TOKYO and SINGAPORE, Sept. 29, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- NEC Corporation (NEC; TSE: 6701) has been awarded the 2022 Southeast Asia AI in Retail Competitive Strategy Leadership Award by Frost & Sullivan. NEC's ability to meet customer's needs and capitalize on new growth opportunities by leveraging strong AI capabilities was highly recognised and positioned the company as a competitive strategy leader in AI solutions for the retail sector.

For this AI in Retail Competitive Strategy Leadership Award, Frost & Sullivan analysts independently assessed NEC based on two criteria:

Strategy Innovation

• Effectiveness; Execution; Competitive Differentiation; Executive Team Alignment; and Stakeholder Integration

Customer Impact

• Price/Performance Value; Customer Purchase Experience; Customer Ownership Experience; Customer Service Experience; and Brand Equity

Hemangi Patel, Industry Analyst, Frost & Sullivan, said, "NEC Corporation provides extensive end-to-end retail‐as‐a‐service capabilities that empower retail customers to build and deploy proprietary AI solutions at scale. Developing modern front-end and back-end apps for retail, the company capitalizes on AI, cloud, and data technologies to support customers in their digital transformation journeys. It reinforces its consumer‐centric retailing approach and compelling value proposition through in-house platform offerings, consultation services, and strategic partnerships with major technology vendors. With a proven track record in delivering large and complex AI and analytics projects for retail customers, NEC Corporation continues to strengthen its service provider role in Southeast Asia's highly competitive AI landscape."

Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies are increasingly being used across various domains. In the retail industry, AI helps retailers gain new business and customer insights while enriching customer experiences and efficiently managing business operations. Particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a massive shift in customer behaviour as the use of mobile devices for shopping took off exponentially. Retailers are gradually embracing the concept of omnichannel commerce and are looking for a more sophisticated version of the online-to-offline retail model.

NEC has continuously promoted the development of AI-related technology for over half a century, long before it announced the "NEC the WISE" portfolio of AI solutions in 2016. Many of NEC's AI technologies, including speech recognition, image and video recognition, machine learning, prediction and detection, and research in life sciences and healthcare, are either unprecedented or ranked No. 1(*) in the world.

Loke Siew Yeng, Vice President Digital Business Unit, NEC APAC, said, "We are honoured to receive this accolade by Frost & Sullivan. This is all thanks to our dedicated staff, partners and customers who are willing to engage in co-creation to develop solutions that address challenges and bring social value. NEC is committed to co-creating solutions with stakeholders of all levels to realize a safer, prosperous and sustainable future."

For more information about this award, please visit here.

(*1) https://www.nec.com/en/press/202108/global_20210823_01.html 

https://www.nec.com/en/press/202109/global_20210915_02.html

About NEC Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd.

Singapore-based NEC Asia Pacific (NEC APAC) is the regional headquarters for NEC Corporation (HQ: Japan) in the Asia Pacific region (South and Southeast Asia). As a leading information and communications technology provider, NEC APAC provides innovative solutions and infrastructure to promote safety, security and enhance the quality of life for individuals and the community. NEC APAC's expertise includes solutions for carrier networks, biometric identification, enterprise applications and infrastructure, unified communications, transportation solutions, multimedia displays and smart energy, as well as the provision of managed services and contact centre services.

Together with our research laboratories, NEC APAC provides cutting-edge public safety, cybersecurity technologies and enterprise solutions to enable safer cities, with a vision to create a brighter future. For more information, please visit https://sg.nec.com.

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