Commentary: Chain of Demand applies AI, machine learning to retail supply chain profitability – FreightWaves
Posted: December 3, 2020 at 4:57 am
The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of FreightWaves or its affiliates.
In this installment of the AI in Supply Chain series (#AIinSupplyChain), we explore how Chain of Demand, an early-stage startup based in Hong Kong, is helping companies in the retail industry apply AI and machine learning to increase their profitability and sustainability.
I spoke with AJ Mak, founder and CEO of Chain of Demand. As is customary with these #AIinSupplyChain articles, my first question for him was, What is the problem that Chain of Demand solves for its customers? Who is the typical customer?
He said: Our goal is to improve profitability and sustainability for the retail and supply chain industries. By using our AI analytics, we help retailers to optimize their inventory, which improves margins by minimizing their inventory risk, markdowns and excess inventory. Reducing excess inventory is a huge factor in reducing carbon emissions and water wastage, and this is now more important than ever.
He added, Our typical customers would be omnichannel retailers and brands in the apparel, footwear and beauty and cosmetics categories.
Next I asked, What is the secret sauce that makes Chain of Demand successful? What is unique about your approach? Deep learning seems to be all the rage these days. Does Pathmind use a form of deep learning? Reinforcement learning? Supervised learning? Unsupervised learning? Federated learning?
Our secret sauce includes our veteran experience and domain expertise in retail, and predictive models tailored for the industry, Mak said. We use deep learning for our image recognition and modeling, which includes supervised learning, unsupervised learning and reinforcement learning.
Data is consistently an issue. I asked, How do you handle the lack of high-quality data for AI and machine learning applied to legacy industries?
Part of our AI is used to extract, transform and load dirty data from legacy systems, Mak said. We have done a lot of data cleaning from many different legacy systems, and we have been able to streamline the ETL (extract, transform and load) process for the retail industry.
In a case study published on its website, Chain of Demand describes how it helps its customers.
Bluebell Group helps luxury brands establish a presence in Asia through a platform consisting of 600 online and brick-and-mortar stores spread over more than 10 countries in the region.
Due to changes in the behavior of shoppers, Bluebell needed to help Jimmy Choo Taiwan reconcile how much revenue would be generated by in-store sales in comparison to online purchases. Using Chain of Demand to test and incorporate AI during the merchandise planning process, Bluebell achieved a 90% improvement in the accuracy of its predictions of best- and worst-selling items. Bluebell also increased its accuracy predicting the number of units sold by 81%.
In my conversation with Mak, he pointed out that one reason he believes Chain of Demand fares well against the alternatives is that his family has operated in the apparel and fashion retail supply chain management business since 1981. He spent nearly a decade in the business, gaining an understanding of the problems in global apparel and fashion retail supply chains. That experience and those insights inform how Chain of Demand goes about building its product.
When I asked him about competitors, he mentioned Blue Yonder and Celect.
Coincidentally, Jos P. Chan, who was then the vice president of business development for Celect, was a speaker at #TNYSCM04 Artificial Intelligence & Supply Chains, organized by The New York Supply Chain Meetup in March 2018.
Celect was purchased by Nike in August 2019 for a reported price of $110 million.
Companies like Chain of Demand want to get large companies away from using spreadsheets for sales forecasting and demand planning. As it becomes necessary to take an increasing number of sources and types of data into account, the case for shifting away from simple spreadsheets and onto more robust and sophisticated platforms will only gain strength.
That must sound like music to Maks ears.
Conclusion
If you are a team working on innovations that you believe have the potential to significantly refashion global supply chains, wed love to tell your story in FreightWaves. I am easy to reach on LinkedIn and Twitter. Alternatively, you can reach out to any member of the editorial team at FreightWaves at media@freightwaves.com.
Dig deeper into the #AIinSupplyChain Series with FreightWaves.
Commentary: Optimal Dynamics the decision layer of logistics? (July 7)
Commentary: Combine optimization, machine learning and simulation to move freight (July 17)
Commentary: SmartHop brings AI to owner-operators and brokers (July 22)
Commentary: Optimizing a truck fleet using artificial intelligence (July 28)
Commentary: FleetOps tries to solve data fragmentation issues in trucking (Aug. 5)
Commentary: Bulgarias Transmetrics uses augmented intelligence to help customers (Aug. 11)
Commentary: Applying AI to decision-making in shipping and commodities markets (Aug. 27)
Commentary: The enabling technologies for the factories of the future (Sept. 3)
Commentary: The enabling technologies for the networks of the future (Sept. 10)
Commentary: Understanding the data issues that slow adoption of industrial AI (Sept. 16)
Commentary: How AI and machine learning improve supply chain visibility, shipping insurance (Sept. 24)
Commentary: How AI, machine learning are streamlining workflows in freight forwarding, customs brokerage (Oct. 1)
Commentary: Can AI and machine learning improve the economy? (Oct. 8)
Commentary: Savitude and StyleSage leverage AI, machine learning in fashion retail (Oct. 15)
Commentary: How Japans ABEJA helps large companies operationalize AI, machine learning (Oct. 26)
Commentary: Pathmind applies AI, machine learning to industrial operations (Nov. 20)
Authors disclosure: I am not an investor in any early stage startups mentioned in this article, either personally or through REFASHIOND Ventures. I have no other financial relationship with any entities mentioned in this article.
See the rest here:
- Getting Started With Machine Learning: Definition and Applications - CMSWire - February 20th, 2021
- This Biotech Company Combines Single Cell Genomics with Machine Learning (ML) Algorithms To Enable High Resolution Profiling of the Immune System -... - February 20th, 2021
- Immunai Raises $60M to Decode the Immune System with Machine Learning and AI - AlleyWatch - February 20th, 2021
- Cloud Machine Learning Market: Indoor Applications Projected to be the Most Attractive Segment during 2021-2029 KSU | The Sentinel Newspaper - KSU |... - February 20th, 2021
- Machine Learning in Insurance Market: Indoor Applications Projected to be the Most Attractive Segment during 2021-2029 KSU | The Sentinel Newspaper -... - February 20th, 2021
- Carin Meier Using Machine Learning to Combat Major Illness, such as the Coronavirus - InfoQ.com - February 20th, 2021
- Moffitt Cancer Center: Why we are building the first machine learning department in oncology - The Cancer Letter - February 20th, 2021
- Machine Learning and where is it used? - Tech Guide - February 20th, 2021
- Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for Insurance Technology from Johnson Controls Available on the Ocean Tomo Bid-Ask Market - Yahoo Finance - February 20th, 2021
- Identifying COVID-19 Therapy Candidates With Machine Learning - Contagionlive.com - February 20th, 2021
- Machine Learning in Tax and Accounting Market gigantic revenues by 2028 with Amazon Web Services, Baidu Inc, Google, Intel, IBM, Hewlett Packard,... - February 20th, 2021
- Using AI and Machine Learning will increase in horti industry - hortidaily.com - February 13th, 2021
- The head of JPMorgan's machine learning platform explained what it's like to work there - eFinancialCareers - February 13th, 2021
- If you know nothing about deep learning with Python, start here - TechTalks - February 13th, 2021
- Mental health diagnoses and the role of machine learning - Health Europa - February 13th, 2021
- 5 Ways the IoT and Machine Learning Improve Operations - BOSS Magazine - February 13th, 2021
- There Is No Silver Bullet Machine Learning Solution - Analytics India Magazine - February 13th, 2021
- Postdoctoral Research Associate in Digital Humanities and Machine Learning job with DURHAM UNIVERSITY | 246392 - Times Higher Education (THE) - February 13th, 2021
- The Collision of AI's Machine Learning and Manipulation: Deepfake Litigation Risks to Companies from a Product Liability, Privacy, and Cyber... - February 13th, 2021
- Parascript and SFORCE Partner to Leverage Machine Learning Eliminating Barriers to Automation - GlobeNewswire - February 13th, 2021
- Rackspace Technology Study uncovers AI and Machine Learning knowledge gap in the UAE - Intelligent CIO ME - February 13th, 2021
- How Blockchain and Machine Learning Impact on education system - ABCmoney.co.uk - February 13th, 2021
- Mission Healthcare of San Diego Adopts Muse Healthcare's Machine Learning Tool - Southernminn.com - January 19th, 2021
- Deep Learning Outperforms Standard Machine Learning in Biomedical Research Applications, Research Shows - Georgia State University News - January 19th, 2021
- Project MEDAL to apply machine learning to aero innovation - The Engineer - January 19th, 2021
- Forecast On Machine Learning (ML) Intelligent Process Automation Market Witness the Growth of Great Billion by 2027 With Top Companies Like Automation... - January 19th, 2021
- Machine Learning Shown to Identify Patient Response to Sarilumab in Rheumatoid Arthritis - AJMC.com Managed Markets Network - January 19th, 2021
- Bangalore based Great Learning can help you unleash the potential of an M-Tech in Data Science & Machine - Times of India - January 19th, 2021
- CERC plans to embrace AI, machine learning to improve functioning - Business Standard - January 19th, 2021
- NTT Co-authored Papers at NeurIPS to Advance Machine Learning Efficiency and Performance - Business Wire - December 7th, 2020
- Why Intel believes confidential computing will boost AI and machine learning - VentureBeat - December 3rd, 2020
- Machine Learning Market to Grow Notably Attributed to Increasing Adoption of Analytics-driven Solutions by Developing Economies, says Fortune Business... - December 3rd, 2020
- Machine learning: The new language of data and analytics - ITProPortal - December 3rd, 2020
- Injecting Machine Learning And Bayesian Optimization Into HPC - The Next Platform - December 3rd, 2020
- QA Increasingly Benefits from AI and Machine Learning - RTInsights - December 3rd, 2020
- Everything to Know About Machine Learning as a Service (MLaaS) - Analytics Insight - December 3rd, 2020
- How the Food and Beverage Industry is Affected by Machine Learning and AI - IoT For All - December 3rd, 2020
- Amazon announces new machine learning tools to help customers monitor machines and worker safety - www.computing.co.uk - December 3rd, 2020
- Machine Learning and Location Data Applications Market 2020 Top Companies report covers, Industry Outlook, Top Countries Analysis & Top... - December 3rd, 2020
- Machine learning - it's all about the data - KHL Group - December 3rd, 2020
- Product Portfolio Analysis and Technological Development of Machine Learning in Medical Imaging Market during the forecasted period - Murphy's Hockey... - December 3rd, 2020
- Imaging AI and Machine Learning Beyond the Hype, Upcoming Webinar Hosted by Xtalks - PR Web - December 3rd, 2020
- Veritone aiWARE Now Supports NVIDIA CUDA for GPU-based AI and Machine Learning - Business Wire - December 3rd, 2020
- Exactech Launches Predict+, First Machine Learning-Based Software that Informs Surgeons with Patient-Specific Outcomes Predictions After Shoulder... - December 3rd, 2020
- How To Choose The Best Machine Learning Algorithm For A Particular Problem? - Analytics India Magazine - October 19th, 2020
- Lantronix Brings Advanced AI and Machine Learning to Smart Cameras With New Open-Q 610 SOM Based on the Powerful Qualcomm QCS610 System on Chip (SOC)... - October 19th, 2020
- AI and Machine Learning Technologies Expected to Play a Key Role in Expanding Multi Billion Dollar Digital Banking Sector: Report - Crowdfund Insider - October 19th, 2020
- AutoML Alleviates the Process of Machine Learning Analysis - Analytics Insight - October 19th, 2020
- Futurism Reinforces Its Next-Gen Business Commerce Platform With Advanced Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence Capabilities - Yahoo Finance - October 19th, 2020
- Purebase Enhances Its Board of Advisors with An Expert on Machine Learning and Cheminformatics - GlobeNewswire - October 19th, 2020
- COVID-19 And The Role Of AI, Machine Learning In Logistics: A Conversation With Delhivery CTO Kapil Bharati - Mashable India - October 19th, 2020
- How to Beat Analysts and the Stock Market with Machine Learning - Knowledge@Wharton - October 19th, 2020
- AI and Machine Learning Can Help Fintechs if We Focus on Practical Implementation and Move Away from Overhyped Narratives, Researcher Says - Crowdfund... - October 19th, 2020
- Proximity matters: Using machine learning and geospatial analytics to reduce COVID-19 exposure risk - Healthcare IT News - September 20th, 2020
- PREDICTING THE OPTIMUM PATH - Port Strategy - September 20th, 2020
- What is 'custom machine learning' and why is it important for programmatic optimisation? - The Drum - September 20th, 2020
- How Machine Learning is Set to Transform the Online Gaming Community - Techiexpert.com - TechiExpert.com - September 20th, 2020
- Current and future regulatory landscape for AI and machine learning in the investment management sector - Lexology - September 20th, 2020
- Global Machine Learning Courses Market Research Report 2015-2027 of Major Types, Applications and Competitive Vendors in Top Regions and Countries -... - September 20th, 2020
- When AI in healthcare goes wrong, who is responsible? - Quartz - September 20th, 2020
- Is Wide-Spread Use of AI & Machine Intelligence in Manufacturing Still Years Away? - Automation World - September 20th, 2020
- How do we know AI is ready to be in the wild? Maybe a critic is needed - ZDNet - September 20th, 2020
- Solving the crux behind Apple's Silicon Strategy - Medium - September 20th, 2020
- Boost Your Animation To 60 FPS Using AI - Hackaday - September 20th, 2020
- 50 Latest Data Science And Analytics Jobs That Opened Last Week - Analytics India Magazine - September 20th, 2020
- Algorithms may never really figure us out thank goodness - The Boston Globe - September 20th, 2020
- Why Deep Learning DevCon Comes At The Right Time - Analytics India Magazine - September 20th, 2020
- Six notable benefits of AI in finance, and what they mean for humans - Daily Maverick - September 20th, 2020
- Twitter is looking into why its photo preview appears to favor white faces over Black faces - The Verge - September 20th, 2020
- 8 Trending skills you need to be a good Python Developer - iLounge - September 20th, 2020
- Automation Continuum - Leveraging AI and ML to Optimise RPA - Analytics Insight - September 20th, 2020
- UT Austin Selected as Home of National AI Institute Focused on Machine Learning - UT News | The University of Texas at Austin - August 27th, 2020
- Participation-washing could be the next dangerous fad in machine learning - MIT Technology Review - August 27th, 2020
- Getting to the heart of machine learning and complex humans - The Irish Times - August 27th, 2020
- Air Force Taps Machine Learning to Speed Up Flight Certifications - Nextgov - August 27th, 2020
- The Role of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in the... - Insurance CIO Outlook - August 27th, 2020
- AI and Machine Learning Network Fetch.ai Partners Open-Source Blockchain Protocol Waves to Conduct R&D on DLT - Crowdfund Insider - August 27th, 2020
- AI may not predict the next pandemic, but big data and machine learning can fight this one - ZDNet - August 27th, 2020
- Machine Learning Artificial intelligence Market Size and Growth By Leading Vendors, By Types and Application, By End Users and Forecast to 2020-2027 -... - August 27th, 2020
- Explainable AI: From the peak of inflated expectations to the pitfalls of interpreting machine learning models - ZDNet - August 27th, 2020