ST employees can shop on-site in 24/7 smart store

The Coop Qui store combines physical and digital sales channels, provided by WIB, a Sicilian start-up. Its web-based approach enables customers to make purchases on site as well as remotely from their PCs or mobile devices, choosing from a catalogue that includes groceries, food, toiletries and products for home and personal care. WIB's patented technology uniquely enables automated picking of shopping-list orders of multiple items regardless of those items' shape, weight and fragility. Coop Qui is designed to help ST Catania employees, who want fresh food and top-quality goods, make and collect their purchases at the end of their working shift 24/7, directly from the unmanned WIB automated store located in their parking lot.

WIB was created in 2013 from an idea of its Founder and CEO, Nino Lo Iacono. After completing a degree in Mechatronics Engineering at the Polytechnic of Turin, and working at FIAT Research Center, Lo Iacono decided to start his own business in Sicily. Here Lo Iacono found support from ARCA, the business incubator of the University of Palermo.

WIB Machines represent an optimal solution to setting up an actual store, with limited investment and low operating costs.

"The distribution method made available by Coop Qui simplifies the lives of people who refuse to sacrifice quality-even without the time to shop every day. Food offered by Coop Qui consists mainly of COOP-branded products and fresh Sicilian produce. We fully support the smart idea of WIB that has already managed to receive accolades from all over the world, and are grateful to STMicroelectronics for being the world's first to open up to this unique project," commented Lucio Rossetto, CEO, COOP Sicilia. "COOP anticipates that this model will be popular with consumers and can be replicated in different locations in the city of Catania and worldwide."

"We have quickly reached the market with a high-tech solution with the strong cooperation of COOP and STMicroelectronics, who see in WIB a way to help their employees and the community," said Lo Iacono. "Valuable feedback from among ST employees has already provided useful suggestions to improve the quality of the service."

"ST welcomed the invitation from WIB and COOP to provide convenience to its employees via a machine located on site and accessible at the end of employees' work-shift. Our 4,000 highly educated local employees, with an average age of 40 years and a large percentage with families, working in shifts around the clock, are particularly well suited to the benefits that COOP and WIB have introduced," said Francesco Caizzone, General Manager, ST Catania Site. "ST recognises its role in contributing to the success of local companies through coaching and providing the opportunity to promote brilliant business ideas and WIB is leveraging advanced technology to improve employees' lives for a better tomorrow."

After an initial test phase, COOP will consider the deployment of additional WIB technology-based Coop Qui stores at other ST sites in Italy and at other leading companies' premises.