Those who sleep through AI will have a hard time
In which areas of the entire retail value chain will AI technologies find their way in?Dominique Ziegelmayer: I assume that learning systems will become an integral part of the value chain in the future. Intelligent forecasting and pricing systems will influence purchasing, production, logistics and merchandise management. We are already seeing chatbots in consulting and customer service and even consulting robots in bricks-and-mortar retail in other countries. In human resources, I recently read about software that uses learned statistical data to alert managers to the fact that a motivational interview or reprimand might be necessary. In payment, we will in future rely on fraud prevention systems that use behavioral, payment and product data to decide in a matter of seconds which payment methods to offer a buyer. And in marketing and online services, it's all about personalization.Will every retailer have to rely on AI in the future to remain competitive? Or does it depend on the business model or size?Dominique Ziegelmayer: Even though AI is increasingly becoming a commodity thanks to cloud providers such as Amazon Webservices, Microsoft Azure or IBM Watson, qualified personnel in the form of data scientists or AI specialists are always needed to use the algorithms correctly. We ourselves are constantly on the lookout for suitable profiles and therefore see that this is primarily an issue for larger companies. But even if a retailer does not have the resources to build up AI knowledge in their own IT department, I recommend that they find out about smart solutions and trends from third-party providers. Because in my view, those who oversleep automation through AI will find it difficult to compete with the giants in the industry in the future.If the latter is the case, in which business models is AI particularly important?Dominique Ziegelmayer: Narrowing it down to specific business models seems difficult to me. Basically, a rule of thumb is that AI is important wherever decisions have to be prepared or even made on the basis of data. AI can help us to automate routine tasks, make predictions about future developments and draw insights from large or unclear data. In my opinion, it is absolutely certain that AI will become important for retail - whether online or offline.Will smaller to very small retail companies be able to keep up with AI in the future? Or will technological progress once again favor the larger retail companies?Dominique Ziegelmayer: Cloud services such as Amazon Webservices make AI affordable and applicable for smaller companies too. Smaller retailers will also benefit from the achievements of software providers. However, I see only two options for using AI as a competitive advantage: Either you invest the money in your own AI expertise in the form of data scientists and developers or you look for innovative partners. As AI is then primarily a question of budget, I definitely see large retail companies as having an advantage.Which retail activities are unlikely to be replaced by artificial intelligence any time soon?Dominique Ziegelmayer: Every new technology costs jobs - we've known that since the industrial revolution at the latest. But I don't share the hypothesis that AI will make us completely unemployed, which is often hyped in the media. I see AI in the future more as "augmented intelligence", i.e. a system that makes our own intelligence even more efficient to use. However, it is clear that this will change the way we work: while the intelligent system evaluates and assesses information, we make decisions and carry out the important tasks. A service employee will not have less to do, but the system will give him better and more information and help him to take care of the right customer at the right time. To summarize, however, it can be said that the greater the decision-making competence, the lower the probability of losing a job due to AI. Trusted Enterprise.
