The period of the pandemic has undoubtedly left a permanent impact on the supply chain, forcing some companies to reconsider their degree of interaction with the new health conditions and develop technologies capable of showcasing their production in closer countries.
A company that not only managed to emerge unscathed from the pandemic crisis, but also to double its turnover in 2021, is Kivos, an innovative technology company from Thessaloniki, which through its deep understanding of the subject of retail and the utilization of machine learning, big data and stochastic modeling, makes decisions to carry out actions from the supplier to the shelf.Its symbolic name denotes –in an era of extreme uncertainty– balance, harmony and geometry.
The Kivos team proceeded to develop a new platform, EXO, having found that existing technology platforms are unable to integrate the uncertainty conditions of the business environment into the decision-making process.
The company, through the platform, offers services for the export of optimal decisions for the efficient operation of the supply chain of retail companies, such as the daily supply orders of the network of stores, dark stores and warehouses. The aim of the service is to maximize the financial criteria set by its customers.
With a view to the protection of the environment
The most important thing in this process is that Kivos has not only the main goal of increasing the profits of each company, but also the protection of the environment, as its actions contribute to the saving of resources and the reduction of the environmental footprint, based on a “green” and sustainable retail trade.
The company is perfectly suited to the designation “green”, as the environmental criterion is a key factor for employees, who implement a recycling program both in their workplace and on a personal level, move with ecological means – the CEO goes to the company’s offices on a bicycle – promote healthy nutrition and physical exercise.
Moreover, its partnership with retail giants from Europe and the Middle East proves that it is a company with a strong foundation and a strong business presence, trusted by big commercial names, including the largest supermarket chains of Sweden ICA and Croatia Konzum, the leader in luxury retailing in the Middle East, Al Tayer and many others. This friction with foreign retailers gave Kivos the necessary know-how to provide services that solve a wide range of problems of the industry.
Valuable elements of the process of development of the services provided are the daily contact with the cooperating companies, as well as the long-term partnerships with the customers, based on the mutual understanding of the subject a joint effort to achieve economic goals with mutual benefits for the cooperating members.
It is currently creating selective partnerships with companies belonging to various categories of retail trade, namely supermarkets, consumer electronics, DIY, cosmetics, etc., evaluating them carefully, since it invests a lot in them in order to be the ambassadors of its services.
The next step is scaling
Given that 90% of the world’s retailers use old inefficient methods to manage their supply chains, Kivos will need to upgrade them with its services to achieve its vision of an efficient and sustainable retailing.
The strongest team expands
Unsurprisingly, behind a successful company lies a dynamic and capable team, something that is fully confirmed in the case of Kivos. All Kivos employees are equipped with extensive experience in the retail sector, in complex information systems, in understanding big data and love to deal effectively with even the most complex problems.They have an appetite and willingness to deepen their knowledge and acquire new ones, treat their colleagues ethically and respectfully and aim to achieve personal well-being and corporate excellence.
Regarding the future plans of the company, at this time it aims at the most direct recruitment possible of the first dedicated Marketing Manager, so as to develop the field of marketing in cooperation with the management team, along with the first dedicated Full Stack engineer, for the further development of the UI / UX of the platform, in cooperation with the rest of its teams.
It is estimated that in 2023 the team will employ 18-20 people, out of the 13 it has in its workforce today.
At the same time, Kivos is preparing for its entry into the Greek market, aiming specifically at two partnerships that will change the data of the efficiency of supply chains in the respective sectors of the Greek retail trade.