Transforming retail logistics with AI and Big Data

The combination of AI and big data technology is transforming retail logistics to add a competitive edge to companies in this sector.

Retail logistics is the process of managing the flow of goods to be bought and sold to customers. Logistics accelerates the smooth movement of products and provides a boost to retail markets. Large volumes of data pour into retail logistics daily. Just collecting and analyzing data is not enough, there is a need for an advanced technology that can assist to overcome all challenges faced in retail logistics. Retailers must find patterns in the collected data and use them to accelerate their business growth. AI and big data will play a crucial role in transforming retail logistics. This article highlights how AI can be leveraged alongwith big data that is collected in this industry. But before that, lets first take a look at the challenges faced in retail logistics.

Retail logistics may face specific problems, which need to be solved at the earliest. Sometimes there arise situations, where shipments can get misdirected; the ships might get out of the network and get misdirected. Secondly, there can also be a situation where delivery of products is stuck somewhere and cannot be traced. Moreover, there exist several transportation solutions, and it is difficult to choose the most effective and efficient mode of transportation to ensure that the customer is happy. Furthermore, lack of operational efficiency is one of the significant challenges faced by retailers. Managing complexity and rapid change is difficult for retailers. Big data and AI technology help to reinvent the retail logistics by overcoming these logical challenges faced by enterprises.

AI and big data: transforming retail logistics

The compound of AI and big data technology have led to numerous inventions, resulting in eye-opening benefits. AI helps mimic human thinking and adapt to the environment around. Big data-driven technologies have helped AI technology with sufficient amount of data and its management. Remote sensing, the Internet of Things (IoT), telematics, and geospatial mapping embed information into products and the vehicles transporting them. The physical flow of material usually leaves a trail of unstructured data scattered across the ecosystem. Hence, AI depends on large volumes of data to extract knowledge and learn through their self-analysis. In the retail sector, efficient and speedy delivery of goods and services is the key. By leveraging big data and AI and making informed decisions along with studying data-patterns, retail logistics can predict the demand, eradicate the shipment delay, plan and align the operations well in advance. Moreover, AI systems can predict their customer’s behavior and their demands and accordingly, meet their needs. Additionally, AI technology has its amazing invention – chatbots - that can drive intelligent and meaningful engagement with customers. Chatbots answer all questions that customers ask, thereby not making customers feel ignored. This can help retailers retain their customers and attract new ones that result in their business’ growth. Furthermore, predictive maintenance can help retailers to predict any breakdown of the machine that is likely to happen in the future. This leads to early detection and early repairing of the machine, thereby reducing the cost. AI-driven analytics helps in transforming retail logistics, assisting retail logistics leaders aggregate customer demand and simplify distribution networks.