Irish retailer and wholesaler, BWG Foods, has partnered with US-based AI leader R4 Technologies to introduce a new ordering platform for the retail sector.
BWG explained that ordering platforms rely on past data, creating a replenishment-based order by analysing what has sold, taking into account safety stock in order to predict what retailers should purchase.
However, the company said this new technology, built onto BWG Foods' ecommerce system, ShopLink Pro, continually uses predictive intelligence to make daily forecasts for retailers based on what consumers will wish to purchase in the future.
BWG said ShopLink Pro will be trialled in 22 stores across the country.
Once the trials are completed, the company plans to provide the service to independent retailers across its network of more than 1,000 SPAR, EUROSPAR, MACE, LONDIS, and XL stores.
"ShopLink Pro has the potential to be a real game changer for our retailers in 2022, transforming how they manage their offerings by understanding what their customers will wish to purchase in the near future," said Chris Donnelly, Chief Information Officer of BWG Foods.
"This is a really exciting proposition that brings an added layer of intelligence to better understand what our customers are looking for across different regions and environments in Ireland at any given time," he added.
The company explained that the system gathers 240 data points including local events and demographics, weather and social media activity - allowing retailers to better meet consumer demand.
BWG Foods said it will invest €6.5m over the next five years.
