The coming AI revolution in retail and consumer products. Intelligent automation is transforming both industries in unexpected ways

Intelligent automation kicks things up a notch

• Intelligent automation is now used largely by retail and consumer goods companies to execute discrete internal activities that rely on existing rich data sets, such as demand forecasting and customer intelligence.
• Executives intend to integrate intelligent automation into increasingly complicated procedures that need wider sets of data, external cooperation, and new system integrations within the next three years.
• During that time, predicted penetration across organizational domains throughout the value chain is expected to reach more than 70%.

Today's focus is on the inside, and tomorrow's focus is on the outward.

• Intelligent automation is projected to be used in more complicated operations in the retail and consumer products industries.
• Executives intend to incorporate AI into increasingly complicated procedures during the next three years.
• Adoption rates differ amongst retail and consumer products firms, depending on the industry's specific business needs.
• The way retailers and brands employ intelligent automation is evolving — and not always in the ways one might assume.

Increasing consumer product manufacture and design

• Intelligent automation has the potential to change the manufacturing and product design industries.
• Advanced AI algorithms are used in predictive maintenance to anticipate probable machine faults and schedule the necessary services.
• Brands must come up with innovative – and ideally trendsetting – design concepts while creating and developing products.

In the retail industry, supply chain and shop operations are being targeted.

• Retail leaders are investigating how intelligent automation may enhance cross-functional cooperation and customer interactions.
• Supply chain planning necessitates collaboration across several sectors, such as suppliers, distribution, and transportation planning.
• Using AI-powered solutions, data from multiple planning functions may be quickly collected, digested, and evaluated.
• Every city or neighborhood is unique, with its own flow of people, places, and events.
• AI may utilize what it learns to tailor in-store goods and service offers to each customer's particular needs.
• Intelligent automation has the potential to significantly improve in-store service.

Expecting efficiency and acquiring agility are two words that come to mind when thinking about efficiency and agility.

• Intelligent automation, according to executives in the planning phases, will help their businesses do a better job of what they do now.
• Executives whose companies have previously used intelligent automation are seeing results that allow them to radically alter their business practices.
• The emphasis is on enhancing competitiveness rather than decreasing expenses.

Measuring the impact of different roles

• As a result, companies that use intelligent automation are seeing results that their peers aren't anticipating.
•  We looked at the replies of the 56 percent of survey participants who are actively piloting or deploying intelligent automation to learn more about this phenomenon.
• This group is known as the "Early Adopters."

Improving the client experience

• Retailers may utilize AI to predict consumers' requirements and capture the appropriate offer at the right moment.
• Avenue Stores, a retail apparel company, uses data from a variety of sources to learn and reason about what customers want and when they want it.
• To keep visitors interested, the firm uses real-time messaging and automatically customized offers.

It is possible to increase inventory productivity and operational agility.

• Early adopters of AI and machine learning say overstock can lead to price reductions, while understock can result in missed sales.
• New applications may identify bottlenecks using a cost-benefit analysis and redirect shipments. Artificial intelligence can also help retailers make better judgments in typically difficult areas.

Developing a long-term strategy

• In our research, executives highlighted a number of important elements that must be addressed in order to reap the benefits of intelligent automation.
• Getting the proper talents, culture, infrastructure, and technology are all important. Machine-learning engineers, data analysts, and AI interaction designers are among the top new occupations mentioned by survey respondents.
• Retail leaders have stated that intelligent automation would be implemented in shop operations and in-store services. 
• Working with intelligent automation necessitates staff training and the input of high-quality data into models.
• Organizations might unintentionally develop biases that lead to undesirable results if they are not handled properly.
• The biggest issue for retail CEOs is identifying new categories of risk linked to machine accountability.

Recommendations

• Consider the larger picture while assessing intelligent automation.
• Begin small: With an automated Center of Excellence, you can streamline your expansion.
• Work in a different way: Rethink how you conduct work in the digital era.