Introduction

Taiwan's largest convenience store chain, operating 8,000 locations nationwide, faced unprecedented digital transformation challenges. To maintain competitive advantage, the company embarked on a comprehensive smart retail upgrade, integrating IoT connectivity, digital signage, and AI surveillance to deliver next-generation customer experiences while streamlining operations.

Customer Requirements

The convenience store chain needed comprehensive smart retail infrastructure supporting:

• Secure Multi-Device IoT Ecosystem (barcode scanners, receipt printers, electronic shelf labels, self-checkout kiosks, payment terminals, and environmental sensors)
• Reliable Digital Signage Network
• AI-Powered Surveillance & Analytics
• Rapid & Scalable Deployment (within 2-3 months across all locations)
• Centralized Device Management & Troubleshooting

Implementation Challenges

• Massive Scale & Complexity (thousands of geographically distributed locations)
• Limited Technical Staff
• Consistent Network Configuration & Security Policies
• Secure Network Segmentation (POS, signage, surveillance, and back-office systems)

‍

Solution Overview

The convenience store chain implemented EnGenius's comprehensive smart retail infrastructure featuring a unified network architecture with EnGenius Cloud management, VPN Router, PoE+ Switch, Wi-Fi 6 Access Points, and PDU connecting four critical operational zones: Customer Service (Wi-Fi and IoT connectivity), POS Transaction (secure payment processing), Media Distribution (secure content delivery), and Surveillance (real-time video AI analytics).

‍

Customer Service & POS

Requirements

Provide secure, segregated networking infrastructure that delivers reliable Wi-Fi for both customers and staff, while ensuring protected, high-performance connections for business-critical systems—with prioritization for transaction data and strict isolation of payment information.

‍

EnGenius Solutions

• Guest Network Isolation: Guest Wi-Fi is separated from internal systems to prevent unauthorized access.
• POS VLAN Isolation: POS devices operate on dedicated network segments to protect payment data.
• Transaction Priority: Payment traffic is prioritized through AVXpress QoS, ensuring low-latency processing.
• End-to-End Data Privacy: EnGenius Cloud exclusively manages device configuration and monitoring—all POS transactions and payment data remain within the store's network and never pass through the cloud infrastructure.
• Secure Device Integration: Only approved POS and IoT devices can connect using Whitelist Management, MAC-Based Authentication, and VIP Function for seamless onboarding.

Media Distribution

Requirements

Establish a secure content distribution network for digital signage across all 8,000 stores that ensures reliable real-time content delivery, prevents unauthorized content manipulation, enables remote management and scheduling, and provides power control of media players and digital siganges to reduce on-site maintenance needs.

EnGenius Solutions

• Firewall Protection: Prevents unauthorized content access through port-forwarding protection.
• Smart PDUs: Allow remote power cycling of media players to reduce technician dispatches.
• Auto-VPN Connectivity: Automatically creates secure VPN tunnels between HQ and all store locations for reliable content sync.
• Network Isolation: Dedicated VLANs ensure signage traffic is separated from operational systems.

Surveillance

Requirements

Implement intelligent video analytics with centralized access to deliver both security monitoring and valuable business insights including customer behavior analysis, foot traffic patterns, and merchandising effectiveness.

‍

EnGenius Solutions

• AI Cameras with Built-in NPU: Real-time video detection, people counting, and zone monitoring at the edge.
• Built-in Storage: Eliminates need for separate NVR devices by storing footage locally.‍
• Context-Aware AI: Interprets video sequences and enables automatic detection of inappropriate behavior and real-time notifications.
• Cloud Management: Admins can view live and recorded footage across all sites from a single dashboard.

Scalable Deployment & Cloud Management

Challenge

Deploy 25,000+ devices across 8,000 stores in under 3 months—using non-technical installers and ensuring identical configurations.

EnGenius Cloud Solutions

• Zero-Touch Provisioning: Devices arrive preconfigured and activate automatically on connection.
• Backup & Restore: Allows rapid replication of network settings across thousands of stores.
• Hierarchical Management: Enables multi-level access control (e.g. by region, district, store).
• MSP Portal: Tracks inventory, licenses, and deployment progress across 22 regional organizations.
• Centralized Firmware Updates: Eliminates version fragmentation by deploying automated updates across all devices.
• FaaS Architecture: Modular, cloud-native backend supports hundreds of thousands of devices at scale.

‍

Implemented Products

• EnGenius Cloud Platform: FaaS architecture supporting scalable device management
• VPN Routers: Providing VPN and content protection
• PoE+ Switches: Providing centralized power and data delivery
• Wi-Fi 6 Access Point: High-performance wireless with AI-powered channel optimization
• AI Camera: Edge AI cameras with built-in NPU and storage capabilities
• PDU: Power distribution units enabling remote power management

The Results

EnGenius enabled this major convenience store chain to successfully modernize 8,000 locations with smart retail infrastructure, transforming from traditional stores to connected, data-driven operations.

• Accelerated Deployment: Zero-touch deployment allowed rapid rollout across thousands of locations without technical bottlenecks
• Operational Cost Reduction: Eliminated expensive NVR hardware and reduced on-site support visits through centralized cloud management
• Enterprise-Grade Security: MAC-based authentication and network segmentation protected critical payment systems and customer data
• Scalable Cloud Platform: Cloud architecture supports future expansion and new smart store technologies without infrastructure overhaul

Business Impact: The retailer achieved seamless integration of IoT devices, AI-powered analytics, and secure payment processing while maintaining centralized control and reducing operational complexity across their nationwide network.