How start-up Trax is shaking up supermarkets

Big brands like Coca-Cola and Lavazza are working with the Singapore-Israeli company, tapping its image recognition software to monitor valuable retail shelf space.

Trax Image Recognition (Trax) is a Singaporean-Israeli startup that helps consumer companies enhance brand awareness and optimise store management through applying image
recognition technology, disrupting the traditional way of measuring and
managing inventory.

Large brands in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector operate a unique practice of paying display fees to supermarkets for designated shelf space. It forms part of the broader brand building and stock control strategies, ensuring their products are displayed at designated areas in specific arrangements.

Traditionally, these companies send staff to every store periodically to manually check these arrangements are in place.

It incurs extra costs, and is inefficient and time-consuming.

Trax’s computer vision and fine-grained image recognition technology can identify details of any product.  A user can take a photo of any store shelf and upload it into Trax’s system. It will then generate a digital version of the shelf that shows product distribution, price labels as well as show how much space is being utilised.

The technology is useful in a number of ways. It saves stock management time for sales representatives, helps identify missing products, and makes it easier to customise pricing strategies in order to increase profits.

Trax also runs a real-time Internet-of-things solution that helps FMCG companies monitor shelf conditions. Users are able to remotely receive updated inventory data through in-store bluetooth-enabled cameras.

It also partners with robotics companies who dispatch smart robots – literally robots – that can capture images in a store.

Existing high-profile customers include Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble, Henkel and Lavazza.

Trax is one of 10 hot startups FinanceAsia will profile as part of a new series running the rule over exciting companies that are changing the game across Asia. We'll publish more such profiles in the days to come.

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