Although 2022 began with a lockdown, the year quickly took a positive turn with the economic renaissance that followed the COVID-19 pandemic. Scarcity of goods and logistics issues made the timely acquisition of materials and parts quite difficult for a while. Moreover, issues such as inflation, rising energy prices, and the prediction of economic recession caused some uncertainty.
Fortunately, however, we have been able to realise many cool projects across an increasing number of countries. For example, we have been able to establish a foothold in France, Italy, and Belgium, in cooperation with our partners. During these times, unmanned solutions are the key to increasing revenue – and therefore profit – in spite of staff scarcity.
Product Development
Meanwhile, Innovend has made work of innovation and product development. One of our highlights in 2022 was the introduction of the Zuply LockBlox IQ Breeze – an entirely new chilled vending machine for professional butchers and other sectors.
The reorganisation of our online portal was very important for us as well. The further improved software offers our customers increased convenience and insight into sales, stock, and the state of their unmanned shop or distribution point.
Strategic cooperation
We also devoted a lot of energy to developing two completely new boundary-pushing products, which we will introduce this year. The development, preparation, production, and partial co-creation are going as scheduled. We cooperate with a major partner, whose name I cannot yet reveal, but we hope to be able to tell you more during the first quarter. The cooperation is strategic in nature, with both companies bringing new technology to the table.
Soon to be active across the globe
2023 will also become the year in which we literally cross boundaries – in part due to our global cooperation with a large multinational. That means that our products will be used on every continent – fine, Antarctica aside. In the coming months, for example, we will commence work on several projects in the US; are expanding in Canada; and are taking on our first orders from India and the Philippines, among other countries.
Growth
Taken together, these positive developments have once again caused Innovend to grow. Our company consists of nearly 25 people now, which allows us to carry out a lot of work. The amount of work we can do will increase even more once we have realised our plans for internal automation – an important goal for 2023. We already switched to a new ERP system, with which we were able to automate both order processing and stock management. Right now, we are busy connecting our online portal to these processes, which means that, if customers place an order, it will go straight to the factory. This will increase our speed and efficiency. That fits in very well with our core business: offering unmanned sales solutions. It’s really nothing less than logical that our internal processes are as automated as possible!
We have entered the new year with much enthusiasm. 2023 promises to become another exciting year for Innovend. We’re looking forward to it!
