INTELLIGENT DATACENTRES
Safaricom and KBL partner to
connect coolers across Kenya
afaricom has officially announced
a partnership with Kenya
Breweries Limited (KBL) to
connect and enhance its coolers.
The connected coolers are wired with
sensors which leverage on the Internet of
Things (IoT) – the inter-networking of ‘smart’
devices that collect and exchange data. They
will be provided free of charge to retailers
and outlets countrywide.
Jane Karuku, Managing Director, Kenya
Breweries Limited, said: “Over the years,
we have been looking to bring more
efficiencies in our route-to-consumer
channels and we have found technology to
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INTELLIGENT TECH CHANNELS
INTELLIGENT
TECH CHANNELS
Issue 28
be a critical enabler. As we move towards
improving our cutting-edge our technology
in manufacturing and logistics, we are
redoubling our efforts in our marketplace
as well, to ensure that consumers enjoy our
products the way they should.
“This project will also enable us to extend
our capability to track and invest in coolers
and we hope that our existing products
and innovations will reach consumers with
minimal cost, delays and wastage.”
Commenting on the launch, Rita Okuthe,
Chief Enterprise Business Officer, Safaricom
PLC, said: “We developed an IoT solution that
consists of devices installed in the coolers
that will have sensors which will transmit
various data to a platform which generates
business insights that will assist KBL to
optimise the coolers.
“For instance, EABL distributors can
now tell where their assets are located,
if the assets are in use or not (on/off),
whether the assets are at the optimal
temperature and how many times the door
of the cooler is opened. Over 2,000 coolers
are already connected.”
Looking ahead to 2020, Safaricom
aims to be a digital partner of choice for
businesses by providing solutions that
improve the efficiency with which they do
business, saving them money and therefore
creating additional value for their end-users.
Besides the connected coolers project,
EABL is already partnering Safaricom in
driving a cashless payment model among its
distributors, who now transact on M-PESA
when dealing with retailers.
Safaricom is also planning to bring
valuable solutions by leveraging on IoT to
deliver smart water metering and animal
tracking systems. The new Internet of Things
(IoT) network will tap into the Safaricom
existing 4G network.
In the first half of the financial year
2019/2020, Safaricom invested KES 17
billion in infrastructure by increased network
rollout and acceleration of broadband and
fibre deployment.
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