Have you ever imagined owning a food and beverage brand and receiving, for example, information on how many times the beverage refrigerator door has been opened and which product is consumed the most? To answer strategic questions like this one and in real time, Embraco, a multinational focused on innovative refrigeration solutions, presents diili, a new business that allows beverage and food brands to effectively manage their point-of-sale freezers and refrigerators.
For the end consumer, it guarantees beer at the ideal temperature, ice cream in the right consistency or fresh juice at any time of the day. For the brands of these products it means increased sales potential, greater energy efficiency and up to 15 percent reduction in operating costs. The platform can manage this not only in one refrigerator, but in tens, hundreds and even thousands of installed units.
Developed based on the Internet of Things (IoT), diili understands the operation of commercial freezers and refrigerators, indicates the equipment’s location and alerts about lack of stock, faults or the need for preventive maintenance. Additionally, it reveals consumer behavior at the point-of-sale, allowing for more complete analysis of the performance of the displayed products. It also brings metrics to the real world, previously offered only by e-commerce, which will recommend the most strategic location for the equipment.
The intelligence generated enables brands to better understand the consumer and help make strategic decisions to increase sales and reduce maintenance costs by up to 10 percent. Also, aligned with Embraco's sustainability strategy, diili even has the potential to reduce a refrigerator’s energy consumption by 15 percent, allowing for the most appropriate refrigeration specifications for the type of goods stored as well as the operational characteristics at the point-of-sale.
“diili represents a new Era of commercial refrigeration. It makes equipment intelligent and brings innovative solutions to the entire refrigeration chain, including end-users and our customers. Embraco intends to continue being the leader of this evolution to improve people’s quality of life,” summarizes Luis Felipe Dau, Embraco’s CEO, which invests from 3 percent to 4 percent of net revenue in Research & Development and counts on 600 professionals dedicated exclusively to this area.
How does it work?
The intelligence adds value to the business because diili is able to assess the status of commercial refrigeration equipment in the field 24 hours a day. For this, it uses advanced IoT techniques, including sensors distributed throughout the equipment to understand its operation, the environment in which it’s installed and how the refrigerator or freezer is used. All this information is sent via internet to a cloud application and from there diili goes into action. The platform analyzes data, makes correlations and traces necessary learnings generating intelligence and contributing to brand strategy.
The brand tracks the results through the diili application online, via a cell phone or computer. By using the solution, it’s possible to anticipate eventual problems and preserve food quality in case of power failure or even hundreds of them if the problem is in a large region. This peace of mind that results from diili’sintelligence, leads to a lower risk of loss and more confidence in sales. The platform also allows the brand to interact with its consumers through promotions.
New and efficient solutions
Embraco's 46-year experience in refrigeration coupled with its leadership role, innovative DNA and customer focus have created an ecosystem conducive to diili’s development.
"At the beginning, we dedicated the time to get to know the customers' reality and apply modern and agile innovation techniques in our processes. This combination helped us create a business model aligned to their needs, which was validated after some pilots”, states Ernani Nunes, Director of New Business at Embraco.
According to him, the platform will initially serve Brazil, but it’s already on its way to becoming a global solution. “The developed solution’s architecture can be used in different regions. By operating in the cloud, it meets the most advanced security criteria. For this construction, we rely on our partners’ support combined with Embraco’s ability to develop all of the technology’s layers, which permits a better performance level,” he emphasizes.
Embraco is one of the first companies in the refrigeration solutions segment to move its culture to digital positioning. Initiatives such as the acquisition of UpPoints, a startup that developed an innovative system of consumer behavior and image recognition as well as product sales performance analysis, along with the Toolbox App, which gathers information necessary for the contractors’ daily routine, are examples of this digital journey. The company is also a co-founder of the Brazilian Industrial Internet Association (ABII), and has other actions in the context of Industrial Internet of Things.
Source: Embraco