What: A report on AI based on the answers of 100 qualified retail respondents in the US.

Why this is important: More than customer-facing tools or prediction in demand, it is expected that AI becomes a key element of the supply chain, able to identify and predict any upcoming bottleneck.

The retail environment has grown increasingly dynamic, unpredictable and requiring ability to make fast decisions. For this reason, the use of new data has increased, in order to develop scenario models and reach a greater agility. However, agility should not exclude optimization and AI is supposedly a tool that could help in reaching these two goals.

While it is expected that AI provides a competitive edge in demand forecasting, merchandising planning and supply chain, the identified challenges are also that the demand changes extremely rapidly, limiting the possibility to buy in bulk at a lower cost. In fact, AI is expected to help when it comes to identify, and predict in real time, supply chain alerts.

Artificial intelligence in retail: what now?