How to Adapt for Artificial Intelligence in Retail
Every company in the world is searching for innovative and creative ways to keep up with the consumer. We implement and discard new technology at a pace we never have before, all to gain even the slightest edge over the competition.
Artificial Intelligence is at the forefront of this race, with companies knowing that it will have an impact on the way business is done, but still struggling to make tangible exactly how and to what scale. Even now, our devices have names and personalities like never before, and shoppers are corresponding with devices like to Alexa, Cortana, Google, and Siri to make purchases. Our children are growing up in a world where AI is an increasingly normal part of everyday life. McKinsey Global Institute has reported that technology behemoths such as Google and Baidu invested between $20 and $30 billion in AI during 2016, with 90 percent of those figures channeled directly into R&D, that was the starting gun for most companies to sit up and take notice of AI.
Artificial Intelligence can not only help us find directions of where we are going, but also assist with the shopping process from giving us reviews of brands and products to completing a purchase on our behalf. The consumers’ process of researching competitive pricing, brands, reviews, and the ultimate purchase can all be within an AI conversation. As a result, e-commerce brands are not only focused on ensuring online reputation is representative of their product, but investing in AI skills that will help to make them part of that conversation.
Companies must keep in mind that customer service is an evolutionary relationship. When they want something, you must come through for them. It’s not even just about your product anymore, but the way that they get your product.
It’s important to note that even though AI may be a new trend, it is meant to complement, not replace. For example, one of the early ways many companies have implemented AI is through chat bots on their website to be available for whatever customers need. It must be a balance of our need to want things quickly, but also want to engage with a human being. Companies have balanced this technology by keeping a human staff available in case a customer need requires someone who can navigate ambiguity.
The opportunity to set your company apart from competition is to implement AI in a way that your employees are given improved efficiency to turn into stellar service. Our home-grown company, for example, is always integrating new advancements in equipment and service to speed up processes while never compromising the quality our people deliver.
We understand that companies struggle to meet the demand of an impulsive and constantly changing buying structure, and as a dedicated 3PL provider, we ensure some of that pressure is relieved in the supply chain. Supply is picked, packed and ready to be shipped on time while adhering to safety standards. As an innovator and leader in technology, Suddath® is eager to give our consumer base the technological edge, with the balance of a human interaction.
