"Enhancing Competitiveness with AI Commercial Area Analysis" SKT Signs Business Agreement to Support Small and Medium Merchants

[Asia Economy Reporter Eunmo Koo] SK Telecom announced on the 16th that it will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Korea Franchise Association (KFA), a non-profit organization, to strengthen the competitiveness of the franchise industry.

SK Telecom will provide KFA member companies with the commercial district analysis solution ‘Maptics’ that analyzes commercial district characteristics and store attractiveness, as well as the ‘AI Contact Center’ service that expands customer touchpoints through AI consultation functions. The purpose is to support digital management activities based on cloud solutions applying AI and big data to the franchise industry.

The ‘Maptics’ solution offers comprehensive analysis services based on big data, including regional commercial district characteristics, floating population by time zone, and interests of the resident population. It also supports optimal store location selection through AI algorithms. Additionally, it helps establish efficient store operation strategies by analyzing the utilization of delivery services by region.

The cloud-based digital consultation solution ‘AI Contact Center’ automates simple and repetitive consultation tasks that were mainly handled directly by consultants in the past by utilizing AI chatbots and AI voice bots. Since it is provided based on the cloud, there is no initial cost burden for building a consultation center system.

Lee Yong-ik, Head of Cloud Business Development at SK Telecom, stated, “We will combine KFA’s insights into the franchise industry with SKT’s data-based customer analysis capabilities and AI and cloud-based customer consultation services,” and added, “We will lead ESG management by supporting digital management activities of small and medium-sized enterprises and small business owners who are going through difficult times.”

Jung Hyun-sik, President of KFA, said, “I hope this agreement will help alleviate the concerns of small and medium-sized enterprises and small business owners facing difficult situations and serve as an opportunity to create a stable growth foundation for the franchise industry in the long term.”