Session Abstract:
In times of Inflation, IoT can help retail store chains reduce costs and improve operational efficiency, which in turn can help them mitigate the impact of inflation.
We will discuss ways IoT can be used in Retail:
- Inventory Management: By using IoT sensors to monitor inventory levels in real-time, retail store chains can avoid overstocking or understocking items. This can help them reduce the cost of carrying excess inventory, and also prevent lost sales due to out-of-stock items.
- Predictive Maintenance: IoT sensors can be used to monitor equipment and machinery in retail stores, such as refrigerators, cooking equipment and HVAC systems. By analyzing data from these sensors, retail store chains can predict when maintenance is needed and take proactive measures to prevent breakdowns. This can help them reduce the cost of repairs and minimize downtime.
- ESG: IoT devices can track energy and water consumption along with the amount of recycling of packaging, food waste, general waste, cardboard/plastic etc sent to recycling.
- Personalization: IoT can be used to collect data on customer behavior and preferences, such as their purchase history and browsing habits. This data can be used to personalize marketing messages and product recommendations, which can improve customer loyalty and increase sales.
- Shopper Experience: Smart systems which are IoT connected can also help in faster checkout of items which otherwise need specific measurement like weighing scale. IoT enabled devices can help customers checkout/return faster in stores.
- Employee Retention: By using IoT enabled devices for store employees/associates Retail chains can provide better work experience to their associates. IoT enabled scanners + Printers for in-store pickers or learning courses on personal devices which help level up the store associates experience and help in retaining them.
Speakers:
As senior director of supply chain for Oracle Retail, David Fleischer is responsible for the strategic decisions and product development of Oracle Retail’s supply chain management solutions. Prior to joining Oracle, David spent 20+ years in retail planning and allocation roles for companies including Carters, Gap, Gymboree, and Payless Shoes. During those years, he led multi-tiered, highly skilled teams in the development and delivery of supply chain management tools across the organizations and IT. He is also recognized as a leader in planning and allocation, presenting at numerous industry events. In addition to his direct retail experience, as a consultant, David has participated in and led strategic supply chain transformations on projects with major pet care, grocery, paint manufacturers, and other major retailers.
Sandeep Shekhawat is Director of Engineering at Walmart Labs. Prior to this he was with Meta,WhatsApp, Apple and Yahoo, with a total of 15 year’s experience. His expertise is in areas of Enterprise Internet of Things in the area of Smart Retail. At Apple he architected a cloud based AI solution to deliver real-time price updates to millions of IoT devices in stores, with significant cost savings and improving store productivity for store employees.
Iain Boyle is a Principal Solution Architect and the Chief Architect for Retail in the UK. Iain engages in strategic dialog with IT decision makers and influencers across the ecosystem of Red Hat customers and technology partners. By collaborating with architects and technologists across the globe, Iain strives to unlock the potential of Open Source solutions by drawing upon his extensive middleware and infrastructure experience gained over 25 years in the IT industry.
Varunraj Valsaraj is a Sr. Manager in AI Center of Excellence (AI COE) team in SAS Research & Development. His team is responsible for working with customers to solve their challenges using SAS AI solutions. Varun has more than 15 years’ experience in applying advanced technologies such as machine learning, deep learning and optimization to solve challenging computer vision, IOT, supply chain and forecasting problems. He has led successful implementation of SAS Software at major companies such as Nestle, USG and Electrolux. His research work has led to 8 patents, 12 journal and conference articles.
