In simple terms, that "most important role" is the cycle of observation followed by critical thinking followed by action. It's important to bear in mind that the proper goal of Machine Learning (ML) is not abdication of human responsibility for decision-making. Rather, it's improving our individual and collective ability to make better decisions by leveraging increased speed, accuracy and absence of bias. Our context here is supply chain planning and execution, but there is no reason to limit the scope of Machine Learning. When it comes to designing and creating technology solutions for supply chain analytics and business intelligence, this is not a throw-away idea buried in a long-forgotten PowerPoint presentation.

You walk into your local Walmart. There may be someone to greet you at the door, yet as you make your way down the aisle, you realize you need help. Within moments a drone flies down from above and hovers in front of you, then leads you to the item you're trying to find. Is this real, or is this science fiction? Walmart has filed a patent for drones to help shoppers in its stores. The way it works is simple.

When the last of 807 Woolworths stores across the UK closed in January 2009, budget shoppers and pick and mix fans mourned the end of an era. The closure of one of the country's iconic retail chains showed that high street shops were struggling to keep up with the pace of change, and that even industry giants were not immune from disruption. History repeated itself earlier this year when major toy store Toys R Us became yet another casualty. Heralding the death of the high street seems somewhat severe, but it's clear that incumbent retailers are facing a monumental challenge. In the face of ecommerce behemoths, (and not just Amazon), retailers are increasingly becoming technology companies in their own right.

The lights are going out at malls across the United States with more than 20 major retail bankruptcies in 2017. As of today, store closures have skyrocketed to 7,000 doors throughout the nation, affecting such iconic brands as Toys R Us, Walgreens, Gap, Sam's Club, The Children's Place, Hallmark, Stride Ride, Aeropostale, Wet Seal, The Limited and Walmart. At the same time, investment in retail technology has never been higher, especially robots.A month after Walmart laid off close to 10,000 workers with the shuttering of Sam's Club, it announced a new partnership with Pittsburgh-based robot manufacturer, Bossa Nova. The mechatronics innovator will begin rolling out inventory auditing scanning bots to 50 Walmart locations. The machines will automate the tasks previously held by inventory associates by autonomously navigating around the store to check the shelf display, inventory position, and pricing of the big box's 200,000 items.

The more I've had the opportunity to explore this concept of the martech mindset, the more I've realized how important it is that we shift our thinking to view artificial intelligence (AI) as an evolution rather than as a revolution. Artificial intelligence, once an abstract, futuristic concept, is now a reality, so this needs to occur sooner rather than later. It's no longer a hypothetical; AI is changing the game for brands in tangible, practical applications. Adoption is not the issue, as investments in AR and VR are expected to grow from $11.4 billion in 2017 to $215 billion in 2021, according to IDC. Entire industries are finding innovative ways to solve persistent business challenges and create efficiencies through AI -- take the proliferation of chatbots in marketing, for example.

As we blast into 2017, marketers are wondering: what innovative technological developments will this year bring? How will these changes affect my strategy? What are my competitors doing, and more importantly, what are my customers expecting? These big, important questions require extensive research, if not a sixth sense for weeding out what's merely a fad, and what's as equally as groundbreaking as, say, the internet. To save you time, we've done the work for you.

Doom-and-gloom headlines about the shrinking number of stores in malls, closing department stores, and thinning foot traffic have been everywhere lately, and not without good reason. If one were to venture a guess based on brick-and-mortar store performance, it would appear the U.S. consumer has stopped spending. But in fact, consumer spending has been rising steadily every year since 2009. It's just that an ever-greater number of people are choosing to do their shopping online. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's monthly retail report, retail sales were up 4.5% year over year in April, but online sales grew 12%.

The consumer in-store retail experience is undergoing a critical evolution, and it's clearly upended the retail industry: in the first four months of 2017 alone, there have been fourteen retail bankruptcies -- almost as many as in all of 2016. Other companies, such as J.C. Penney, Macy's, and Sears, have announced massive store closures. While putting together Firebrand Group's Future of Artificial Intelligence report for our clients (you can get an excerpt, focused on retail innovation, here), my team and I reviewed nearly one hundred brands engaging in some form of retail innovation. Starbucks already allows people to order remotely and go into their retail locations to pick up drinks, and is presently deploying an AI assistant into their app. Called My Starbucks Barista, the feature will allow users to place orders with one tap of a button, then speaking to a virtual barista.

Robots and automation are already commonplace in food warehouses, but they could soon be coming to supermarket aisles. Fujitsu's Matey, shown at the company's annual showcase in Tokyo, move autonomously through shops to monitor produce and help retailers stack shelves more effectively. The robot is about five-feet tall and moves on wheels with a screen on the front used to communicate with any humans it comes across. A Fujitsu spokesperson explained that initially it will only be used when a shop is closed, trundling up and down aisles to check stock levels. Using a cloud-based AI, the robot could also analyse the placement of products to work out if they could be arranged more effectively.

Think back to the best shopping experience you ever had. Chances are it involved a well-informed and upbeat salesperson who engaged with you, asked about your needs and guided you through the purchase. You left knowing you made the right decision. This kind of conversation-driven sale--high on empathy and knowledge, low on price and haggling--has long been a staple of successful retail loyalty. It focuses on understanding the needs of consumers and delivering an exceptional experience.