Ormazabal Selects a Startup to Develop an Intelligent Inventory Management Solution
Smartops, a company specialising in an Artificial Intelligence-based inventory co-pilot, has been selected as the winning startup
The startup will develop a €15,000 pilot project and join the BAT-B Accelerator Tower acceleration programme, as part of the BIOK open innovation challenge organised by BEAZ, an organisation affiliated with the Provincial Council of Bizkaia
The initiative aims to connect innovative startups with the technological challenges of industry and promote the development of new solutions within the region
Ormazabal, a company specialising in technological solutions for the electricity grid, has hosted the final of the BIOK! challenge, an initiative developed in collaboration with BEAZ, an organisation of the Provincial Council of Bizkaia, to connect innovative startups with the technological challenges faced by industry and encourage the development of new solutions within the region.
The event was attended by Ormazabal CEO Jorge González, the Provincial Councillor for Economic Promotion, Ainara Basurko, and BEAZ Competitiveness Services Coordinator, Ione Nieva.
Finalists
This year’s challenge focused on finding a Smart Stock solution for Ormazabal’s Primary Division. Following several phases of work, three startups presented their proposals to the company’s team, which selected the winning solution.
The finalist startups were Smartops, specialising in an Artificial Intelligence-based inventory co-pilot; Planity, focused on predictive services software; and Digital Experience, whose proposal is based on an intelligent purchasing support system. All three were selected for the innovative nature of their solutions and their ability to address a real technological challenge faced by Ormazabal.
Smartops, the Selected Company
The winning startup, Smartops, will develop a pilot project with Ormazabal worth €15,000 and will also gain access to the BAT-B Accelerator Tower acceleration programme.
Jorge González, CEO of Ormazabal, stated: “Open innovation is a key tool for accelerating the adoption of new technologies within industry. BIOK! enables us to collaborate with startups that bring fresh perspectives to solving real business challenges while, at the same time, contributing to strengthening Bizkaia’s innovation ecosystem.”
For her part, Ainara Basurko, Provincial Councillor for Economic Promotion, highlighted that: “Since 2017, we have promoted 44 open innovation challenges, which have received 823 proposals from startups. This reflects BIOK’s consolidation as an effective tool for connecting the real needs of our companies with talent, technology and new solutions. The Ormazabal challenge is an excellent example of this model: an industrial company opening its doors to innovation in order to enhance its competitiveness, and a startup gaining access to a real use case with the potential to become a significant growth opportunity.”
