The context
As operational efficiency and precision are now the watchwords in retail and e-commerce, omnichannel management of product flows, boosted by AI capabilities, lies at the heart of today’s challenges. This ecosystem includes a wide range of retail tech players, from major logistics software vendors (SAP, Oracle, Blue Yonder) to newer and smaller demand planning and OMS specialists.
More complex retailer organisations. Today, as product flows are often multi-warehouse, multi-country and multi-site (marketplaces, stores, wholesale corners…), vendors must ensure the right stock level across each channel, optimal flow orchestration and increasingly precise delivery promises using AI. The objective is to have a global, omnichannel, real-time view of stock across all channels. A complex challenge, as information systems are often not integrated and connected.
AI does not change boundaries between different tech solutions but “it changes interaction capabilities and enables automated decision-support assistance”, said Raphaël Hervé, CTO Europe at Manhattan, speaking to mind Retail. “OMS, based on machine learning, have always had the ability to make real-time, constraint-based decisions. What changes the game with AI agents is their ability to outline solutions based on clear customer needs and to improve user interactions with the product”.
The strong and weak signals
Demand planning heralds unprecedented funding rounds.
