ACS (The Association of Convenience Stores) are delighted to share an exciting line-up of speakers and suppliers who will be presenting at the Tech & Solutions Showcase this summer. Taking place on the 4th June at Stoller Hall in Manchester, the showcase will provide retailers with the opportunity to view and experience the latest technological innovations and services that can make life easier for convenience colleagues, with quick fire presentations from shortlisted suppliers and insights into the important aspects of running a local shop. There will also be a panel of retailers discussing the showcase entries and wider retail technology issues.

Co-chaired by Sarah Johnson from ACS and independent retailer Amit Puntambekar, the showcase will feature the following speakers:

1. Wayne Harrand, Head of Retail at MPK Garages
2. Amit Puntembekar, Owner at Nisa Fenstanton
3. James Tapley, Britvic

The following companies were selected by ACS’ Independent Board and have been shortlisted to demonstrate their product or service at the event:

1. Chirp-protect is a retail security solution with minimal setup required, the system is designed for stores where traditional EAS solutions don't quite cut it. Chirp-edge is an out-of-the-box alarm tagging system to bridge the gap for convenience stores that do not have EAS gates installed.
2. AURA delivers industry-leading response times that benefit us all, from large businesses and construction sites, to individual homeowners. The Retail Response App can be used by retail workers to request the assistance of the nearest vetted SIA security officer to provide support for a range of incidents.
3. ERS Group specialise in all elements of renewable energy, offering comprehensive services from design to installation and servicing of solar panels, battery storage and EV Chargers.
4. Fuel Guardian is software to handle, drive off's and no means of payment, which allows them to log issues and for Fuel Guardian to chase payments.
5. Retano.ai develops and implements ML/AI & Big Data based End-To-End solutions for the retail digital ecosystem. Retano Solutions, the Retano Digital Ecosystem is a pre-packaged suite of seamlessly interconnected systems designed to tackle a wide range of contemporary retail automation tasks.
6. Vusion technology digitalizes your store from floor to ceiling to create a sustainable, hybrid model that’s driven by data. Vusion 360 store is the solution harnessing the full potential of IoT, Cloud, Data, Computer Vision and Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies, the 360 Vusion Store benefits from a unique portfolio of retail applications to improve its daily operations – enhancing shopper satisfaction through a 360° view on all store activities and delivering valuable data and feedback on actions in store.

We are also delighted to share the highly commended entries for our showcase. The highly commended entries are:

1. Go Audits
2. Ephelia Group
3. Herbert Group
4. Innovative Technology
5. Jisp
6. Kelsius

There’s only 2 weeks to go until our showcase kicks off, so make sure to book your place here.

The showcase will also be followed by Hosted One2Ones, which is our speed-dating event bringing together retailers and suppliers across the country who will have the opportunity to build new relationships and strengthen existing ones. You can book your place for Hosted One2Ones here.