Subscription Economy News: Week of 10/07/2019

Every week, we bring you the top stories and analyses from the global Subscription Economy.

NCR Makes Running Restaurants Simpler with All-in-One Subscription Solution

Excerpts from a press release by NCR 

NCR has launched an all-in-one subscription solution to help restaurants use its Aloha Essentials more efficiently, NCR announced in a press release on Thursday (Oct. 3). More than 75,000 restaurants use Aloha, NCR‘s point-of-sale (POS) solution. Now they can tap into Aloha Essentials, which gives restaurants all the tools necessary to run their businesses.

“Restaurants are an extremely competitive business, and that’s only accelerating in the digital-first era,” said Brian Dugan, senior vice president and general manager of NCR Hospitality. “With Aloha Essentials, NCR gives restaurants robust yet easy-to-use tools in a single, simplified package to run your operations, so you can focus on great food and customer experiences.”

The flexible, end-to-end solution also offers add-on tools that restaurant owners can use as their businesses expand and their needs change.

“We recently opened our first U.S.-based location, Hutong in New York City, and needed a flexible, adaptable solution that could provide our global company and overseas owners with immediate visibility into operations,” said Aqua Restaurant Group. “With NCR Aloha Essentials, it was all there. It is a turnkey solution that has everything we were looking for.”

The one-fee central subscription includes access to the main components of the Aloha platform, such as payments, mobile alerts and takeout functions, while also offering hardware and support. There are also add-on tools to advance brand loyalty.
For more, read the full press release on NCR

Going Up? The Elevator-as-a-Service Business

Excerpts from an article by Agam Shah in Wall Street Journal

When passengers step into one of the 36 elevators running at 10 Hudson Yards, the heavy lifting is done by a network of software and sensors. The 53-floor structure, part of the Hudson Yards development on the west side of Manhattan, opened in 2016. But the elevators, from Switzerland-based Schindler Group, are designed to run as if it’s day one.

A combination of analytics and sensor technologies identify any deviations from what would be considered a normal ride, from a slight temperature change in the shafts to a slow-closing door. When such anomalies are detected, the system sends alerts to hand-held devices carried by maintenance personnel. The setup helps Schindler analyze problems faster, said Chief Technology Officer Karl-Heinz Bauer.

The transformation of elevators from just a mechanically efficient way to go up and down into data-spewing devices is helping Schindler, as well as rivals Otis Elevator Co. and Thyssenkrupp AG , predict and diagnose elevator problems and better attune rides with expected foot traffic.

As a result, technology executives are helping identify and develop new revenue opportunities, built around a tech-driven service model.

Connecticut-based Otis is using digitization to sell a subscription-based elevator-management platform called Otis One, launched last month in China and in the pilot stage in Europe and the U.S. Similar to Schindler’s system, the Otis platform includes analytics tools that identify irregular sensor readings, like unusual door closing and opening times, and send alerts to property owners and maintenance professionals.

Global elevator revenue totaled $104 billion in 2018, up from $100 billion in 2017, according to research firm Freedonia Group. Services drew almost half of total revenue: $51 billion in 2018 and $49 billion the previous year, Freedonia said.

For more, read the full article on WSJ

Startup aims to make filtered water an app-driven subscription service in the home

Excerpts from an article by mike Butcher in TechCrunch 

With so many scandals around the quality of tap water these days, especially in the U.S., many people are turning to bottled water to drink. But this requires single-use plastics that are wreaking havoc on the environment.

One startup in Europe, Mitte, thinks it has the answer: filtering water direct from the tap. It has raised $10.6 million in a seed round. But it hasn’t started manufacturing yet. A new U.S.-based startup thinks it has a competitive solution.

oollee provides people with an unlimited supply of filtered drinking water for a small monthly fee. It’s now raised $1 million in pre-seed funding from investors, including Mission Gate Inc. and Columbus Holdings.

The idea is that with ordinary filters, people forget to maintain them and the water quality deteriorates. With oollee, maintenance and cartridge replacements are included in the monthly fee. To subscribe costs $29 per month (so less than $1 a day).
For more, read the full article on TechCrunch

And for more Subscription Economy resources and events, head to www.subscribed.com 

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