AI and machine learning
While artificial intelligence (AI) is not a new concept, an increasing number of businesses are tapping into machine learning to process data, forecast sales trends, and manage inventory in the retail sector.
UK food tech group OAL, for example, has developed an AI-based vision system for date code verification, which is designed to reduce the risk of product recalls. US-based IRI has similarly launched a machine learning-focused system, the On-Shelf-Availability Optimizer, that alerts retailers when certain product sales are unexpectedly low.
Business are realising that that “all of a sudden, [they] do have the data to make some serious inroads into using this type of technology to make better decision than their competitors,” Sewell said.
In the retail sector, supermarket promotions can also complicate firms’ predictions on what, when, and how they might sell products, particularly when competitors’ promotions can influence buying trends. “It is machine learning that brings all of these [elements] together,” said Sewell.
While FuturMaster predicts the early pioneers of AI to include cosmetics, healthcare, pharmaceutical and retail industries, the fresh food market is also set to benefit from these technological advances.
“The fresh food market is much more sensitive to external factors than a lot of other markets. If we look at weather, for example…there are a lot of supply chains that are heavily reliant on products sensitive to the weather,” he told us.
Machine learning provides an opportunity to process and analyse data, weather trends, and these relationships between supply chain stakeholders to ultimately provide “sensible answers” to food manufacturers, he continued.
(Image: Getty/NicoElNino)
