Make your own luck: 4 steps towards data-driven retail using AI and ML
Rose Spicer, Global Senior Director | March 16, 2023
Retail is not about luck. It's where art meets science, and intuition leans on data. And as retailers, we have tons of data to work with. We used to call it Big Data, and let's be honest;it was a big conundrum and so much data in all different formats. Enter Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.
Our customer value team is dedicated to making this data work for our customers. And the best part, it's part of the Oracle Platform for Modern Retail, where we extend the value and function of the portfolio.
As retailers, we have tons of data to work with. We used to call it big data, and let's be honest; it was a big conundrum and so much data in all different formats. Enter artificial intelligence (AI). We have an incredibly talented team focused on Decision Intelligence led by Saras Yagnavajhala, so you don't have to hire your own team of scientists. These are retail-focused data scientists, data engineers, and analytical developers who algorithmically identify value in data and find new opportunities to leverage AI to bring business value to our customers.
Our development team delivered ground-breaking innovation with Retail Data Store and the AI Foundation. When we liberated the data and science from the service, we opened up new possibilities for retailers. And the Customer Value team is collaborating with our Development team to make an impact for our community.
4 steps towards data-driven retail
1. Be like Bezos. Increase your average order value with our new Product Recommendations cloud extension.
Deliver the right product recommendation at the right time. Retailers can control the outcomes by choosing the business objectives they want to maximize – whether it is revenue or gross margin. Data can be sourced from Oracle Retail Merchandise Foundation Cloud Service, Oracle Retail Xstore POS, or Oracle Retail Customer Engagement Cloud Service.
2. Wish you had an X-ray vision of your supply chain? Use AI to proactively triage supply chain challenges.
The Shipments and Purchase Order (PO) Predictor cloud extension puts you on your toes with AI, not your heels. Its predictive insights consider rich details on the PO lifecycle and its attributes, and it predicts and alerts users to delays sooner. With this information, you could diversify or look for alternate suppliers; or resolve and call the vendor to expedite a shipment. Get more value from Oracle Retail Merchandise Foundation Cloud Service with this extension.
3. Markdowns? Margin Loss? Consider using AI to reduce overallocation
The Pre-Pack optimizer cloud extension enables the end-to-end assortment process from planning to execution. Pre-packs are bundles of SKUs of different sizes, and possibly colors or styles, bundled together for ordering and distribution. The power of AI and optimization can pick the optimal solution that considers all constraints and meets your objectives. Augment your investment in the Oracle Retail AI Foundation or our Assortment Planning Cloud Service.
4. Want to improve loyalty, revenue, and gross margin? Go beyond the SKU Loyalty Score to add more context.
The new Loyalty Insights cloudextension includes SKU and attributes loyalty scores and adds attribute importance with attribute and brand-switching insights. Consumers want personalization, and you want better margins. With a more targeted assortment, everyone wins. Convert your campaigns and drive higher customer engagement rates with the Oracle Retail AI Foundation Cloud Service (PDF).
The Power of the Modern Platform
In June 2022, we unveiled our streamlined architectural model for the retail industry at Oracle. Our modern platform for retail is AI Foundation and universal Data Store, which enables one view of inventory, item, order, and customer across a single foundation. A prepackaged set of AI components supports all our cloud services with analytical processes to improve productivity and outcomes. We built the platform to be performant, scalable, transparent, documented, and extensible.
An extension is a software component that extends the specialization of Oracle Retail Cloud Services deeper into a retail vertical like fashion, luxury, or grocery, or to solve an important business pain. Cloud extensions deliver value through new processes and functionality specifically designed in collaboration with retailers, which also helps them stay current with cloud services.