ActiveMap for retail: How neural networks are changing merchandising and trade audit
Service ActiveMap offers a solution that takes merchandising and trade auditing to a new level - using artificial intelligence technologies.
From photos in messengers to smart analysis.
Do you need to manually look through dozens of photos, check the availability of each product, find display violations? ActiveMap automates these processes using neural networks.
Key opportunities for the industry:
Automatic recognition of products in photos. The main task of a trade audit is to check the availability of the entire range. For example, an ice cream manufacturer is launching a new line and wants to make sure that all items are represented on the shelves of key chains. The ActiveMap neural network is trained to recognize specific products - be it different types of ice cream, yoghurts or soda. Once trained, the system automatically analyzes photos uploaded by field staff and determines which items are present on the shelf and which are missing.
Guarantee of data reliability (Geocontrol). Each report and photo is automatically linked to GPS coordinates and time. This completely eliminates falsification, the use of old photographs or sending reports “from home” - you know for sure that the merchandiser visited the outlet.
Optimizing the work of field personnel. Replacing chaotic chats in instant messengers with a structured mobile application. The merchandiser works according to a clear digital checklist, which speeds up the audit process and reduces the likelihood of human error.
Monitoring the lack of goods on the shelf. Prompt identification of missing assortment items. The system allows you to quickly respond to empty shelves by transmitting data to the purchasing or logistics department, which directly prevents loss of revenue.
End-to-end analytics across the entire network. Collection of data from hundreds of retail outlets into single reports. Management receives reports by region, specific networks or individual employees, which allows management decisions to be made based on objective numbers rather than subjective feelings.
Improving retail efficiency with ActiveMap
Reducing audit time by 2-3 times. Thanks to neural networks, the merchandiser no longer needs to manually rewrite balances or fill out complex tables. All you need to do is take a photo of the shelf - the system itself will recognize the SKU, count the facings and fill out a report
Perfect adherence to planograms. ActiveMap automatically compares display photos to the “gold standard.” Any deviation is recorded as a violation, which guarantees that your product is always in the best place and at the right angle.
Discipline control at 100%. Geo-referencing of photos and GPS tracking eliminate the possibility of falsifying reports. You know for sure that the employee was in the store and did not send a photo from the home archive.
Instant reporting without human intervention. Instead of waiting for a summary report from supervisors at the end of the week, management sees aggregated data across the entire network (region, city) in real time on interactive dashboards.
Reduced costs for supervisors. One supervisor in the ActiveMap system can control 5 times more employees, since he does not need to manually review photos in messengers - he only works with violations confirmed by the system.
