One of its most promising uses has been for data analysis and understanding consumers, which is now helping businesses in inventory management and supply chain.
Predictive analytics uses AI and machine learning to predict trends and come up with business solutions. It helps small businesses in planning their production cycle based on demand predictions.
Gulshan Kaushik, Vice-President-Customer Success at Mumbai-based Bizongo, says digitisation of back-end operations can help both small businesses and customers with visibility and transparency in operations.
The senior executive at the tech-enabled B2B supply chain platform gives an example of a company that makes T-shirts. “If I have digitised my inventory, I know what is the entire capacity of all of my warehouses. Now, there will be a yellow T-shirt that has a high demand in one particular area and low demand in another. By studying this data and consumers’ purchase history, AI can identify which area will have more demand for the T-shirt. I can stock the nearby warehouse or store accordingly, and this will also help me with better production planning,” he says. Such a system will help bring down the variable cost of the company and will also help in improving manufacturing efficiency at the factory. In times of uncertainty, these digital inventory management tools can come really handy.AI and data analytics can also help online retailers improve their revenue. This is what Upriver, an online channel management and sales acceleration organisation, aims to do.Baqar Iftikhar, CEO of the Gurugram-based Upriver, says getting the right level of inventory at the right time is a technical process. “And that is exactly where these tools come in. So based on your case and the data you provide, this will help you plan what kind of inventory you should opt for. This is a very big selling point as it helps you avoid inflating your inventory which can result in price markdowns and then losses,” he says.
Digital inventory management can help avoid delays in delivery and payment. It can also help sellers with sales data.
In another use of data analytics, Bizongo’s Kaushik says these tools can also predict the raw material consumption for a particular factory. “Based on the orders coming and calculating the consumption of raw materials in the factory, it can tell you at what capacity you should be operating your factory, how long it can survive and what exactly is going to be your raw material purchases,” he adds.
