{"id":3056,"date":"2020-02-19T06:20:00","date_gmt":"2020-02-19T05:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stories.valora.com\/?p=3056"},"modified":"2020-02-19T10:38:05","modified_gmt":"2020-02-19T09:38:05","slug":"the-shopping-experience-of-the-future-the-people-behind-the-technology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stories.valora.com\/en\/the-shopping-experience-of-the-future-the-people-behind-the-technology\/","title":{"rendered":"The shopping experience of the future: the people behind the technology"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Practical, digital and fresh: avec box and avec X are Switzerland\u2019s most modern convenience stores. Come in, do your shopping and pay via an app \u2013 practically around the clock and without having to stand at a cash register. As digital as these formats may appear, they wouldn’t work without people. We introduce two of them here.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Andreas M\u00e4rki,
Consumer Application Developer<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Andreas
Andreas M\u00e4rki – Consumer Application Developer<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou can actually imagine it as follows: I am responsible for ensuring that the app works as simply as it does when you use it\u201d. When we ask what exactly Andreas\u2019s job is, his automatic response is to describe it in layman\u2019s terms. This is presumably because as a Consumer Application Developer he has realised that his work is so abstract that many people lack the imagination to picture what he does. He has been working for Valora for three and a half years and is one of the people without whom it would not have been possible to open either avec box or avec X on 6 April 2019. In October 2018, when the final green light was given for both of the new formats, he was made responsible for coordinating the mobile app. After some initial workshops dealing with, for example, encryption, registration and user identification, Valora was ready to start developing the app in mid-January 2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The development of the digital shop key<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"The
Andreas M\u00e4rki \u2013 Consumer Application Developer<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

A team spanning three time zones developed the avec app, which effectively provides avec box and avec X customers with a shop key: From the functions that customers find in the app and the networking with the shop to the associated systems. For example, the flawless scanning of identity cards, the saving of a credit card and the function that allows for the avec box doors to be opened with the app. This sounds simple but there is a great deal of work behind it. Before the store doors open, for instance, the system not only checks whether the customer has saved a credit card in the app, but also whether the card in question is valid at precisely this moment and can be charged. \u201cIt therefore may be the case that the door opens with a few seconds\u2019 delay.\u201d Based on the experiences gathered and customer feedback, Andreas has continuously improved the app and made it more stable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From mechanic to computer scientist<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Andreas started his professional career with an apprenticeship as a mechanic. For many years, he worked in manufacturing, making compressor wheels for turbochargers, among other things, that now do their work somewhere on the world’s oceans in enormous freighters and passenger ships. At some point, however, he realised that it’s not only his taste in music that is very digital, but also that this was the direction that his future work should take. He therefore bravely decided to replace his work as a mechanic with a course which would see him study to become a computer scientist. “It really wasn\u2019t easy for me, in the middle of my life, to become a student again with a student wage and as a final consequence to have to move back in with my parents”, he recalls. It truly proved worthwhile, however. “In my current job, I never get bored as I not only share responsibility for the future of Valora, but also contribute to shaping the entire Swiss retail sector.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Michael Bamert,
Manager of avec box <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Michael
Michael Bamert, Manager of avec box<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What is left for the staff to do when everything works automatically for the customers? \u201cThat surely has to be one of the top three questions I hear,\u201d explains Michael Bamert. Since the launch of the avec X future store and avec box, he has been on the front line as Manager and is proud when he can inform customers that they can shop without the need for a checkout register.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The focus is on supporting our customers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJust one task has been eliminated: working the checkout register. Instead of just standing at the checkout register or stocking shelves, we have more time for our customers,\u201d says the 32-year old. Initial fears that staff would lose contact with customers were quickly dispelled. \u201cOf course there are customers who only have two minutes to catch their train. They rush in and out again. In this case, customer contact is restricted to a nod of the head and a short hello.\u201d Seen overall, he has less \u201cHello-Goodbye-Thanks\u201d contact than in a traditional avec outlet. Generally speaking, customers approach him with more curiosity. A proud pensioner who pulls out her phone \u201cjust to try\u201d the app, enthusiastic students and entire groups of tourists make for much variety. \u201cI very much enjoy talking to customers and helping them. I also appreciate the valuable feedback.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to helping customers, he and his team take care of overall store management: placing orders, accepting and storing deliveries, maintaining the store\u2019s condition and performing a range of administrative tasks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  • \"\"
    avec box at Zurich main station<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>
  • \"\"
    avec X at Zurich main station<\/em> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>
  • \"\"
    avec X at Zurich main station<\/em> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>
  • \"\"
    avec box at ETH Zurich<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>
  • \"\"
    avec box at ETH Zurich<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    New tasks through digitization<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    His job profile is vastly different from that of a traditional sales outlet: \u201cIt’s like comparing chalk and cheese. In part, we’re still moving in uncharted territory with these automated stores and we\u2019re constantly working on optimisation. In summary, the wealth of technology in the store makes our work considerably more varied.\u201d In the avec box, Michael feels as if he’s two or three years ahead in the future. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Michael also greatly enjoys coaching his staff: \u201cI like sharing my knowledge and learning new things from our mutual exchanges.\u201d Michael has been working for Valora since 2014. He started as a salesperson in an avec store, but was soon promoted. \u201cI also had good coaches who made this possible for me,\u201d says a thankful Michael. He also enjoys the mix of technology and small talk with customers, as this makes every day in the store interesting for the employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n