INTERVIEW 02 In order for AEON to create a new "ecosystem” further digitalization in its operations. Director, DX Promotion Division Guoxiong Shen
Platform - based, externalizing Aeon's "ecosystem”.
We, Aeon Smart Technology (AST), was established in 2020 to embody the Aeon Group's digital shift strategy. We are responsible for Aeon's IT infra structure and aim to provide new services and value to our customers through collaboration among group companies. The DX Promotion Division, which I oversee, is in charge of planning centered on the digitization of store operations. We provide systems for employees, such as the Mobile Assistant, which allows users to check inventory and place orders in real time via mobile terminals, and dashboards that allow users to compare store information and make management decisions. In addition, AST has released the "iAEON" application, which serves as a common platform for the group to provide services such as points, payment, and store information, and is expanding a variety of services in the respective areas for employees and customers. In the future, we plan to add an online prescription appointment function, an online supermarket function, and a "cashi - go" function that allows customers to scan product barcodes and make payments.
Our mission is to create an "ecosystem" centered on AEON by realizing a world with a high degree of closeness, where AEON is close at hand from the time we wake up in the morning until we go to sleep. To this end, our vision is to expand beyond the framework of the Group's functional companies, and to extend the "goods," "things," and "services" created within AEON to the outside world.
Introducing "new retailing" to Japan and providing functions in an agile manner.
After graduating from university in Japan, I used to work for a global IT company and was engaged in providing OMO (Online Merge Offline *1) know - how to a major Chinese e - commerce company for the Aeon Group. Through this relationship, I was invited to join AST, which was just starting up at the time.
Originally, Aeon, a major Japanese retailer, was a target for Chinese companies to aim for and research. However, Chinese companies have been at the forefront of the digital field with "new retailing" centered on online since 2013. The Aeon Group is also aiming to introduce the assets it has developed locally to Japan, such as by establishing the Aeon Digital Management Center (DMC) in China. Therefore, I decided to join the company to serve as a bridge between the two countries.
As the largest retail company in Japan, the AEON Group has a vast amount of data. It is not possible to keep up with changes in needs and trends with the conventional sense of speed, which takes two to three years to develop applications and functions. In order to achieve development and implementation on a monthly or weekly basis, we have established a "business platform" and a "data platform," are aiming for a system that allows for agile updates of the front end in a short cycle.
- Fusion of online and offline. A method advocated in China to link online and offline marketing initiatives, rather than having them be independent of each other.
Contribute to regional revitalization along with business specialists.
To implement a "front part that can flexibly add functions′′ based on a data and business platform. Beyond that, one of the future images that AST is aiming for is to contribute to the real world and revitalize local businesses and shopping districts, which can be called "local ecosystems". The strength of the AEON Group is that we can independently create the three flows that are essential to the retail business: retailing - logistics, cash flow, and merchandise. This will make it possible for us to provide support to local stores that are not strong enough by offering our business logic as a solidified "Aeon Smart Platform (ASP)". In the future, with the emergence of technologies such as the Metaverse and the diversification of front - end areas that interact with customers, having a platform should be an advantage.
Among them, in order to promote DX in all kinds of business, our division needs members who are familiar with retail business and can be product owners (persons in charge) of each front function such as mobile assistant and net supermarket. My team currently consists of 9 people, and 6 product owners are active. There are a variety of people, from those who were in charge of call centers at Aeon operating companies to those who joined the company mid - career. It's an environment where people who know more about retail and business than technology can play an active role. The appeal of AST is that you can use solutions from all over the world and have an environment where you can improve your skills by coming into contact with cutting - edge technology. Let's build the future of retail together.
