Retail tech startup Azwemake (CEO Sooyoung Son) announced on the 9th that it was finally selected for the '2025 Deep Tech Startup Leap Package' support project hosted by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups.
With this project selection, Azwemake plans to begin full-scale development of its big data-based automated inventory tracking and purchasing solutions. These technologies aim to improve operational efficiency and accelerate digital transformation for small and medium-sized grocery stores in Korea.
Within the domestic food and beverage retail market, grocery stores account for approximately 44% of the total, with a market size of approximately 60 trillion won. However, their digital transformation rate is only 1.5%. Furthermore, according to data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and Statistics Korea, the industry's closure rate (21%) exceeds its growth rate (13%), highlighting structural issues and the need for operational innovation.
Azwemake has been developing solutions leveraging POS, scales, and transaction data to address the limitations of inventory management and demand forecasting in small and medium-sized supermarkets. As of June 2025, the company has secured approximately 13 trillion won in transaction data. Based on this data, Azwemake plans to provide retail-specific services that support automated inventory tracking, automated purchasing, and improved inventory turnover.
The automated purchasing system developed through this project is expected to reduce labor costs by an average of 3 million won per month at participating stores. It will be offered as a subscription-based SaaS through Azwemake's ERP platform, Qmarket Partners. Its real-time data analysis capabilities will proactively identify overstocks and out-of-stock situations, and by automating ordering based on demand forecasts, it is expected to contribute to operational stability and improved profitability.
CEO Son Soo-young stated, “Aswemake collects and analyzes over a million transaction data every day, and through this, we are increasing the efficiency and predictability of mart operations.” He added, “We will grow into a company that leads the digital transformation of the domestic retail industry.”
- See more related articles
You must be logged in to post a comment.