How machine learning can keep SA's retail shelves stocked during Covid-19

DURBAN - The recent Covid-19 fuelled rush on retailers in South Africa, as consumers start stockpiling grocery staples, is leaving many shelves empty. Some, such as Makro, have recently announced that they will be "enforcing customer limits on shoppers … to give customers fair access to essential items." Morne Laubscher, CTO of Logicalis South Africa said, "Both online and brick-and-mortar retailers are experiencing a run on products, which is limiting their ability to service the needs of their entire customer base". Retailers have the data that they need for customer buying patterns but often aren't always able to access the benefits. The 2019 Global CIO Survey from Logicalis, a global provider of IT solutions which questioned 888 CIO's from around the globe, found that just under one in ten (9 percent) of respondents believe that their organisation is very successful at understanding the advantages of AI technology in some areas of business; whereas 44 percent believe their organisation is not very successful at all.