‘There was a surprisingly high level of interest in Innovend’s unmanned vending solution. Many more butchers than I myself expected beforehand are already seeing the benefits of it,’ says managing director Albert-Peter Veldkamp of Uw Slager. During Slavakto, the shop formula for self-employed butchers, together with Innovend, presented a working Zuply locker with a link to the webshop of Uw Slager’s own platform.
The trade fair for butchers and caterers in the Netherlands was held in Utrecht on 4 and 5 October. ‘It was a well-attended fair where a positive vibe prevailed,’ as Albert-Peter Veldkamp recalls. ‘Entrepreneurs are very clearly open to new developments.’
‘We carried a twofold message at the stand: that we are there for the butcher’s craft, based on expertise and with a focus on beautiful meat products, and to show new technology with which butchers can strengthen their business operations.’
More sales
The latter included Innovend’s Zuply iQ locker module on display, linked to the Uw Slager platform. It was the first time Uw Slager and Innovend had teamed up.
‘Together with Innovend, we took advantage of the fair to sound out how the butcher market views this. For our member companies, we want to provide solutions to the challenges they face and offer opportunities, for example to serve their customers better or achieve more sales.’
Many positive reactions
Albert-Peter Veldkamp and his colleagues received many positive reactions. ‘A striking number of butchers who visited the stand immediately had an application in mind: ideas on how to use the locker and the webshop in their shop. Often even without us having to explain anything.’
‘Innovend’s solution for unmanned sales is an additional sales opportunity, partly due to the extended opening hours,’ says Albert-Peter. ‘That locker also makes it possible to collect pre-ordered products outside regular opening hours and offers an opportunity for additional impulse sales, to customers who spontaneously decide on a barbecue, for example.’
Webshop
The more than 150 affiliated artisan butchers were already able to use the webshop facilities that are part of the platform, which Uwe Slager offers them. ‘We provide our members with a toolbox with all kinds of tools and this is one of them. An important one: more than 90 percent use it and we see consumer spending through the webshop growing every year.’
That functionality is now linked to Innovend’s software and solutions for the first time. ‘We deliberately look for strong parties in the market with which we can jointly deploy valuable resources for butchers. That’s why we chose Innovend. The integration works very well, as we demonstrated at the fair. It also looks fantastic.’
