Hope you all enjoyed Thanksgiving break and for those of you that have returned, we have a short read for a study break! In honor of the holiday season and the United State's largest shopping period in the year, this edition focuses on our good friend AI's role in managing all this chaos.
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AI knows exactly what you want
Well... not exactly but you get the point. Food corporations have included AI algorithms in their distribution systems for years but recently, amidst a surge in research and availability of Machine Learning predictive algorithms, these corporations have had more to implement.
Predictions, Predictions, Predictions
Sam’s Club, a retail and grocery warehouse owned by Walmart, has developed a model to predict expected pumpkin pie sales relative to each of its stores. But why pumpkin pie?
Pumpkin pie is an American staple but many families would rather buy it
Turkey typically is the focus, leaving pumpkin pie to be overproduced
It’s not just pumpkin pie!
Attempting to increase store efficiency, Sam’s Club implements its model to cut back on the overproduction of products. This model relies on factors such as temperature, current evens, and the popularity of alternative products. For instance, the model would know that a home Sunday football game would require more pies than an away game. Likewise, if Pecan pie appears to be in high popularity this season, another pie would likely be bought less.
Predictions rely on a lot of data. It may seem simple to know that a football means more pies, but predicting accurately on a large scale supply chain with thousands of stores and hundreds of factors is no easy feat.
Is this really a big deal?
Predictive models like the one of Sam’s Club are becoming increasingly more common and more sophisticated. Companies faith in AI is growing and we are likely to see these models in various ways in the future. Namely, instances like…
“In April of 2019, Walmart launched an Intelligence Research Laboratory where cameras and sensors are wired into algorithms to monitor how stocked shelves are.”
And more like…
“In March, Kroger launched an AI lab where technology can keep track of vegetable freshness.”
Or even like…
“Ketchup maker Kraft Heinz now uses machine learning to track demand for its products leading up to events such as the Super Bowl.”
Behind the Clouds
Looking past the corporations that only seek to maximize profits or viewing these models as stealing jobs, there is a bright side behind AI’s role in shopping. Food waste could see a dramatic drop as estimates from models can accurately assess need. Corporations would no longer be throwing out excess and only using what they need.
Another thing to consider is that the estimates these models give are only suggestions, and still require human supervision to assess and plan out production. Ideally, these models would work hand and hand with workers to make their job easier and more efficient.
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