common experience in implementing the most innovative industry solutions. By combining the forces of two leaders – technology and retail – customers, employees and the community will benefit from the increased quality of services, products and added value generated by artificial intelligence.
