Consumers now have more choice than ever before - of what to buy, and where to buy it. The explosion of e-commerce has driven product and competitor proliferation to all-new levels, so what worked before (i.e. analysing previous product performance) no longer serves as an accurate indicator of which new product ideas are worthy of investment.
And that’s before you even get to developing new products in emerging categories, where no previous data exists.
So as a switched-on business, how do you build new product use cases that avoid a warehouse of excess stock, or a glut of unhappy customers who missed out?
Business-generated data
Businesses generate huge amounts of valuable data every day, and the importance of this should not be overlooked.
It’s imperative that you capture and record pertinent information, wherever possible, for example:
Historical sales data of similar products in your business
Current sales data of similar competitor products
You can then begin to make predictions, based on the likely impact of:
By combining this hard data with educated predictions, you can start to form a picture of what might happen in the initial three months after launch. But with today’s developments in technology, what was once the final step in the new product demand forecasting journey, is now just the beginning.
Innovating in the age of AI
Not-so-fun fact: around 80% of new products fail. But imagine if it was possible to take some of the guesswork out of the equation, so you could stop backing the wrong horse before the race even started. With AI (Artificial Intelligence), ML (Machine Learning) and Big Data in the mix - this is now a reality. Demand forecasting systems that are driven by these technologies have the power to draw on historical performance-based data, and combine this with huge data sets from well-considered, trusted sources across the internet. They can then deliver real-time insights and predictions that can help you to eliminate some of the uncertainties around new product launches.
The right mix of technology acts as a crystal ball, making it easier for businesses to put their time, attention and investment in the right place, at the right time.
The right mix of technology acts as a crystal bal
With these tools behind strategically-skilled people, it’s now possible for businesses to do what was previously impossible. Meet 100% of demand with zero waste.
QU - a tool for the times
QU is an AI-powered SaaS demand forecasting tool developed to measure, analyse and predict product performance in real-time. Hosted on and supported by AWS, QU uses the latest AI technology, proprietary ML algorithms, and innovative design; QU draws on millions of data points from hundreds of sources. It presents powerful insights in an easily-digestible and customisable dashboard that predicts buying behavior and adjusts forecasts of future sales to individual product levels (SKU).
QU is a tool that is designed to empower people, giving them the insight and control they need to do better business.
So if your business is ready to start freeing up resource and firing up profitability…
