NEW cutting-edge business intelligence technology developed in York will enable supermarkets, conference centres, museums and other venues to find out more about their customers.
The hi-tech 3dCRM (Customer Relationship Management) product which monitors customers' and visitors' exact movements, was developed by York-based company Pepik after Business Link York and North Yorkshire provided the help and advice they needed to apply successfully for a SMART Feasibility Award of £45,000 for innovation.
The Department of Trade and Industry award provides 75 per cent of costs for a technical and commercial feasibility study into highly-innovative technology.
Claire Phillips, who operates Pepik, a consultancy and product development company specialising in "location aware" technology from her home in St Nicholas Street, stressed that 3dCRM provided businesses with a "non-intrusive" method of monitoring.
The product, she said, filled a niche in the market.
In most cases, the sole requirement of visitors to places such as museums, art galleries, supermarkets or the gym will be to carry a mini-card or gadget while they are moving around.
Their movements within the venue will be picked up by small sensors, fed into a database, and will ultimately appear on a monitor in a mapped replica of the particular venue, with "hot spots" depicted by their deepening red colour.
By studying the movements and locations of their customers, venue organisers can build a picture of the length of their customers' visits, what they did, where they lingered and what they ignored. Before setting out to develop the product the company approached York and North Yorkshire Business Link. Its innovation and technology adviser, Roger Benson, helped the company to progress its idea.
Mr Benson said: "This is a fascinating 21st century monitoring product which can be anonymous but at the same time provides museums, art galleries and the like with a mammoth amount of information."
To contact Business Link York and North Yorkshire, phone the information centre on 01904 686000.
Updated: 10:38 Tuesday, August 05, 2003
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article