Digitization and effective inventory control enables companies to gain in efficiency and competitiveness. At the end of 2019, Ángel Hernández, Santiago Álvarez and Francisco Robredo joined forces to develop a solution in this area. Thus Kiwanda Labs was born, a company aimed at "offering solutions to digitize inventories, optimize logistics processes, provide real traceability in the supply chain and offer a solution for preventive and corrective maintenance of company assets," explains Francisco Robredo, CEO of the project.

The three partners had a solid professional background in leading sectors such as the automotive and textile industries, had first-hand knowledge of the advantages of technologies such as WMS (warehouse management software) or RFID (which consists of the use of smart tags that allow reading and interaction with them at a distance of up to 20 meters) and sought to democratize their use at an affordable price for small and medium-sized companies as well.

Kiwanda solves inventory problems in companies in sectors such as food-industry, logistics and retail, with successful experiences in reference companies such as Kiwi Atlántico or Bayer. The benefits they bring to their customers are multiple, both in terms of optimization and efficiency, linked to direct cost savings (less wastage, possibility of handling more inventory with fewer resources, higher stock turnover and optimization of warehouses...) and in terms of better customer service, avoiding errors and being more agile with less environmental impact.

Boosting the Business Factory Food

In February 2020, Kiwanda was one of the companies selected by the Business Factory Food, promoted by the Xunta de Galicia and boosted by the Galician Food Cluster. Thanks to their passage through the accelerator, and mentored by Kiwi Atlántico, they were able to develop a unique solution for the fruit and vegetable sector that allows full traceability from the field to the customer, also offering advantages to improve and optimize internal operations of the cooperative. "Our solution allows us to have total control of the cooperative, from the characteristics of the products that enter each pallet, such as weight, origin, variety...", explains Francisco Robredo. "In addition, it allows to control other aspects, such as the ripening times of the kiwis in the chambers, issuing automated alerts when they reach their optimum point to be served," he continues. In this way, Kiwanda allows total control over the product to significantly reduce wastage and ensure consistency of quality between batches.

"The BFFood event was very good for us because it was just when we were starting out. It allowed us to have a direct relationship with food companies through the Cluster, to participate in numerous events and helped us in terms of positioning and commercial diffusion," Robredo explains.

Since its start-up, they have accumulated multiple other success stories. In the retail sector, it has implemented for the A Coruña-based fashion company The Campamento an RFID solution for the reception of merchandise, real-time inventory digitalization, picking and logistics operations to simplify and speed up orders.

They have also focused on the management of tangible assets (furniture, computers, machinery), implementing an ambitious project at Bayer, where the entire fixed assets of the German multinational are managed thanks to their platform.

The use of RFID technology in this case efficiently solves the processes of inventory, location, use and knowledge of the useful life or maintenance of each item, automating this process. "For example, if all the microscopes have to be calibrated every 3 weeks, alerts are triggered so that the person assigned to carry out the maintenance can proceed to do so," explains Robredo.

With a staff of 9 people, and with the support of the Galicia Avanza program, promoted by the Xunta de Galicia and Tecnópole, Kiwanda is currently working on opening new markets with partners in the United Kingdom and Germany, thus strengthening its business model. After the success of Bayer, its main focus is the asset management product. "This product is used to carry out preventive and predictive maintenance of a company's assets in a simple and non-intrusive way, extending their useful life. It allows document management of the assets, being able to associate all the documents of each of the assets in the platform; to carry out maintenance with internal or external personnel; and location control by RFID", he remarks.