On 14 March, Cirmar took part in the kick-off of Shopping Tomorrow, an initiative by Thuiswinkel.org in which we will explore how retail is going to evolve in the coming years. Not just because we find it interesting, but mainly because we need to answer some important questions to shape those developments as sustainably as possible.
🔗 Together with SRC System Integrators B.V. and GS1 Netherlands, Cirmar is hosting the ‘Digital Product Passport’ expert group. With the experts from the market that will join in the coming period, we will explore how existing standards, data systems and the Digital Product Passport exchange information in supply chains.
💭 The fact that retail needs to become more sustainable is clear. But it is not obvious to everyone how to get there. During the kick-off, three keynote speakers demonstrated that there are good examples, but not everything is desirable for the future of the sector:
👉 Karsten Mostert of Microsoft spoke about the opportunities of AI.
We are all talking about AI, but what future do we want to create with it? I am very curious to see how the 5 expert groups working on this topic will use technology for sustainability and circularity.
👉 Geertje Zeegers talked about the mission of Too Good To Go.
Making money and doing good things can go hand in hand. Indeed, that’s going to make the most positive impact.
👉 John Lin (林镇宇) indicated that the West should look to China when it comes to innovations in retail.
An impressive story, but mostly an example we should not follow. If super-fast innovation means even more fast fashion and addiction to our phones, it is not the answer.
In short, plenty of work to be done! Follow our LinkedIn page or www.cirmar.com to keep track of updates. We will share our findings and publish the end-result, a blue paper, in October.