Retail CIO Outlook Weekly Brief
Be first to read the latest tech news, Industry Leader's Insights, and CIO interviews of medium and large enterprises exclusively from Retail CIO Outlook
Robotics in retail management has paved the way for transformations in terms of productivity, inventory management, and delivery speed, among many others in various retail organizations.
FREMONT, CA: 2019 is witnessing robotics finding increased applicability in all aspects of the retail sector. Here is a quick look at three ways robots are shaping retail.
Enhancing Customer Experience
A satisfied customer is important for all businesses. In today’s continually evolving landscape marked by rapid technological changes, it is extremely challenging to exceed customer expectations. The current retail sector encounters the need for designing reliable and accurate customer service strategies. It is even more difficult for retail stores as several factors that are often beyond our control can affect the continuity of service.
Robots are assisting customers in achieving this as they are equipped to work at a steady pace without any shift changes, any breaks or illnesses. Employing robots enables retailers to meet their preset goals towards customer empowerment.
Human errors are unavoidable, especially while manually entering data, or picking merchandise by hand, fulfilling orders etc. Robots are empowered to function without any of these through a preset algorithm that tells what is to be picked up and what, not.
Taking Pressure off Recruitment
The U.S. warehouse sector already has a lack of skilled workforce. As per related surveys, the current annual requirement for workers in retail is nearly around five lacks.
Robots are undeniably the perfect solution here as they equip retailers with a more structured and optimized workforce that needs less manpower. Robots powered by artificial intelligence can easily replace more than one employee. Mostly, human interference is restricted to a mere observation or supervision. Consequently, the recruitment process turns less strenuous. A significant amount of money and time is saved, which can in turn be redirected towards improving organizational structure.
Managing Inventory
A constant challenge for retailers across the world is inventory accuracy. In spite of huge investments in inventory management systems, retailers still encounter substantial losses due to faulty inventory management.
When brick and mortar stores used to dominate the retail sector, customers had no other option apart from choosing what were available. Now, with online shopping gaining traction, people have more choices, and it is essential to know what is selling in the market and what is not. Basically, too much of unsold inventory affects your profit levels, and if there is less stock, your customers are dissatisfied and may start searching for other options.
Walmart, a leading retail chain has deployed robots in around fifty stores to manage inventory by identifying out-of-stock items, wrong labels, incorrect pricing etc.
See also:
Prnewswire | CIO Review
Youtube | CIO Review
Read Also
