On June 13th, the "Enterprise Rapid Growth AI + Retail Innovation Summit" hosted by Huawei was successfully held in Xiamen. Centered around the theme "AI-Driven Retail Innovation," the summit gathered numerous consumer brands and technology service providers to delve into how retail enterprises can restructure their network infrastructure and achieve digital upgrading amid the accelerating popularization of AI technology.

As a strategic ecosystem partner of Huawei, GLINK Century was invited to attend. Liang Zhiwei, Director of Solutions at GLINK, delivered a keynote speech titled *Cloud-Network Integration: Digital Supply Chain Transformation for Retail Enterprises*. Starting from the actual pain points faced by the retail industry, he elaborated on the smart store network solution jointly developed by GLINK and Huawei, as well as the key technical capabilities and customer success stories in its implementation.

Four Core Pain Points in Retail Network Transformation

Opening his speech, Liang Zhiwei drew on GLINK's 20+ years of experience in serving retail clients to identify four core challenges currently faced by retail enterprises in network architecture and digital upgrading:

1. Difficulty in unifying complex deployments: The surge in the number of chain stores has raised higher requirements for standardization in network operation and management.

 2. High risks from exploding device numbers: Intensive access to smart terminals has exponentially expanded the security exposure surface, making stores frontlines for cyberattacks.

 3. Uncontrollable business experience: Multiple services share the network, but the lack of application identification and scheduling capabilities makes it hard to guarantee user experience.

 4. Challenges in adopting new technologies: The rapid pace of technological evolution puts pressure on enterprise IT teams to continuously adapt and maintain new technologies.

These issues have become obstacles for retail enterprises moving toward "smart stores," driving an urgent need to build a more intelligent, secure, flexible, and manageable network infrastructure.

Jointly with Huawei, Building "Four Key Capabilities" for Smart Stores

Focusing on industry pain points, Liang Zhiwei then introduced the smart retail network solution co-developed by GLINK and Huawei. The solution builds core capabilities for the next-generation store network from four dimensions: "management, connectivity, security, and flexibility":

Intelligent central control platform: Integrating Huawei's iMaster NCE with GLINK's self-developed operation and maintenance platform, it enables unified management of LAN-WAN devices and centralized policy orchestration, significantly reducing IT burdens.

Multi-link intelligent scheduling: Supporting combinations of MPLS, the Internet, and 4G/5G links, combined with technologies like A-FEC and data compression, to ensure stable operation of different services.

Native security protection: Store-side devices come with built-in firewalls, antivirus, and intrusion prevention functions, providing "plug-and-protect" security capabilities for IoT devices and business systems.

On-demand flexible interconnection: Adapting to multiple scenarios such as stores, headquarters, and data centers, with a highly flexible network architecture supporting one-stop delivery and expansion.

Advantages of the Solution

Liang Zhiwei emphasized that through the EasyBranch all-in-one device solution, which integrates 6-10 traditional devices into one, the deployment process is greatly simplified:

Faster deployment: Supporting USB drive/registration center/remote deployment, a single store can go online in as little as 10 minutes, and network deployment for thousands of stores can be completed in 10 days.

Easier operation and maintenance: Through configuration templates and a GIS visualization platform, store network status is manageable at a glance, significantly reducing IT resource pressure.

More flexible access: Combined with 5G capabilities, it meets special needs such as "no fixed network," "multiple backups," and "rapid launch."

Built-in security: Independent of external firewall procurement, SD-WAN devices themselves have a complete security system, effectively defending against hacker attacks and virus intrusions.

This solution has helped many clients achieve rapid store network launch and secure operation, significantly reducing deployment and maintenance costs. For example:

- A Fujian-based chain brand with over 1,000 stores: GLINK built an independent SD-WAN network, successfully solving issues of high cost and insufficient capacity in the original dedicated line network, enabling intelligent routing for concurrent old and new services and strongly supporting its rapid expansion.

- A Beijing-based retail enterprise with 100+ stores: The traditional point-to-point MSTP structure limited store deployment speed and lacked visual management capabilities. The new solution introduced SD-WAN backbone networking, 5G failover mechanisms, and an intelligent central control platform, accelerating deployment and significantly improving overall operation efficiency, serving as a model for smart retail store transformation.

Upgrading Retail Networks: GLINK and Huawei Build the Future Foundation

As AI, big data, IoT, and other technologies continue to integrate into retail scenarios, stores are no longer just sales terminals but also hubs for data, operations, and user experience. Facing the trend of retail intelligent transformation, GLINK Century will continue to leverage its expertise in cloud-network integration, SD-WAN, and secure networking, joining hands with Huawei to serve more retail clients.

On the journey of smart retail, GLINK and Huawei are building the "next-generation network" for retail enterprises.