AI and analytics are powering a demand planning and customer experience revolution

In the past decade, there’s been a major shift in consumers’ fundamental buying patterns. As mass retail scaled up, consumers became enamored with the variety and choice of large product assortments. When ecommerce became widespread, shoppers quickly adapted to finding the best price online. Today, thanks to next-day shipping, product shortages and transportation disruptions, availability and delivery speed have become the deciding factor for consumers, making inventory availability the ultimate competitive advantage for retailers.

The companies that can guarantee the highest on-shelf inventory and forward deployment of goods will win the day. But that’s easier said than done.

To gauge how organizations are improving their demand planning, supply chains and customer experience, Forbes Insights, in partnership with SAS, Accenture and Intel, surveyed 1,000 retail and consumer goods executives from all over the world. The key takeaway? Analytics and technology are powering a demand planning and customer experience revolution.

Keep reading to learn what these executives had to say about:

• Synchronization strategies and challenges around planning and forecasting.
• Collaboration in demand planning and customer engagement planning.
• The various tools and initiatives used to improve forecasting and planning.
• The overall importance of customer experience.