Lotte revolutionizes customer experience with new growth engines

A bird’s-eye view of the Busan CFC equipped with the Ocado Smart Platform [LOTTE CORPORATION]

Lotte plans to invest 37 trillion won ($28.6 billion) over the next five years in developing new growth themes such as health and wellness, mobility, sustainability, and new life platforms.

Lotte Healthcare and Lotte Biologics are driving new businesses in accordance to their visions. Lotte Healthcare made a significant contribution to the digital health care market by launching its customized health management platform Cazzle on Sept. 18. Lotte Healthcare aims to attract 1 million Cazzle subscribers by the end of next year and turn it into the nation’s daily health care platform.

Lotte is accelerating technological advancements in the mobility sector to pioneer new markets. On Oct. 12, Lotte Data Communication launched autonomous driving services in Hongseong, South Chungcheong. The company’s autonomous shuttle operates at Level 4 autonomy, meaning it can drive safely without a driver by utilizing various sensors and artificial vision systems.

Lotte Shopping held a groundbreaking ceremony at its customer fulfillment center (CFC) in Busan on Dec. 5. The CFC incorporates the Ocado Smart Platform (OSP) from the global retail tech company, Ocado. By utilizing the system’s data and artificial intelligence, the entire process from demand forecasting, inventory management, product picking, packing and dispatch will be automated, enhancing the efficiency of product management and delivery.

Lotte GRS actively seeks to resolve labor shortages and promote digital transformation in the food service industry through food tech. Starting from January next year at Guro Digital Complex Station, Lotteria branches will begin to be equipped with the kitchen robot Alpha Grill. Lotteria’s current manual process to cook burger patties consists of seven stages. The implementation of Alpha Grill will allow the workers to skip six steps in the process and will also assist in supplying burger patties. With the introduction of Alpha Grill, the monthly working hours of a single worker are estimated to be reduced by roughly five hours.

LOTTE R&D Center is at the forefront of the environmental protection movement to find value in new materials derived from food by-products generated during product manufacturing. The institute conducts research to validate and commercialize these by-products. It aims to explore various possibilities for the utilization of food by-products and plans to continue research for the development of future foods.

BY JEONG SEONWU [jeong.seonwu@joongang.co.kr]