Insight Research – ‘AI Round Table’ – latest developments and new members

Insight Research’s quarterly ‘AI Round Table’ for convenience retailers continues to gather pace. New members joining ahead of next week’s meeting include Shell and Compass Group.

This interactive round table creates a valuable forum for retailers to meet to discuss their strategies around AI and identify new solutions which are essential to the future of the convenience sector. The meetings take place online.

Insight AI Round Table is moderated by Anthony Wysome, together with Dan Munford.

Participating retailers include M&S (UK), Applegreen (Ireland, UK, USA), Migrolino (Switzerland), Reitan Convenience (Nordics), SPAR Hendersons (UK), ADNOC (UAE), Shell, ONRoute (Canada) and Compass (UK). The AI Round Table is sponsored by SymphonyAI and Diebold Nixdorf. McKinsey & Company is a knowledge partner. Insight is looking to expand the group further globally, signing up more retailers.

Wysome, who has a background in commercial, strategy and finance at leading grocery retailers with expertise in new format development at John Lewis, Waitrose, Costa Coffee and Selfridges, explains the ambition.

“The AI Roundtable exists to focus where new technologies are developing quickly. We are bringing together a group of retailers from our sector, who are all wrestling with the same challenges, to learn, debate and support each other as we work together to get ahead of the game,” he says.

As well as sharing wider business strategies around AI, the AI Round Table will have a practical element, putting the spotlight on AI solutions which are beginning to emerge in all aspects of business areas, ranging from staff training to stock management. The Roundtable agendas will be supported with ‘state of the industry’ insights from McKinsey & Company.

Wysome brings considerable AI expertise having just received a certificate from Said Business School, University of Oxford AI Programme. He was supported on the course by Insight Research and champions the learning it has provided.

“Frankly, I needed to understand the subject not the hype,” he says. “I would encourage anyone to take the course, get behind it and understand the risks and opportunities for businesses.”

While AI can be applied almost anywhere, the key lies in narrowing down those choices and applications, Wysome says.

He was drawn to AI because of its potential to change retail worlds and markets and, while the thinking behind AI has been around for a while, it’s only more recently that the computer power has been sufficient to make it happen.

To date, Insight has hosted three ‘AI Round Table’ meetings focusing on the strategic vision for AI and opportunities, recruitment/staff training and category management, planogram and store support tools.

“The first meeting looked at how you begin to bring AI into business and see it as a solution,” Wysome says. “AI is a big thing that you need to process and structure.”

The second meeting included a presentation from gamification expert Attensi and its role in staff training and the third meeting focused on providing a perspective of where category management systems are today and then looked at what we can expect in the future.

“AI has become more practical and relevant to aspects of recruitment and staff training,” Wysome adds. “The meeting looked at those new AI solutions and how staff training can become a much more relevant and dynamic part of operational success.”

Insight’s next objective will be to investigate how AI is reducing shrink and what this means for retailers. How can AI be deployed for full store loss prevention? In addition, Kate Ancketill, Founder of GDR Creative Intelligence, keynote speaker at NRF this January and one of BizTech’s 30 global IT influencers will be joning us. Our next meeting takes place on Wednesday 7th May at 1pm-3pm UK time/8am-10am ET in the US.

Future AI Round Table meetings are being developed to meet the needs of the businesses involved and focus on the latest strategical developments.

“The great thing we’re finding is that as a group we’re thoroughly enjoying learning and collaborating together. It’s a complex subject that’s new to many of us, but, if we can make it a bit easier and more enjoyable for convenience retailers, then the benefits will certainly follow,” Wysome says.

To get involved, or find out more about Insight’s AI Round Table share your details here: