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ToolsGroup Announces Significant Enhancements To Its Industry-Leading Demand Planning Solution

ToolsGroup

ToolsGroup, a global leader in retail and supply chain planning and optimization software, has announced the latest version of its Service Optimizer 99+ (SO99+) software, making major advancements in its forecasting and demand sensing capabilities. This is just the latest of the company’s significant strides towards making supply chains a force for good by helping organizations guarantee service, reduce excess stock, and increase profits. “ToolsGroup SO99+ improved the accuracy of our forecasts for slower moving items by 5-10%,” said Sarah Voorhees, Vice President of Demand and Inventory Planning at American Tire Distributors. “Better probabilistic forecasts translate into better fulfillment, helping us reduce inventory, carry less safety stock, and increase revenue through fewer stockouts.” With the release of v8.60, ToolsGroup aims to further improve customer experience and supply chain performance with expanded capabilities that now deliver: - A New Product Introduction (NPI) Dashboard that provides an interactive display for SO99+ NPI forecasting. The dashboard enables immediate what-if scenario planning for all the attributes that may impact the performance of a new product introduction, a deeper understanding of the variables that affect the success of a new product launch, and the rationale supporting the projections for the launch forecast. - Automatic Forecast Model Backtesting that eliminates the typically time-consuming, manual calibration process of configuring, defining, and simulating forecast models, delivering significant forecasting accuracy improvements nearly automatically. - Re-Forecasting Based on Pre-orders that empowers users to incorporate actual orders into probabilistic forecasts to better determine future demand, improving short- and medium-term forecast accuracy while enabling customers to respond quickly and proactively to market changes. - Machine Learning Speed and Accuracy Enhancements, thanks to the implementation of new light gradient-boosting machine functionality (LightGBM) into the SO99+ machine learning engines. By incorporating this advanced modeling technique, SO99+ delivers unmatched machine learning scalability and results, ensuring faster processing and major forecast accuracy improvements. - Flexible Forecast Aggregation that simplifies demand planning by allowing demand teams to plan at the aggregate level, while retaining the variables and details necessary for accurate supply planning processes. This ensures higher-quality, more flexible forecasts because SKUs are no longer restricted to a single hierarchical view. “As businesses continue to face significant disruptions across their supply chains, new challenges are constantly rising to the forefront. Demand planners need to be able to act quickly and decisively,” says ToolsGroup CEO, Inna Kuznetsova. “With this release, we have improved the power of our demand planning and demand sensing abilities in SO99+ and further enable our customers to navigate uncertainty and make the most informed planning decisions faster. More accurate forecasts translate into less waste and greater customer satisfaction, making supply chains a force for good in demand.” These exciting new capabilities add to the industry leading innovations in SO99+ which include: - Probabilistic Forecasting that combines historical, real-time, and other demand-relevant data into an probabilistic model that determines the possibility (and likelihood) of a range of outcomes, accounting for risk and enabling greater planning dexterity. It seamlessly self-adjusts to a wide variety of demand behaviors, generating optimal forecasts in uncertain demand scenarios. - Demand Sensing that helps users better leverage granular data to capture changes in the market before they happen, ensuring proactive adjustments in demand planning and lower downstream latency while still delivering optimal service levels, ensuring fewer lost sales and increased revenues. - Self-Adaptive, Frequency-Based Forecasting that effectively forecasts both fast-moving items and products with intermittent demand by capturing network-wide changes and events and accounting for both order size and order frequency, delivering the most accurate forecast available. - Machine Learning Engines that are mapped to every unique attribute that can affect a forecast, from seasonality and promotions to causals and external factors, ensuring the most accurate and robust forecasts on the market. With SO99+, ToolsGroup provides the power of dynamic planning to over 365 customers across 45 countries, enabling intelligent decision making at the speed of business that transforms supply chain performance. Customers report a 5-10 percentage point improvement in forecast accuracy and a 3-5 percentage point increase in service levels while simultaneously achieving a 20-30% inventory reduction. Built-in automation cuts the planning workload by up to 90% and helps companies reduce waste by 10-30%. For more information about SO99+, read our blog on the 8.6 release HERE. ToolsGroup’s innovative AI-powered solutions enable retailers, distributors, and manufacturers to navigate through supply chain uncertainty. Our retail and supply chain planning suites empower a new level of fast, intelligent decision making and unlock powerful business improvements in forecast accuracy, service levels, and inventory - delighting customers and achieving financial and ESG KPIs. Stay in touch with ToolsGroup on LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, or visit www.toolsgroup.com. Contact Details Meir Kahtan +1 917-864-0800 mkahtan@rcn.com Company Website https://www.toolsgroup.com

February 28, 2023 10:30 AM Eastern Standard Time

i2Coalition Launches Ethical Web Data Collection Initiative to Promote Industry Best Practices

Ethical Web Data Collection Initiative

The initiative is an international, industry-led consortium of web data collectors focused on strengthening public trust of the web scraping industry, and developing principles that will lead to greater accountability Web data aggregators (“web scraping”) gather available data from around the Internet; enabling consumer confidence, commercial innovation, and community safety. To drive further awareness of and public trust in this crucial digital ability, the Internet Infrastructure Coalition (i2Coalition) has announced the launch of the Ethical Web Data Collection Initiative (EWDCI). This international, industry-led, and member-driven consortium of web data aggregation business leaders is focused on encouraging dialogue and improving digital peace of mind for consumers and companies. By establishing the EWDCI, the i2Coalition seeks to foster cooperation within the data aggregation industry and build a framework to establish an open, participatory process around the development of legal and ethical web scraping provider principles that will lead to greater accountability. The EWDCI is actively seeking more members of the data scraping field dedicated to establishing best practices to join and help shape the initiative’s early efforts. “The public deserves digital peace of mind, and ‘scraping’ doesn’t have to be a dirty word when it is done responsibly, but responsibility needs defining,” said Christian Dawson, the i2Coalition’s Executive Director. “As with any industry in these early stages, it has a unique opportunity to have a hand in how it is developed and perceived.” The web data aggregation industry is young and growing, and the founding members of the EWDCI are committed to serve as the voice of this emerging industry. This means collaboratively building public trust in the practice of data aggregation, promoting ethical guidelines, and helping businesses make informed data aggregation choices. Founding EWDCI members include five companies: Coresignal, Oxylabs, Smartproxy, Rayobyte, and Zyte. Web scraping enables business innovation and competition, provides consumer benefits—including serving accurate information and comprehensive pricing—and facilitates thorough data analysis for academic and public safety purposes. Some noteworthy use cases include: E-commerce price intelligence, including up-to-the-minute comparative information on same-item pricing across the internet Jobs and real estate listing aggregation Social listening and brand monitoring Alternative data for investment decision-making Businesses performing a thorough review of consumer trends and competitor companies worldwide to best position themselves for success Companies scanning the Internet data for illicit uses of their intellectual property Businesses confirming validity of marketing spend via ad verification Data aggregation companies supplying pro-bono scraped data to academic researchers, providing them vast data stores for essential research To properly provide these benefits to consumers, companies, and the public at large, data aggregators need to follow ethical practices. Such dedication will serve to further understanding of the data aggregation practice and process, and further the adoption of this technology. Key to this is a safe and community-minded application of aggregation, and therefore a positive reputation for the practice and its practitioners. The i2Coalition is the leading voice for businesses that build the internet, and has spearheaded the creation of similar efforts to create standardized industry benchmarks—such as the VPN Trust Initiative, which determined and promoted best practices for that vital industry. “The EWDCI aims to reach companies with this message of ethical data aggregation, as well as to educate consumers at large and legislators worldwide in the interest of informed, empowered action,” said Dawson. “This will promote industry-led stewardship of important—and already widely adopted—technology in the interest of solving any present challenges and setting the industry up for forthcoming success.” To learn more about the EWDCI, please visit www.ethicalwebdata.com. To become a member, please email Hilary Osborne. To learn more about the i2Coalition, please visit www.i2Coalition.com. About The Ethical Web Data Collection Initiative The Ethical Web Data Collection Initiative (EWDCI) seeks to foster cooperation in the web data collection and aggregation industry and leverage collective first-hand knowledge and insights to advocate for beneficial technical standards and business best practices regarding the aggregation of data. The EWDCI is dedicated to serving as the voice of the industry, collaboratively strengthening public trust in the practice of Data Aggregation, promoting ethical guidelines, and helping businesses make informed data aggregation choices. About the i2Coalition The Internet Infrastructure Coalition (i2Coalition) is the leading voice for web hosting companies, data centers, domain registrars and registries, cloud infrastructure providers, managed services providers, and related tech. The i2Coalition works with Internet infrastructure providers to advocate for sensible policies, design and reinforce best practices, help create industry standards, and build awareness of how the Internet works. The i2Coalition also spearheaded the creation of the VPN Trust Initiative, which determined and promoted best practices for that vital industry. Contact Details Aaron Alberico +1 202-744-0786 aalberico@raynoravenue.com Company Website https://ethicalwebdata.com/

February 28, 2023 09:30 AM Eastern Standard Time

Top Fashion Brands Use AI-Driven Omnichannel MySizeID And Naiz Fiz To Deliver The Right Size The First Time Around

MySize, Inc.

By Ernest Dela Aglanu, Benzinga Shopping for clothing online, while convenient, can at the same time be very difficult, especially because the buyer can't try the clothes on first. All too often, they may receive apparel that doesn't fit – sometimes marring an otherwise great experience. A survey conducted by Power Reviews revealed that clothing topped the list of items returned by customers who purchase online. Clothing led with 88% returns, followed by shoes at 44%, and electronics at 43% as the most returned product categories. The survey further explained that the top three reasons people gave for returning an item were that it didn't fit (70%), the item was damaged or defective (65%), or the item didn't match the description (49%). These fit-related problems are costing retailers worldwide $642.6 billion, and only 48% of returns can be resold at full price. Even worse, an estimated 5 billion pounds of returns end up in landfills. To help solve this nagging problem and ensure customers receive clothing and other items that fit, MySize Inc. (NASDAQ: MYSZ) (TASE: MYSZ.TA), an omnichannel e-commerce platform and provider of artificial intelligence (AI)-driven measurement solution, has been partnering with a growing list of top retailers. Since 1999, the company has developed products such as MySizeID and recently acquired Naiz Fit to enhance customers' shopping experience by helping them find the perfect fit while driving revenue growth and reducing costs for its business clients. MySize says it is helping fashion brands and retailers use AI to create virtual try-on experiences. Now, customers can use their smartphones to create a profile and then virtually try on different clothing items. Top Fashion Brands Are Using MySize Technology Interestingly, some big brands have adopted MySize AI-driven measurement solutions to enhance customer experience while maximizing profits, serving as a testament to the quality of their product. In May last year, Denim brand Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE: LEVI) revealed that it was adding more digital tools like MySize technology to help customers find the right size jeans as part of its mandate to grow direct-to-consumer sales. The company said it would implement two new digital fit features to its site: a predictive fit algorithm and a photo bank of products on people of different body types. Forint S.p.a., a leading Italian maker of uniforms for customers including the Vatican, Italy’s Presidency, and the Senate, in December 2022, selected the MySizeID sizing solution for its business. The company said it would offer MySizeID to all its business-to-business customers, providing a smarter and easier way to interact, resulting in a seamless experience and more accurate service. Another company that has adopted MySize's technology is Estudio de Moda SAS, a leading Colombia-based retail company with a portfolio of brands, including Diesel, Celio, Superdry PLC (LON: SDRY), Marithe François Girbaud, and Replay. The company announced on January 5 this year it will implement MySizeID sizing solution on its Diesel Colombia e-commerce site. Apart from the announcements mentioned above, MySize has entered into agreements with Temperley London, a luxury British fashion brand, and 7 For All Mankind (Brazil), a premium global clothing brand, to license its MySizeID apparel sizing solution. Also, after a year of proven success with Levi Strauss & Co. Turkey (Levi's Turkey), Dockers (Turkey) decided to integrate MySize's proprietary AI-driven sizing technology solution. According to the company, the successful integration of the MySizeID widget has reduced return rates for a subsidiary of the world's global leader in jeans wear. MySize believes that its technology, compared to others, can provide several advantages to consumers — especially including a better fit the first time — and retailers, who can save money because returns are reduced. People are also more likely to buy more when they are confident about fit. The technology also benefits the environment as it reduces waste associated with returns, carbon footprint, and clothing being discarded. This article was originally published on Benzinga here. MySize, Inc. (NASDAQ: MYSZ) (TASE: MYSZ.TA) is an omnichannel e-commerce platform and provider of AI-driven measurement solutions to drive revenue growth and reduce costs for its business clients. Orgad, its online retailer platform, has expertise in e-commerce, supply chain, and technology operating as a third-party seller on Amazon.com and other sites. MySize recently launched FirstLook Smart Mirror, a mirror-like touch display that provides in-store customers an enhanced shopping experience and contactless checkout. FirstLook Smart Mirror extends MySize's reach into physical stores and is expected to contribute to revenues through unit sales and recurring service fees.MySize has developed a unique measurement technology based on sophisticated algorithms and cutting-edge technology with broad applications, including the apparel, e-commerce, DIY, shipping, and parcel delivery industries. This proprietary measurement technology is driven by several algorithms that are able to calculate and record measurements in a variety of novel ways. To learn more about MySize, please visit our website: www.mysizeid.com. This post contains sponsored advertising content. This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be investing advice. Contact Details Or Kles, CFO ir@mysizeid.com Company Website https://mysizeid.com

February 28, 2023 09:00 AM Eastern Standard Time

i2Coalition Launches Ethical Web Data Collection Initiative to Promote Industry Best Practices

Ethical Web Data Collection Initiative

Web data aggregators (“web scraping”) gather available data from around the Internet; enabling consumer confidence, commercial innovation, and community safety. To drive further awareness of and public trust in this crucial digital ability, the Internet Infrastructure Coalition (i2Coalition) has announced the launch of the Ethical Web Data Collection Initiative (EWDCI). This international, industry-led, and member-driven consortium of web data aggregation business leaders is focused on encouraging dialogue and improving digital peace of mind for consumers and companies. By establishing the EWDCI, the i2Coalition seeks to foster cooperation within the data aggregation industry and build a framework to establish an open, participatory process around the development of legal and ethical web scraping provider principles that will lead to greater accountability. The EWDCI is actively seeking more members of the data scraping field dedicated to establishing best practices to join and help shape the initiative’s early efforts. “The public deserves digital peace of mind, and ‘scraping’ doesn’t have to be a dirty word when it is done responsibly, but responsibility needs defining,” said Christian Dawson, the i2Coalition’s Executive Director. “As with any industry in these early stages, it has a unique opportunity to have a hand in how it is developed and perceived.” The web data aggregation industry is young and growing, and the founding members of the EWDCI are committed to serve as the voice of this emerging industry. This means collaboratively building public trust in the practice of data aggregation, promoting ethical guidelines, and helping businesses make informed data aggregation choices. Founding EWDCI members include five companies: Coresignal, Oxylabs, Smartproxy, Rayobyte, and Zyte. Web scraping enables business innovation and competition, provides consumer benefits—including serving accurate information and comprehensive pricing—and facilitates thorough data analysis for academic and public safety purposes. Some noteworthy use cases include: E-commerce price intelligence, including up-to-the-minute comparative information on same-item pricing across the internet Jobs and real estate listing aggregation Social listening and brand monitoring Alternative data for investment decision-making Businesses performing a thorough review of consumer trends and competitor companies worldwide to best position themselves for success Companies scanning the Internet data for illicit uses of their intellectual property Businesses confirming validity of marketing spend via ad verification Data aggregation companies supplying pro-bono scraped data to academic researchers, providing them vast data stores for essential research To properly provide these benefits to consumers, companies, and the public at large, data aggregators need to follow ethical practices. Such dedication will serve to further understanding of the data aggregation practice and process, and further the adoption of this technology. Key to this is a safe and community-minded application of aggregation, and therefore a positive reputation for the practice and its practitioners. The i2Coalition is the leading voice for businesses that build the internet, and has spearheaded the creation of similar efforts to create standardized industry benchmarks—such as the VPN Trust Initiative, which determined and promoted best practices for that vital industry. “The EWDCI aims to reach companies with this message of ethical data aggregation, as well as to educate consumers at large and legislators worldwide in the interest of informed, empowered action,” said Dawson. “This will promote industry-led stewardship of important—and already widely adopted—technology in the interest of solving any present challenges and setting the industry up for forthcoming success.” To learn more about the EWDCI, please visit www.ethicalwebdata.com. To become a member, please email Hilary Osborne. To learn more about the i2Coalition, please visit www.i2Coalition.com. About the Ethical Web Data Collection Initiative The Ethical Web Data Collection Initiative (EWDCI) seeks to foster cooperation in the web data collection and aggregation industry and leverage collective first-hand knowledge and insights to advocate for beneficial technical standards and business best practices regarding the aggregation of data. The EWDCI is dedicated to serving as the voice of the industry, collaboratively strengthening public trust in the practice of Data Aggregation, promoting ethical guidelines, and helping businesses make informed data aggregation choices. About the i2Coalition The Internet Infrastructure Coalition (i2Coalition) is the leading voice for web hosting companies, data centers, domain registrars and registries, cloud infrastructure providers, managed services providers, and related tech. The i2Coalition works with Internet infrastructure providers to advocate for sensible policies, design and reinforce best practices, help create industry standards, and build awareness of how the Internet works. The i2Coalition also spearheaded the creation of the VPN Trust Initiative, which determined and promoted best practices for that vital industry. Contact Details Aaron Alberico +1 202-744-0786 aalberico@raynoravenue.com Company Website https://ethicalwebdata.com/

February 28, 2023 03:30 AM Eastern Standard Time

CleverTap’s Fintech Benchmark Report: Only 1 in 5 users that install fintech apps sign up within week one

CleverTap

CleverTap, the modern integrated retention cloud, released its Industry Benchmark Report for Fintech Apps 2022. As fintech apps continue to grow more popular, the number of players vying for market share has increased. This has subsequently reduced customer retention and “stickiness” for any one brand. Therefore, today more than ever, it is crucial that fintech companies find ways to drive customer “stickiness” by engaging users in effective ways that eventually drive transactions and fuel growth. The report reflects data collected from Asia-Pacific, Europe, India, Latin America, Middle-East, and North America. The report gives marketers a truly holistic view of key metrics within the fintech app landscape.It also spans a wide variety of fintech apps, including, but not limited to, mobile payment apps, cryptocurrency, and block chain services, along with banking and insurance among others. These insights will not only serve as a helpful starting point for developing successful engagement strategies, but also assist in understanding how an app fares in comparison to global averages. Some of the key metrics in the report include: Install to sign-up rate: Only 1 in 5 users that install fintech apps (21%) end up signing up within the first week. Average time to sign-up: 70% of the users that sign-up, do so within 75 seconds of launching the app for the first time. Sign-up to conversion rate: 95% of newly signed-up users make at least one financial transaction in the first month. Average time to convert: 76% of newly signed-up users move from onboarding to deeper-in-the-funnel engagement within an average of 7 days. Session frequency: On average, fintech app users launch their app around 11 times a month. Average repeat transaction rate for new users: 15% of newly signed-up users complete more than one transaction in the first week. Average click-through rate for push notifications: On average, 9% of Android users and 6% of iOS users will click on and interact with push notifications. Average click-through rate for in-app notifications: The click-through rate for in-app notifications is 24%, that’s about 3 times more than that of push notifications. Average email open rate: 34% users open emails sent by fintech companies Average Stickiness Quotient: Fintech apps enjoy a stickiness quotient of 22%, that indicates nearly one-quarter of MAUs consistently return to their fintech apps “The fintech industry has seen exponential growth in the last few years. Given the relentless competition within the space, fintech platforms need to step up their Omnichannel engagement efforts to better retain customers,” said Jacob Joseph, VP-Data Science, CleverTap. “The benchmark metrics laid out in our report provide a great starting point for growth marketers looking to develop effective marketing strategies. They will be able to compare numbers against global averages and pinpoint which aspects they are excelling at and which areas could use some attention or innovation.” 95% of new fintech users complete a monetary transaction in the first month. This shows that while users see value in fintech apps, it’s important to adopt customized user engagement strategies to boost retention on the platform. Today there is a real need for fintech brands to bake-in effective marketing strategies within their apps. Users will remain responsive as long as the experience is engaging and seamless. The benchmark report helps fintech apps understand how to build successful mobile communication campaigns, and also allows growth marketers to discover areas that require greater focus. The report can be downloaded here. About CleverTap CleverTap is the World's #1 Retention Cloud that helps app-first brands personalize and optimize all consumer touch points to improve user engagement, retention, and lifetime value. It's the only solution built to address the needs of retention and growth teams, with audience analytics, deep-segmentation, multi-channel engagement, product recommendations, and automation in one unified product. The platform is powered by TesseractDB™ - the world’s first purpose-built database for customer engagement, offering both speed and economies of scale. CleverTap is trusted by 2000 customers, including Gojek, Electronic Arts, TED, English Premier League, TD Bank, Carousell, AirAsia, Papa Johns, and Tesco. Backed by leading investors such as Sequoia India, Tiger Global, Accel, and CDPQ the company is headquartered in Mountain View, California, with presence in San Francisco, New York, São Paulo, Bogota, London, Amsterdam, Sofia, Dubai, Mumbai, Singapore, and Jakarta. For more information, visit clevertap.com or follow on LinkedIn and Twitter. Forward-Looking Statements Some of the statements in this press release may represent CleverTap's belief in connection with future events and may be forward-looking statements, or statements of future expectations based on currently available information. CleverTap cautions that such statements are naturally subject to risks and uncertainties that could result in the actual outcome being absolutely different from the results anticipated by the statements mentioned in the press release. Factors such as the development of general economic conditions affecting our business, future market conditions, our ability to maintain cost advantages, uncertainty with respect to earnings, corporate actions, client concentration, reduced demand, liability or damages in our service contracts, unusual catastrophic loss events, war, political instability, changes in government policies or laws, legal restrictions impacting our business, impact of pandemic, epidemic, any natural calamity and other factors that are naturally beyond our control, changes in the capital markets and other circumstances may cause the actual events or results to be materially different, from those anticipated by such statements. CleverTap does not make any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness or updated or revised status of such statements. Therefore, in no case whatsoever will CleverTap and its affiliate companies be liable to anyone for any decision made or action taken in conjunction. Contact Details Sony Shetty sony@clevertap.com Company Website https://clevertap.com/

February 27, 2023 02:51 PM Eastern Standard Time

HomeRoots Partners with Kuehne+Nagel to streamline Transportation and Fulfilment Options for Customers

Homeroots

FEB 27, 2022 – HomeRoots, a B2B e-commerce furniture and home decor platform, announced today that it has formed a partnership with Kuehne+Nagel, one of the world’s largest freight forwarding company. This partnership will allow HomeRoots’ customers to purchase competitive container and air freight services that include a comprehensive one-stop solution to quoting, booking, and tracking freight services. This partnership will help facilitate HomeRoots need for speed in getting goods to market, but also helps HomeRoots offer low carbon shipment options for a more sustainable future. “Our customers, especially mid-size independent hoteliers expect more efficient ways to purchase Furniture, Fixtures and Equipment. They want a B2B online experience that is just like shopping for their own homes. Collaborating with HomeRoots allows Kuehne+Nagel to take a boutique logistics service offering to next level, while increasing opportunities for HomeRoots beyond the typical retail business.” says Holger Altvater; Global Head of Hospitality Logistics. Gil Bar-Lev, CEO of HomeRoots said that “HomeRoots' partnership with Kuehne-Nagel puts the two companies ahead of the competition. There are very few selling platforms that provide logistics solutions on such a scale. The opportunity to work with Kuehne-Nagel is exciting for multiple reasons. HomeRoots' partners will be able to benefit from efficient logistics solutions via Kuehne+Nagel solid network, its leading market position and sustainable product portfolio.” This also allows manufacturers and factories that did not have the capabilities or the know-how, to enter the U.S. market. Conversely, Kuehne+Nagel existing customers who are currently importing furniture and home décor items will can collaborate with an even larger sector of customers that includes HomeRoots ever growing U.S. based sales channel of customers. According to Reuters, 70% of U.S. economic activity results in merchandise derived from ocean container shipments. Many of these shipments are plagued with difficulties, delays, and lack of transparency that make international exchange difficult. Bar-Lev said “Our goal is for our customers who order containers to be able to do so by adding items to their cart on the HomeRoots platform and completing checkout like the end consumer ordering grocery items. The existing process which is highly complex and high touch will be completely transformed. This is a real game-changer.” “Kuehne+Nagel allows us to bring direct access to the next evolution of premier freight service and options to our customers and suppliers” said Diane Narwid, VP of Merchandising from HomeRoots. We relish the opportunity to help ease the pain points our customers and factories might be experiencing in terms of getting goods safely, quickly, and competitively into the US. This partnership will play a valuable role in allowing HomeRoots to be the ultimate one-stop-shop for B2B online sales of furniture and home decor products, but also open doors to additional industry and logistics brokering opportunities. About Kuehne+Nagel With over 80,000 employees at almost 1,300 locations in over 100 countries, the Kuehne+Nagel Group is one of the world's leading logistics companies. Its strong market position lies in sea logistics, air logistics, road logistics and contract logistics, with a clear focus on integrated logistics solutions. About HomeRoots HomeRoots is the market leader in B2B sales of Furniture, Home Decor, Rugs, & Lighting products. HomeRoots offers an ever-growing e-catalog of products IN STOCK and ready to ship to your location or direct to your customer. HomeRoots customers range from interior designers and hospitality projects to small and large e-commerce/brick and mortar retailers. HomeRoots mission is to offer an unparalleled breadth of assortment at competitive pricing and to make the B2B online shopping experience as easy as the B2C online shopping experience. For more information, please visit https://www.homeroots.co/ Contact Details HomeRoots Diane Narwid +1 862-203-8249 contactus@homeroots.co Company Website https://www.homeroots.co/

February 27, 2023 11:38 AM Eastern Standard Time

High Apparel Returns Can Have Significant Impact On The Environment, As An Estimated Five Billion Pounds End Up In Landfills; MySize (NASDAQ: MYSZ) May Have The Solution

MySize, Inc.

By Ernest Dela Aglanu, Benzinga MySize Inc. (NASDAQ: MYSZ) (TASE: MYSZ.TA), an omnichannel e-commerce platform and provider of artificial intelligence (AI)-driven measurement solutions, is systematically carving a niche for itself as a leader that believes in environmental sustainability. For over two decades, the company has been working to solve two critical problems facing the fashion retail industry — customers receiving apparel that doesn’t fit and reducing returns that sometimes end up in landfills. A survey conducted by Power Reviews revealed that clothing topped the items returned by customers who purchase online. Clothing led with 88%, shoes were at 44%, and electronics at 43% rounded off the list of the top three most returned product categories. The study further elucidated that the top three reasons people gave for returning an item were that it didn’t fit (70%), the item was damaged, or defective (65%), or the item didn’t match the description (49%). These fit-related problems are estimated to be costing retailers worldwide $642.6 billion, and only 48% of returns can be resold at full price. While it’s expected that returned apparels go back on sale, that’s unfortunately not always the case because retailers seem to spend more on assessing and repackaging them than trashing them, which may appear cheaper. Sadly, an estimated five billion pounds of returns end up in landfills, prompting experts to conclude that fashion has developed a notorious environmental footprint — accounting for up to 10% of global carbon dioxide output. There are now concerns that the fashion industry will retain its unwanted reputation as a significant contributor to climate change should marketing practices that encourage waste and fuel emissions continue to persist. While some brands like Burberry Group plc. (LON: BRBY), Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) and American Eagle Outfitters Inc. (NYSE: AEO) have moved toward donating and repurposing returned goods, a large number of retailers are still trashing returns. Now, concerns around environmental sustainability are influencing consumer behavior. The Capgemini Research Institute found that almost 80% of consumers are changing their shopping habits based on social responsibility and environmental impact. This is where MySize ’s sustainability-focused business practices could enhance value in the industry, especially as there is currently a global push for the reduction of waste and preservation of resources like clean air, water and wildlife for future generations. Brands are more likely to use MySize’s solutions to show their consumers that they are green. Some well-known brands have already adopted the company’s technology. On January 24, MySize revealed that Germany-based multidisciplinary fashion label Rotholz had selected and fully implemented the Naiz Fit sizing solution on its e-commerce site. A press release by the company said the selection showed how fashion could be made in harmony with nature, people, and ethics, as Rotholz works in collaboration with creatives from all over the world to bring together advanced design and production processes. “Naiz Fit is now used throughout Europe and beyond to create a superior customer experience and to support sustainable shopping. We welcome Rotholz as our latest fashion brand to adopt a MySize sizing solution, and we’re pleased to be a part of their corporate sustainability ethic,” Ronen Luzon, MySize CEO and founder, said. Spain-based Natura also fully implemented the Naiz Fit sizing solution allowing customers shopping at Natura’s online stores and its 200 physical stores throughout Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Andorra to use the Naiz Fit app to take their measurements and match their ideal fit with Natura’s apparel collections. Natura has been committed to making the world a better place with its unique and environment-friendly products, including a broad selection of apparel for women, men, and children. Through the Natura Award, the company has been creating a positive impact around the world by supporting more than 70 humanitarian aid and nature protection projects since 1994. MySize entered into an agreement with 7 For All Mankind (Brazil), a premium global clothing brand, to license its MySizeID apparel sizing solution in August last year. “7 For All Mankind’s commitment to continuous improvement to serve humanity is admirable, and MySizeID is pleased to partner with them in their mission,” Luzon said. Esber Hajli, CEO of 7 For All Mankind (Brazil), on her part, commented, “By implementing MySizeID, an innovative, market-leading sizing solution, we believe we can significantly reduce returns and its associated financial and environmental costs.” This article was originally published on Benzinga here. MySize, Inc. (NASDAQ: MYSZ) (TASE: MYSZ.TA) is an omnichannel e-commerce platform and provider of AI-driven measurement solutions to drive revenue growth and reduce costs for its business clients. Orgad, its online retailer platform, has expertise in e-commerce, supply chain, and technology operating as a third-party seller on Amazon.com and other sites. MySize recently launched FirstLook Smart Mirror, a mirror-like touch display that provides in-store customers an enhanced shopping experience and contactless checkout. FirstLook Smart Mirror extends MySize's reach into physical stores and is expected to contribute to revenues through unit sales and recurring service fees.MySize has developed a unique measurement technology based on sophisticated algorithms and cutting-edge technology with broad applications, including the apparel, e-commerce, DIY, shipping, and parcel delivery industries. This proprietary measurement technology is driven by several algorithms that are able to calculate and record measurements in a variety of novel ways. To learn more about MySize, please visit our website: www.mysizeid.com. This post contains sponsored advertising content. This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be investing advice. Contact Details Or Kles, CFO ir@mysizeid.com Company Website https://mysizeid.com

February 24, 2023 09:15 AM Eastern Standard Time

Shareholders Call Out JPMorgan Chase for Aiding & Abetting Jeffrey Epstein While De-Banking Conservatives

National Legal & Policy Center

Following the disclosures released last week that megabank JPMorgan Chase & Co. (“Chase”) knowingly allowed sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein to maintain accounts with which he made multiple payments to his victims – collectively exceeding $1 million – two shareholder groups are pointing out hypocrisy at the bank, and are calling upon it to implement transparency measures and to disclose its policies about whom it does and doesn’t provide services to. According to information in a federal lawsuit by the government of the Virgin Islands against Chase, as early as 2006 the bank’s Global Corporate Security Division flagged “[s]everal newspaper articles... that detail the indictment of Jeffrey Epstein in Florida on felony charges of soliciting underage prostitutes.” According to a report by LawAndCrime.com, four years later Chase’s risk management division raised questions in an internal email about fresh accusations against Epstein. “See below new allegations of an investigation related to child trafficking – are you still comfortable with this client who is now a registered sex offender[?]” The concerns were dismissed and Epstein’s accounts at Chase remained open. Both National Legal and Policy Center and the Free Enterprise Project at the National Center for Public Policy Research own stock in Chase, and have introduced shareholder proposals ( NLPC’s, FEP’s ) that address different aspects of the company’s troubling practice of closing accounts of conservatives without warnings or honest explanations. In their respective proposals, both NLPC and FEP cite past examples where Chase has “de-banked” activists and organizations, including the nonprofit National Committee for Religious Freedom, which “proactively defend(s) the constitutional rights of religious freedom” for “all Americans.” The NCRF was founded by Sam Brownback, the former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom. Ambassador Brownback also served honorably as a Congressman, U.S. Senator, and Governor for the state of Kansas. Chase shuttered NCRF’s account and since then provided false explanations, and then stonewalled about the reasons for the closing. Only now, Chase is asking the Securities & Exchange Commission to let it exclude both proposals ( NLPC, FEP ) from being presented at the company’s annual meeting of shareholders, in an attempt to evade accountability for its discriminatory de-banking practices. “This is evil; Chase let the cash flow to aid and abet Jeffrey Epstein’s sick and disgusting global sex trafficking operation,” said Paul Chesser, director of NLPC’s Corporate Integrity Project. “But they shut down its services to a praiseworthy and respectable initiative by an upstanding public servant, and want to hide the reasons for it all from shareholders. The bank is obviously embarrassed and it should be.” “Chase is a too-big-to-fail bank, so it gets to keep its profits, while all taxpayers – not just leftwingers – backstop its losses,” said Scott Shepard, Director of FEP. “Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon talks a good game about recognizing the folly of woke corporate governance, apparently without realizing that that’s how his shop is run. After these Epstein revelations, it’s time for Congress and the states to investigate Chase and to bar it from doing business until it ends its petty partisan discrimination.” Founded in 1991, NLPC promotes ethics in public life and government accountability through research, investigation, education, and legal action. Please visit http://www.nlpc.org. The National Center for Public Policy Research, founded in 1982, is a non-partisan, free-market, independent conservative think-tank. Ninety-four percent of its support comes from individuals, less than four percent from foundations and less than two percent from corporations. It receives over 350,000 individual contributions a year from over 60,000 active recent contributors. Contributions are tax-deductible and may be earmarked for the Free Enterprise Project. Sign up for email updates at https://nationalcenter.org/subscribe/. Follow us on Twitter at @FreeEntProject and @NationalCenter for general announcements. To be alerted to upcoming media appearances by National Center staff, follow our media appearances Twitter account at @NCPPRMedia. Media Contacts: Judy Kent, NCPPR, Director, Media Relations 703-477-7476 or JKent@NationalCenter.org Jackie Jones, NCPPR, Media Relations Consultant 316-644-9538 or Jackie@TruthPR.com ### Founded in 1991, NLPC promotes ethics in public life and government accountability through research, investigation, education, and legal action. Contact Details National Legal and Policy Center Dan Rene +1 202-329-8357 drene@nlpc.org Company Website http://www.nlpc.org

February 23, 2023 09:30 AM Eastern Standard Time

Contact Centers Are Increasingly Looking Beyond Traditional Multi-Factor Authentication and Turning To Biometrics To Prevent Fraud

BIO-key International, Inc.

By Gita Karunakaran, Benzinga BIO-key International Inc. (NASDAQ: BKYI) is a trusted provider of Identity and Access Management (IAM) and Identity-Bound Biometric solutions that are refining and changing the way Multi-factor Authentication (MFA) is used within IAM. The company competes with other access management software providers such as Okta Inc. (NASDAQ: OKTA); ForgeRock Inc. (NYSE: FORG); and Cyber Software Ltd. (NASDAQ: CYBR). BIO-key is innovating within the space to offer an easier and more secure way to authenticate the identity of employees and customers while managing their access across devices and applications. BIO-key’s cybersecurity solutions are currently being used to solve unique access management challenges across a plethora of industries, including financial services, healthcare, retail, education, manufacturing, and government. With almost every industry and business having an online presence today – and cybercrime and security breaches ever on the rise – there is an urgent need for reliable authentication and access management solutions. Take the burgeoning customer contact [or call] center business, for example. In the U.S. alone, there are 34,013 Telemarketing & Call Center businesses as of 2023 and their numbers have been steadily increasing by 2.3% per year on average between 2018 - 2023. The global scenario is even more active, with the cloud-based contact center market seeing significant growth from USD 6.80 billion in 2017 to USD 93 billion by 2022 – a whopping 25.2% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR). Contact Center Fraud Under The Spotlight Fraud has always been considered a huge area of risk for contact centers, given that there is a vast amount of personal information being handled by the customer-servicing teams as well as the fact that contact center agents handle payment transactions as well. Contact center fraud is any instance when a caller tries to spoof the identity of a legitimate customer and obtain sensitive data. Fraudsters can also try to process a high-value transaction on behalf of the customer, routing the funds to a different account/address that they can then access. The fraudster does this by obtaining sensitive personal identification information, which enables them to mimic the customer’s identity to a very believable degree of authenticity. They become privy to passwords, answers to secret questions, and even SMS OTPs (one-time passwords) through SIM spoofing, i.e. getting access and using your phone number. Organizations have reportedly seen a spike in fraudulent calls since the start of COVID-19. Due to their rising numbers, contact center fraud has come under the spotlight in recent years, with enterprises looking to take concrete measures to combat scammers and fraudulent entities. As organizations become more aware of the cybercrime landscape, they are paying more attention to their identity and access management and authentication solutions. They’re beefing up their cybersecurity arsenal by going beyond passwords and PINs and introducing increased security protocols like traditional and advanced multi-factor authentication. Some of the best practices that are used by contact centers include ‘what you are’ authentication, such as a voice biometric, over traditional ‘what you know’ methods like PINs and passwords to securely authenticate customer identity and effectively combat fraud. They also adopt strategies such as providing focused training to the contact center agents and giving them access to only the most necessary customer information so that they do not end up inadvertently divulging additional personal information of a customer to a fraudulent caller. While voice biometrics are in use to prevent external frauds, there is also a risk of misuse of sensitive information by contact center agents or past employees in cases where they may have malicious intent and misuse customer information for personal gain –- adding to the need for a robust access management strategy. Contact center agents are known to regularly handle massive amounts of sensitive information on behalf of both the company they represent, as well as the customers who require their assistance. Therefore, in most contact centers, certain electronic devices like mobile phones that could be purposely or unwittingly used to capture sensitive information and relay it outside of the contact center are generally disallowed among agents. In such scenarios, an MFA process involving one-time passwords or PINs sent to mobile devices may not be feasible. In addition, contact center best practices involve restricting access on a need-to-know basis and are set up in a manner that requires a higher level of authorization for sensitive transactions including address changes, large fund transfers, and the like. What is needed is a simple and elegant solution that is not time-consuming and, at the same time, able to confirm the identity of the actual individual behind the access request. How BIO-key Can Help This is where companies like BIO-key, which offer a variety of flexible authentication solutions, could play a key role by enabling organizations to enforce stronger security and multi-factor authentication. For example, for contact center employees who use shared workstations across multiple locations, BIO-key offers Identity-Bound Biometrics (IBB) with fingerprint scanners. This solution eliminates the need for users to carry around individual tokens or phones to verify their identity. In addition to the enhanced security, IBB helps employees to smoothly, efficiently, and securely carry out their daily operations, including when they’re working on shared workstations in multiple shifts at contact centers. In these scenarios authentication using physical tokens and mobile devices may not be viable choices due to security policies, high cost, and inconvenience. However, organizations can quickly implement station-based fingerprint scanners and a one–time enrollment for all employees with Identity-Bound Biometrics. In which case, users can enjoy a passwordless login experience at any device across any branch location – without needing to use phones or tokens. BIO-key’s IBB authentication methodology can reliably verify a person’s identity so that organizations can have confidence that only authorized people are gaining access to systems and data. BIO-key’s cloud-based PortalGuard Identity as a Service (IDaaS) platform offers flexible options for SingleSign-on (SSO) and supports a range of multi-factor authentication methods, including IBB, phone apps such as Duo, Microsoft and Google Authenticators, smartcards, OTP, and knowledge-based questions and methods. BIO-key’s customers can access the power and convenience of Identity-Bound Biometrics to ensure the highest levels of integrity, security, availability, and accuracy that enterprise security requires. BIO-key has a long track record with fingerprint authentication, and where applicable, its one-of-a-kind mobile app, it calls MobileAuth, could be used to eliminate the inconvenience, security risks, and costs of traditional authentication methods. MobileAuth can be used for multi-factor authentication (MFA) or passwordless workflows that make it easy to sign in with a simple palm or face scan – no password needed. BIO-key says that implementing MFA is one of the core steps to achieving zero trust – an approach that treats every person and every device as a potential threat. PortalGuard offers the greatest flexibility and choice across the three main categories of authentication factors: something you know (passwords, PIN), something you have (hardware tokens, phone-based methods), and something you are (biometrics, such as a palm scan, fingerprint or facial recognition). Because IBB authenticates the identity of the actual user, according to BIO-key, there is no stronger way to establish trust and ensure secure access across an organization. To learn more about the business applications of BIO-key’s solutions visit the company webpage here. This article was originally published on Benzinga here. BIO-key is revolutionizing authentication and cybersecurity with biometric-centric, multi-factor identity and access management (IAM) software managing millions of users. Its cloud-based PortalGuard IAM solution provides cost-effective, easy to deploy, convenient and secure access to devices, information, applications, and high-value transactions. BIO-key's patented software and hardware solutions, with industry-leading Identity-Bound Biometric (IBB) capabilities, enable large-scale Identity-as-a-Service (IDaaS) solutions, as well as customized on premises solutions. This post contains sponsored advertising content. This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be investing advice. Contact Details Catalyst IR- William Jones, David Collins +1 212-924-9800 BKYI@catalyst-ir.com Company Website https://www.bio-key.com/

February 22, 2023 09:00 AM Eastern Standard Time

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