Interview with Yashika Guapto about AI Platform

Could you give an overview of how Insight Platform works ?

The Insight Platform collects data from iOT sensors installed in stores, and utilises this in store guest traffic data to generate various in-depth graphical representations. These features allow a company to analyse store performance with great ease, allowing important strategic business decisions to be made quicker.

What are the key features in the platform ?

The key features of the platform are; the dashboard - the most important component, providing an analysis of 16 KPIs ( Key Performance Indicators ) assessing the performance of the store in general. The 3 main KPIs that clients take the most into consideration are: Sales ( the amount of Earnings that a company generates); Traffic (the number of people who entered the store ); and Conversion (the ratio between the number of transactions and the the traffic). Also a more meaningful and detailed analysis can be found with: a traffic report, predicting future customer activity, graphical representations analysing trends and heat maps (a floor plan of the whole store, separated by grids, making it possible to understand where customers tend to stop the most, allowing the planning of successful marketing strategies).

What external factors may impact KPIs performance?

The external factors that can influence the performance of KPI’s are natural causes such as bad weather, causing a decrease in the revenue streams of a company. On the other hand, festivals and celebrations in the vicinity of the store and other events like store campaigns generally have a positive effect.

What elements of AI are used in insight?

The main element of AI used in Insight is machine learning - using past performance reports and predictions for later months, to allow trends to be found.

How would it be possible to increase the staff efficiency?

Companies often incur a wide ranging and heavy cost structure, thus they must try to find ways to be more cost efficient, by optimizing the allocation of funds. Hence, one strategy would be to adjust the staff according to the demand that an enterprise has, implementing more flexible working conditions. Since the majority of companies have idle staff , this can turn into a long-term issue for many companies. Insight tracks the store traffic on an hourly basis, giving the clients the ability to allot more staff in the store during peak hours, and less during less busier hours.

What other elements of AI can be included into insight in the near future?

In the foreseeable future, we will be able to understand the impact of social media when consumers are deciding to purchase a product or service. Other elements where AI could be included are in systems that gauge the efficiency of individual staff members, allowing the strategic positioning of the workforce to increase the overall productivity.

In summary, machine learning is up-and-coming, every tech company wants to delve into it; Flow Solutions is one of the first companies in Japan to be offering such a service in this industry.