Metro AG is introducing shelf and assortment planning solutions at more than 8,000 locations in Eastern Europe. The wholesale group relies on solutions from US specialist Symphony AI. Technology subsidiary Metro Digital is responsible for the implementation.
The AI-driven software is intended to help both Metro and Makro cash-and-carry stores in the region as well as local, owner-operated franchise businesses to localise their assortments in a customer-oriented way and to automate work with planograms.
Metro Digital had already successfully deployed Symphony AI’s Retail and CPG solutions at locations in Romania. It will now roll them out to its other Eastern European markets, including the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia.
Planning more efficiently with AI
Shopping behaviour is increasingly changing. Furthermore, the growing online business and the possibility to serve orders from within stores leads to new challenges and increases complexity in assortment and shelf planning. Symphony AI’s category management software uses artificial intelligence to optimise assortments according to demand at the respective locations.
Automated functions are designed to better adapt demand planning to local requirements. The aim is to facilitate the work of teams and make control more efficient by means of detailed and market-specific planograms. They can also speed up the purchasing process for multichannel customers. They can order the desired products directly from online planograms.
