With workflow-systems and IoT to smarter shopping experiences

Electric vehicles and their corresponding charging hubs are changing the whole business model around cars dramatically. Also, they have a major influence on other industries like convenience and food retailing. Many unmanned EV charging sites require new concepts such as unmanned stores or shops. However, not only electric vehicles but also staff shortage and personnel costs drive the development of these new business models.

Predictive maintenance is one major key word in this context as errors must be detected as early as possible, ideally before the customer recognizes them. However, only detecting errors in an early stage is not enough, the processes in the background have to work too (e.g. commissioning of a service technician). The key to success is workflow-driven error management in combination with IoT-solutions (e.g. sensors).

The major advantage of unmanned shops is that they are open 24/7. In order to be able to keep the shops open around the clock, equipment availability must be as high as possible. High availability automatically contributes to high customer satisfaction. Thanks to remote diagnosis and remote services many problems and errors can be fixed from far. But what about mechanical damages at the equipment like cooling devices where temperature rises, defect coffee machines or cold pizza ovens? Another important aspect at unmanned shops is lighting as a major factor to establish security during the night hours. Shop operators will need a number of different systems to be able to keep control over their devices and upcoming errors. Who will be able to keep an overview – What errors occur? Which of them is already assigned to e.g. a service provider? Which are not handled yet?

Good news is that such workflow systems already exist for the traditional fuel retailing industry and they can be easily transferred to these new business models. The better the organization of the whole charging and shop infrastructure, the higher the chances to stand out from competition and develop a strong market position.

Customers won’t be willing to report errors. On the contrary, as a result of the negative experience it is not likely that they will visit the site again. Especially at unmanned locations the uncertainty among customers can be relatively high. Using the equipment is new for many and problems or errors result in bad customers experience. The key to success here is convenience. Either if we talk about EV charging or shopping in unmanned stores on site – it has to be as easy as possible for the customers.

omis is a cloud-based software solution specifically designed for decentralized organizational structures. More than 5.000 sites already use omis for important maintenance tasks and benefit from noticeable cost saving, clear quality improvement, higher equipment availability, and reduced processing times. Through its modular design omis can be customized to the individual needs of every customer. In this context our customers are shop operators of unmanned stores. Making their maintenance processes as convenient as possible will automatically have positive effects on their customers.