As We Make Expands Distribution Data AI Solution Business

Aswemake, which has led the digital transformation of grocery stores, is now leaping forward as a retail data-based AI solution company, positioning itself as a leader in the retail AI infrastructure market. Based on its remarkable growth, Aswemake successfully closed a Series C investment round worth 10 billion KRW in September 2024, just six months after securing Series B investment, securing a total of 21 billion KRW in investment. Through its 'JikQ' service, the company utilizes a nationwide wholesale and retail distribution network of 4,837 locations, actively expanding online brands' offline presence and direct-from-farm/producer businesses. Aswemake collects vast commercial data exceeding 1 million transactions daily through its ERP 'Qmarket Partners,' which is linked with approximately 1,500 marts nationwide. Key distribution information such as POS data, regional product information, customer purchasing patterns, ordering cycles, and product turnover rates are included here. Based on this data, Aswemake plans to introduce AI solutions for automated purchasing and pricing in a SaaS model. Recognizing its technological prowess, it has been consecutively selected for the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' TIPS (Tech Incubator Program for Startup) and Scale-up TIPS programs. The 'Inventory Calculation AI' developed through the 2022 TIPS project replaced manual ordering based on POS data and enabled AI-based order prediction reflecting product turnover rates and trends. Furthermore, in the 2024 Scale-up TIPS program, it is developing 'Real-time Dynamic Pricing' technology, which automatically suggests optimal prices by analyzing mart inventory, demand, and nearby commercial area pricing data in real time. The direction of this technological advancement aligns with Alibaba's case. Oh Seung-hyun, Head of Strategy at Aswemake, explained that just as Alibaba expanded its business into logistics, finance, marketing, and AI technology based on its own commerce data, growing into a digital commerce infrastructure company, Aswemake is also focusing on building AI infrastructure utilizing retail data. Aswemake's AI technology is expected to expand beyond Qmarket clients to external distributors and large mart chains in a SaaS model, accelerating the AI transformation across the entire distribution industry. The industry evaluates Aswemake not merely as a digital transformation solution provider, but as a unique retail AI specialized company equipped with automated AI technology based on commercial data. Oh Seung-hyun, Head of Strategy, stated his ambition to "present a new standard for smart grocery store operations with AI trained on real-world conditions."