Leveraging technology in tackling retailers’ needs

Business to business (B2B) firms in Africa are demonstrating intentionality in leveraging technology to tackle the needs of retailers across the continent.

In Nigeria precisely, founders of tech startups are proffering solutions to long-standing challenges experienced in the retail business chain, with more retailers coming to the full awareness of incurring losses should they not level up in embracing technology.

At this year’s edition of Lagos Startup Week (LSW), some founders of tech startups including Alerzo Group CEO, Adewale Opaleye, expounded the many benefits being availed through technology.

“Retailers need to move away from the old ways of doing business to embracing technology”, Opaleye said, while asserting that collaborative efforts will further bring solutions to the retail sector.

Meanwhile in an interview with CNBC on the programme, Closing Bell West Africa, Opaleye who said Alerzo is largely focused on Nigeria, said the B2B firm is technologically built to connect retailers to manufacturers and authorised dealers on the Alerzoshop app or through phone calls.

He reiterated that with the help of technology, retailers can easily make orders and get their orders freely delivered at their doorsteps in four hours or less when they access the Alerzoshop online or put calls across to make orders.

These, he said, eliminate the waste of time, money and energy which the retailers incur upon visiting the open markets as in most cases an average retailer locks up his or her store, journeys far to restock and still have to transport purchased goods back to the store.

Opaleye also said Alerzo provides PoS software for easy digital transactions, even as its customers can track inventory and profitability through its Veedez app.

In the interview, Opaleye further shared: “We are a technology-based platform that is building tools for retailers to run profitable businesses. We started off by building infrastructure that originally did not exist.

“…People in Nigeria are very positive towards technology, especially retailers that have been left out for a very long time and barely have tech solutions to meet their needs.

Our business is built to support our retailers’ needs; we own our entire logistics infrastructure which helps our customers sell their goods as fast as possible.”