During this month’s MWC in Barcelona, Huawei and Solum jointly released the Shop-in-Shop (SiS) smart converged network.

This draws on a unified retail infrastructure platform, integrating digital infrastructure and electronic shelf labels (ESLs) to create a scalable, cost-effective architecture that allows global retailers to set up simplified and efficient store networks.

Building on their previous collaboration on IoT AP convergence, South Korean firm Solum and Huawei have deepened their partnership to offer the SiS network for shop-in-shop retailers within high-traffic environments such as large shopping malls, airports, train stations and exhibition centres. This ensures seamless integration between Solum’s Newton ESLs and digital signage.

Crafted for enterprises seeking standalone, infrastructure-free options, such as pop-up shops, dining establishments and branded specialty stores, it enables real-time content updates, efficient management and system scalability through a singular device setup.

This employs a unified gateway that works with LTE, wifi and ESLs, eliminating the need for ESL-dedicated APs. It supports pre-integration and plug-and-play deployments, alongside an independent, secure network architecture. This enables retail stores to cut their total cost of ownership (TCO) by 55%, with savings reaching up to 33% for larger outlets.

With this, retail stores can deploy digital touchpoints effortlessly without any infrastructure dependency, enabling headquarters to manage everything remotely. Adaptable as and when needed, it shows its strength with responsiveness within milliseconds, allowing retailers to synchronise promotional updates across global stores in real time, wherever they may be.

“We have jointly developed an all-in-one retail infrastructure platform, unifying digital infrastructure and ESLs into one scalable, cost-efficient architecture,” said Hoy-Jin Lee, senior vice president of Solum (www.solum-group.com). “This can help retail stores significantly reduce operational costs.”

This forms a crucial component of Huawei’s smart retail offerings. Moving forward, Huawei (www.huawei.com) says it will continue to collaborate with Solum on innovation, jointly exploring AI applications within stores, delving deeper into retail, and accelerating the industry’s digital and intelligent transformation.