FIC Restaurants announces fundraising campaign
FIC Restaurants (Friendly’s restaurants) and Boys & Girls Clubs of America will kick off the start of 2018 with the annual Valentine’s Day “Cones for Kids” fundraising campaign at more than 250 Friendly’s restaurants in 14 states. Through Feb. 13, guests dining at the neighborhood Friendly’s restaurant will receive a Valentine’s Day-themed “Kid Card” in exchange for a $1 donation to Boys & Girls Clubs of America. The coupon book, featuring deals and coupons good for one free cone, is redeemable at all Friendly’s restaurants from Feb. 14 through March 18..For those who wish to support Boys & Girls Clubs of America with a $1 donation, an adult coupon book featuring the following five offers will also be available: $5 off a $25 purchase; $3 off a $15 purchase; a free kids meal With adult entrée; buy-one-get-one-free for any size sundae; and $3.99 Big-Two-Do On weekends. Friendly’s next “Cones for Kids” fundraising campaign is slated to begin in the fall and will feature a similar adult coupon book and Halloween-themed “Kid Cards” in exchange for a $1 donation to Boys & Girls Clubs of America.
Rent the Runway uses Alia Technologies products
Rent the Runway, the consumer fashion rental company powered by logistics and tech, recently announced its use of iOS-based scanners and kiosks from Natick’s Aila Technologies to enhance the customer experience and streamline operations at its retail store locations. Rent the Runway will showcase its in-store experience at NRF 2018 – Retail’s Big Show in the Aila booth, #360. Managing more than 450,000 pieces of designer fashion in the “closet in the cloud” is a massive logistical enterprise, collecting millions of data points about each user’s interaction with the brand. With Aila, Rent the Runway is able to tie all of that data into its digital in-store experience to make returns, exchanges and rentals. Customers at the New York City Flagship store, as well as locations in Chicago, San Francisco, Topanga and Washington, DC, are able to walk in and walk out with the everyday or black-tie style and fit that they want. The self-service Aila Interactive Kiosks with TrueScan technology allow customers to quickly pick up and drop off orders and easily exchange pieces on the spot. Aila’s in-store solutions are used by retailers and grocers to streamline operations and provide engaging consumer interactions.
Kuebix predicting transportation market shake-up
Kuebix, of Maynard, creator of a transportation management system that delivers freight intelligence, predicts the 2018 transportation market will experience a major shake-up due to recent tax reforms, continued capacity crunch and the focus on the digital transformation of the supply chain. With a cut in taxes on small businesses, cash flow could increase, allowing companies to invest more in technology, human capital and business expansion. However, the tightened capacity crunch, driver shortage and higher freight rates may deter some businesses from making purchases. Tax cuts combined with certain deductions will reportedly add $1 trillion in growth over the next decade, per the Tax Foundation, adding .29 percent to the US GDP and creating 339,000 new jobs.
Raytheon assigned patent
Raytheon, of Waltham, Waltham, has been assigned a patent developed by five co-inventors for "detection of concealed object on a body using radio frequency signatures on frequencies and polarizations." The co-inventors are Jacob Kim, of Dallas, Texas; John L. Tomich, of Coppell, Texas; Raymond Samaniego, of Prosper, Texas; Howard C. Choe, of Southlake, Texas; and Leslie A. Priebe, of Plano, Texas. The abstract states: "A method for detecting a concealed object in a target. The target may include a body and the concealed object. The method may include emitting radio frequency energy toward a direction of the target, receiving a scattered RF energy reflected from the target, generating a signal corresponding to the received scattered RF energy, comparing the signal with a plurality of stored RF scattering signatures and detecting the concealed object when the signal matches one of a plurality of RF scattering signatures. Each of the RF scattering signatures may be associated with an object of interest." The patent application was filed on Oct. 9, 2013. The full-text of the patent can be found at http://bit.ly/2mBf1cO.