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New mobile platform to help F&B industry affected by MCO

A leading digital solutions company, called Touchpoint International Sdn Bhd (TPI), and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sino Hua An International (SHA), announced that it has launched its digital application called M Squared (M2), a multi-sided, mobile-first community platform.

M2 is designed to help commercial, government and social communities connect and interact digitally on just one platform.

For the user, M2 will be the only app for all their daily interactions with mobile features such as e-commerce, mobile payment, food delivery, smart city features, event ticketing, travel planning and local community engagement.

The Founder of TPI and SHA head of technology said for businesses to survive the new normal, it is clear that bringing their business online is inevitable and COVID-19 has just escalated this need for retail businesses to go forward with an affordable solution.

The firm believes they understand the food and beverage (F&B) business more than any other developers because of our group’s business alliances.

Following support to the F&B industry, the firm’s immediate plans include delivery of fruit and vegetables, online education, resident community functions and smart city features.

Phase 1 of the M2 platform is aimed at helping the F&B industry, one of the most affected by Movement Control Order (MCO) due to COVID-19.

In addition to online delivery functionality, M2 offers a suite of merchant-friendly features that will be introduced in future upgrades of the app such as loyalty programmes, data analytics and so forth.

Merchants will also appreciate the ease in using the backend functions of the app that will give them complete control to fit the scope and nature of an individual business frame and full access to the app’s cashless payment processing using all major Malaysian e-wallets and overseas ones including WeChat, Alipay in Ringgit and RMB.

E-commerce should be something everyone embraces as this is the way forward. M2 will benefit both merchants and users equally. F&B platform delivery alone is a US$61 million market which is expected to grow to US$176 million by 2025.

The aim is to capture 15 per cent of this market in the next 24 months. The firm is confident to be able to achieve this due to the synergies from our platform’s unique features and community digital ecosystems.

Aiding the local F&B industry through tech

A recent article explained that a cloud kitchen (CK) is an online food production and delivery service. While the idea is more than a decade old, it has recently started becoming more popular.

With COVID-19-induced new social behaviours like social distancing, the online food delivery segment of F&B is getting more attention as an all-in-one solution for the struggling restaurant industry.

Key growth drivers for the market segment include an increase in smartphone users, internet penetration and a cashless economy made easy by digital payments. Distribution 4.0 — the upgrade of distribution networks to a more decentralised system — is the newest growth driver.

The cost of the supply chain and logistics will be the key constraint. This includes the cost incurred for order fulfilment, making deliveries, adjusting business resources to dynamic market demand and last-mile connectivity. Traditional restaurants stand to lose up to over a quarter of their profit if they fail to upgrade their logistics system to ensure on-time delivery.

While there is no evidence that COVID-19 is transmitted through cooked food, handlers must adhere to the highest standards. A potential solution is providing access to the public via live streaming of production line, or an accessible location such as glass kitchens.

The F&B industry requires a new vision, and perhaps it is time for an overall change in the infrastructure, in line with the latest trends.

What are these trends? For starters, over 95% of a restaurant’s business at the moment is off-premises, excluding self-pick-up. Also, menu items are being discounted by 30% to 50%. The delivery apps have slashed their commissions.

A more worrying trend is that over 5% of restaurants in Malaysia may close within the next 30 days; some 10% have already permanently shut down. Total revenue loss in this sector has topped RM105 million in the first four weeks of the MCO period and some 1 million paying jobs are estimated to be lost by mid-June unless the government steps in and provides some relief.

What is the sector to do? Here are some ideas:

The time is now for the F&B industry to embrace digital transformation and create new demands based on new trends. And they can do this, not simply as a stopgap measure while the pandemic rages on, but to ensure sustainability and a slice of the Asia Pacific market volume of US$100 million by 2024.

PARTNER

Qlik’s vision is a data-literate world, where everyone can use data and analytics to improve decision-making and solve their most challenging problems. A private company, Qlik offers real-time data integration and analytics solutions, powered by Qlik Cloud, to close the gaps between data, insights and action. By transforming data into Active Intelligence, businesses can drive better decisions, improve revenue and profitability, and optimize customer relationships. Qlik serves more than 38,000 active customers in over 100 countries.

PARTNER

CTC Global Singapore, a premier end-to-end IT solutions provider, is a fully owned subsidiary of ITOCHU Techno-Solutions Corporation (CTC) and ITOCHU Corporation.

Since 1972, CTC has established itself as one of the country’s top IT solutions providers. With 50 years of experience, headed by an experienced management team and staffed by over 200 qualified IT professionals, we support organizations with integrated IT solutions expertise in Autonomous IT, Cyber Security, Digital Transformation, Enterprise Cloud Infrastructure, Workplace Modernization and Professional Services.

Well-known for our strengths in system integration and consultation, CTC Global proves to be the preferred IT outsourcing destination for organizations all over Singapore today.

PARTNER

Planview has one mission: to build the future of connected work. Our solutions enable organizations to connect the business from ideas to impact, empowering companies to accelerate the achievement of what matters most. Planview’s full spectrum of Portfolio Management and Work Management solutions creates an organizational focus on the strategic outcomes that matter and empowers teams to deliver their best work, no matter how they work. The comprehensive Planview platform and enterprise success model enables customers to deliver innovative, competitive products, services, and customer experiences. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, with locations around the world, Planview has more than 1,300 employees supporting 4,500 customers and 2.6 million users worldwide. For more information, visit www.planview.com.

SUPPORTING ORGANISATION

SIRIM is a premier industrial research and technology organisation in Malaysia, wholly-owned by the Minister​ of Finance Incorporated. With over forty years of experience and expertise, SIRIM is mandated as the machinery for research and technology development, and the national champion of quality. SIRIM has always played a major role in the development of the country’s private sector. By tapping into our expertise and knowledge base, we focus on developing new technologies and improvements in the manufacturing, technology and services sectors. We nurture Small Medium Enterprises (SME) growth with solutions for technology penetration and upgrading, making it an ideal technology partner for SMEs.

PARTNER

HashiCorp provides infrastructure automation software for multi-cloud environments, enabling enterprises to unlock a common cloud operating model to provision, secure, connect, and run any application on any infrastructure. HashiCorp tools allow organizations to deliver applications faster by helping enterprises transition from manual processes and ITIL practices to self-service automation and DevOps practices. 

PARTNER

IBM is a leading global hybrid cloud and AI, and business services provider. We help clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs and gain the competitive edge in their industries. Nearly 3,000 government and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM’s hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently and securely. IBM’s breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions and business services deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM’s legendary commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity and service.

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