One of the most popular business debates today is what AI will replace. Many see emerging technology as a panacea for all business challenges. Yet it is the human factor that always shapes organizations and guides them forward. If we blindly believe what AI churns out, we are forfeiting our greatest critical thinking skills: perspective and context.

Not all AI is created equally. The key is to know what tools work hand in hand with the workforce in alleviating repetitive tasks enabling them to make better, faster business decisions. Skypad delivers real-time data and analytics to pave the way for critical insights into understanding current inventory and sales data and emerging trends. These AI systems are more efficient, reliable and trustworthy than humans for managing such data-intense reports. The magic bullet is blending mechanically generated information with the insights that human intelligence can overlay on the data.

We have always been advocates of using AI in its various forms as a tool to help retailers achieve higher levels of performance. It has made so many tasks formerly managed by cumbersome Excel spreadsheets obsolete. It can crunch numbers, spit out analytics, help manage inventory and promote sales

But it can’t replace human creativity, intuition and experience. Business wisdom can’t be automated by AI in retail decision-making

AI as an Ally

AI is a powerful strategy for retailers and brands to augment and amplify pattern recognition and strategic intuition. Savvy retailers are adept at spotting market trends before data confirms them. Managers who have keen observational skills sense shifting customer needs before they’re articulated. They also understand the emotional drivers of purchasing decisions which influence how to recognize market opportunities that don’t show up in data. They recognize the subtle competitive threats based on industry dynamics. And smart retailers use systems thinking to see the larger picture holistically. For example, understanding cyclical business patterns may not be evident in short-term data. There is still a gut instinct when it comes to macro pattern recognition.

Not all AI is created equally. The key is to know what tools work hand in hand with the workforce in alleviating repetitive tasks enabling them to make better, faster business decisions. For example, Skypad delivers real-time data and analytics to pave the way for critical insights into understanding current inventory and sales data and emerging trends. These AI systems are more efficient, reliable and trustworthy than humans for managing such data-intense reports. The magic bullet is blending mechanically generated information with the insights that human intelligence can overlay on the data. Going forward, tech and human partnerships will become de facto table stakes for successful retailers.

De-Risking the Business

Smart retail leaders can identify which processes should be automated. Balance is key in implementing machine learning where automation enables humans to do their jobs better.

Machine learning systems can support experienced leaders by helping them make decisions with incomplete information balancing short-term pressures with long-term sustainability.  Human wisdom also provides the ability to distinguish between healthy and unhealthy risks. AI has no sense of when something seems to be too good to be true — if it can even determine if it really is.  Nor can it assess the ripple effect of decisions. AI is literal, sequential and basically clunky – although it is also astonishingly fast. It is the human factor in concert with machine learning that can de-risk a business.

Retailers can leverage predictive analytics, pattern recognition, and real-time data to reveal potential risks early on. They can use this information and take proactive measures to mitigate them, such as optimizing inventory management, forecasting demand flux, detecting fraudulent transactions, and identifying potential supply chain disruptions before they occur. The result?  Minimizing financial losses and improving operational efficiencies.

At Skypad we recognize that inventory misalignment is a major issue and a massive headache. Replenishment is another issue — identifying what’s moving, and what’s not moving. This issue resonates with the retailer management, buyers as well as brands. For example, you’ve got size runs that are missing. Or colors that are that are doing very well in Detroit and then doing very poorly in in Florida. But no one is making any moves to manage that. These are just a few of the misalignments that we see between retailers and their brands that Skypad can alleviate.

Then consider how retailers and their brand partners need a reliable bridge to track sales and inventory levels across all locations. Using data, managers can make informed decisions on how to reallocate merchandise and restock stores to deliver a better customer experience. According to a survey by Cin7, 70 percent of holiday shoppers abandoned a purchase because an item they wanted was out of stock. That does not build loyalty or solid customer relationships. De-risking your business is basically de-risking loss of sales and customer loyalty.

AI in Retail Decision-Making

We believe that AI is an extremely useful tool to augment human intelligence (not wisdom). The AI an organization relies on is only as good as its composite of information. At Skypad we have built a transparent SaaS platform built on data from brands and retailers that provides a real-time view of sales and inventory, as one single platform that can transform the way your organization shares, reports, and collaborates on sales and inventory data, with a completely integrated, turnkey analytics app. 

Skypad is the ultimate omnichannel sales reporting platform – providing an automated, all-inclusive solution that is used cross-functionally by organizations to share sales and inventory data. For retailers, it’s an end-to-end solution to share sales and inventory performance insights with brand partners. For brands, it delivers a complete view of your sales and inventory performance by collecting, consolidating, and reporting sales and inventory data across various global retailer partners and disparate sources.

We developed Skypad with the ultimate decision-maker in mind: the customer. Business wisdom can’t be automated, and neither can the customer. We offer an analytics platform to enable the retailer to distribute information securely, clearly and concisely so the brand can actually make decisions with the retailer on optimum product management. It is with the customer at the heart of the retail experience that Skypad combines the best of human wisdom and common sense with our innovative technology to exceed expectations.

Note: Skypad is a TRR Innovator