Making Sense of Forecasting 2.0 and the Role of AI

Listening to current retail technology discussions, it's safe to say that artificial intelligence is the early favorite for buzzword of the year, with countless taglines promising unprecedented productivity improvements based on AI. Advanced forecasting is often cited as one of the top areas where AI holds great promise – but how do you separate the hype from the reality? As retailers make big investments in AI technologies that can transform their business, a key focus is increasing supply chain effectiveness and creating more accurate forecasts. However, prior to implementing new solutions, retailers need to have a clear understanding of what advanced forecasting actually entails, how AI will play a role in advanced forecasting, and what their specific forecasting strategy needs really are. By definition, artificial intelligence means "the capability of a machine to imitate intelligent human behavior."