Elstat is one of the leading technology innovators in the field of cooler Energy Management Devices (EMDs) for the non-perishable drinks retail market, with over 5 million of its solutions already installed around the world. Based on this experience the company has devised an innovative new approach to the collection and analysis of drinks cabinet and cooler sensor information across a large population of drinks coolers. This sensor information, when suitably aggregated and analysed, can be used to provide a novel series of very valuable business intelligence metrics, or “Insights” that cover the two most important issues for global brands retail operations. 1) The buying habits & sales performance associated with each of the 5m plus locations in the world 2) The maintenance & management of their installed base of drinks coolers. By applying sophisticated data mining and predictive algorithms to real-time data, covering a very large population of coolers, the Astral project will make it possible to identify specific coolers “of interest”, i.e. those where action can be taken to increase sales, reduce maintenance costs, manage assets more effectively to maximise ROI and reduce energy consumption. Every drinks cooler is in a different situation whether it is a small corner shop, underground station, sports stadium, school so the potential to statistically analyse their different behaviours over time will help the brand concerned deliver a more defined and detailed marketing strategy. The Astral project will be provided as an internet service, allowing the cost of the business intelligence supplied to the drinks suppliers to be closely aligned to the value they receive from it. The market for non-perishable drinks is highly competitive and the availability of a practical, minimal added cost, business intelligence service will represent a real breakthrough in the large-scale deployment and management of drinks coolers.

Elstat is the leading provider of Energy Management Systems (EMS) for beverage cooling equipment globally. Its innovative solution was developed and patented in collaboration with The Coca Cola Company. It has been embedded in various forms into over 4.5million units over the last six years making cumulative savings of over 14.9B kWh, worth approx. £1.6Bn ($2.3Bn) for its users globally. Specific details of the projects innovation are limited due to market/IPR sensitivity. However, the project will produce a number of innovation ‘firsts’ that will seed several patent submissions. These are based upon truly first to market technologies and unique approaches to product, environment and device monitoring. The Zeus project will deliver technology that will initially extend the current market for established products but, more importantly, will provide the foundation for an innovative, technology-driven products range that maintains Elstat as the leading innovator within its market sector(s). Each phase of the project extends the benefits of energy saving initially into existing beverage coolers and ultimately integrating into much wider systems, controls and potentially social environments. The project will produce revenue savings technology throughout the supply chain, complemented by improved device management and novel market intelligence capabilities.

Energy Management for Fountain Coolers An investigation to assess the commercial viability of deploying Elstat's highly successful and unique energy saving thermostat technology in a new market sector