Since 2012, Smartway has been supporting distributors in the fight against food waste.
The company’s artificial intelligence based solutions have been adopted by 400 stores across France, allowing them to detect products approaching their expiry date and decide how best to re-price them, label them with an appropriate discount or simply donate them to charity.
To accelerate its growth in France and export its technology platform to Europe, the startup has just secured 10 million euros in funding. They are now aiming to equip 4,000 outlets with the technology in France, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Portugal and Eastern Europe.
With this target in mind, Smartway co-founders Paul-Adrien and Christophe Menez are appointing Guillaume Vicot to the newly created position of Chief Revenue Officer. He is tasked with the rapid deployment of Smartway solutions to help the startup become a European technology leader.
Guillaume Vicot (49) is a recognised expert in retail solutions. A graduate of ESCIP, he began his career in food retail as an area manager. In 1999, he joined Datalogic – a world leader in fixed barcode readers – where he quickly rose through the ranks to become director of France, Benelux, Spain and Portugal before taking the position of Vice President, Europe, in 2011. One of his more notable achievements was signing an agreement with Carrefour that allowed Datalogic to distribute its terminals to each of the world-leading retailers’ stores.
A man who likes a challenge, in 2016 he joined Silicon Valley based US startup Altierre, who specialise in electronic labels, to oversee its European expansion. He then went on to join Zetes as Country Manager, tasked with reorganising and rejuvenating its French business. The following year saw the company expand by some 35% and return to profitability two tears later.
Commenting on the appointment, Paul-Adrien and Christophe Menez said:
“We share the same values as Guillaume, and we’re convinced he has the expertise to take Smartway further and consolidate the growth we’ve been experiencing these past years. His knowledge of the retail sector, together with his strong international background, will enable us to accelerate the deployment of our solution in France and Europe, whether through integrated retailers or indirectly by installing our software into existing devices.”
Press contact: Presse & Cie – Laetitia Munoz – Tel. +33 (0)6 20 49 90 39 – lmunoz@presse-cie.com
About Smartway
A food store throws away as much as it earns! While more and more consumers are in need, this waste is no longer tolerated: stores can now remedy this, while also increasing their profitability.
As a committed company since 2012, originator of ‘Zero Waste’ shelves, Smartway has created the first Food Waste Management System platform to optimise the end-of-life pathway for food products.
Relying on unique artificial intelligence, Smartway solutions guide in-store teams to detect products approaching their expiry date and decides the best way to recycle them: labelling with a suitable discount or simplified donation to charitable organisations.
“Working daily to reduce waste together”. smartway.ai
