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Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a here-and-now technology that helps retailers to manage costs, make the products available which are required by customers. Retailers need to reorient around their data for achieving the benefits of AI. The key for creating data-driven foundation is to engage with data scientists who support deep understanding of designing algorithms which cater to the needs of a business. According to Retail Supply Chain Survey of North American retailers, two-thirds of retail supply chain professionals face problems with disconnections between systems. A majority of retailers have portrayed confidence in their allocation in inventory management but 48 percent rate the forecasting technology as average to poor. The issue for retailers is that they lack connected systems—36 percent of retailers have separate systems for demand planning, allocation, and order management for store and e-commerce orders. Retailers need to incorporate AI into their business, prioritizing the problem first with the manageable scope and build consensus in the organization to succeed. The retailers have to note that the data need to be processed to provide immediate benefits. Data scientists can play a crucial role to build a practice for acquiring and harvesting data.
Innovation is also a significant issue with 43 percent of retail supply professionals stating that their technology can’t meet their business demands. 42 percent convey that there is less optimal synchronization between inventory and channels as many of the retailers are concerned about complexities, inefficiencies, and high product lead time. Organizations are interested to invest in those systems that increase the availability of products and decrease stock holding. As the existing systems are unable to sustain growth, 44 percent of the supply chain professionals invest in new technologies. 43 percent of retailers say that they are challenged by the lack of real-time visibility to supply chain inventory. Six out of ten professionals say that their organizations are taking steps to face those problems and increase inventory visibility.
AI and machine learning can improve supply chain efficiency, and retailers have started to invest in these technologies and are expecting positive outcomes. Retailers believe that AI can improve supply chain management related to the quality and speed of planning insights.
