Big changes coming to the Jansan market, what are you doing different to adapt?
Walmart goes robot!
Walmart wants store workers to help out customers instead of mopping up floors and unloading boxes in backrooms. So it’s increasingly turning to robots to fill those tasks.
The world’s largest retailer announced Tuesday that it is adding thousands of new robots to its stores. By next February, it expects to have autonomous floor scrubbers in 1,860 of its more than 4,700 US stores. Walmart will also have robots that scan shelf inventory at 350 stores. And there will be bots at 1,700 stores that automatically scan boxes as they come off delivery trucks and sort them by department onto conveyer belts.
Walmart says these “smart assistants” will reduce the amount of time workers spend on “repeatable, predictable and manual” tasks in stores and allow them to switch to selling merchandise to shoppers and other customer service roles.
Not in this article but it looks like Tennant got the business if you were wondering.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/09/business/walmart-robots-retail-jobs/index.html
WeWork has swept up another startup in a bid to bolster its strength as a global workspace company.
WeWork said Wednesday it acquired Managed by Q, a New York-based startup that takes a tech-enabled approach to office services.
The 5-year-old startup helps businesses take care of crucial but unglamorous office needs, such as keeping track of cleaning and office supplies, requesting handymen and scheduling cleanings. Managed by Q’s customers schedule it all via online dashboards. Unlike most on-demand companies, the startup set itself apart by hiring workers as employees instead of contractors, offering hourly wages, plus benefits like 401k plans. The company currently has about 500 employees.
WeWork acquired the company for around $200 to $250 million, according to a source familiar with the matter.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/03/tech/wework-acquires-managed-by-q/index.html
Great golf all weekend at the Masters. As I am writing this Tiger is one stroke back from the leaders. Should be a great Sunday afternoon.
Have a great day and an even better sales week!
Scott Jarden