Zebra Technologies to Showcase AI-Powered Demand Forecasting and Workforce Management Software

Company will also share The Modern Store by Zebra with visitors of Retail Technology Show

BOURNE END, England – 13 April, 2023 – Zebra Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ: ZBRA), a leading digital solution provider enabling businesses to intelligently connect data, assets, and people, will be exhibiting at the Retail Technology Show, one of the UK’s flagship industry events held in London on 26-27 April. At the event, Zebra will showcase The Modern Store by Zebra framework which features AI software solutions for retail and consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies.

The Modern Store by Zebra anticipates how AI solutions can be leveraged to elevate the customer experience by ensuring the inventory customers want is optimised inside and outside store, and by engaging associates so they are available, responsive and effective to meet customer needs. The Modern Store by Zebra has delivered outcomes including 95% on-time associate task completion, 98% inventory accuracy, and a 25% increase in transaction value.

The Modern Store framework includes Zebra’s Workforce and Task Management software, which provides managers with a comprehensive solution to gain intelligence into retail associate scheduling efficiency, giving them the tools to optimise labour spend and improve employee performance and morale. These solutions also drive intelligent staffing processes by giving managers the ability to set staffing goals and analyse staff capacity, speed up task execution, automate workflows, and streamline team communication. Managers can also check completion task status by location or region to know execution rates in real time.

“With retailers under pressure to hire, train, and retain enough front-line workers, and retail associates ranking shift flexibility as highly important, these solutions are more timely than ever,” said David Lancefield, Director, Software Solutions, EMEA, Zebra Technologies who spent over ten years working in high-street and central office retail management roles.   

The software comes with a suite of AI tools, including AI Decisions for on-site pilots and new initiatives to run intuitive A/B tests and to track task, labour and sales performance to determine chain-wide viability of pilot programmes. 

Zebra will also demonstrate a powerful, complementary solution in the form of Zebra Prescriptive Analytics (ZPA). Powered by AI, the solution comes with a sales module for asset and loss prevention, and a module for inventory and store operations to detect and address anomalies. ZPA can be added as a layer to a retailer’s current business intelligence system, automatically translating data insights into prioritised actions for retail associates.

With decades of experience working with leading enterprise retailers, Zebra understands that what happens outside the store impacts what happens inside. To further support retailers, Zebra has extended its AI beyond the four walls, with AI software solutions for demand forecasting, planning, lifecycle pricing, allocation and replenishment for retailers and CPG companies.

“If AI isn’t incorporated into the business and processes at scale to solve real issues, then it’s just an expensive science experiment,” explains David Hawkings, Senior Vice President, antuit.ai, a Zebra Technologies company acquired in 2021. “Replacing a replenishment, planning, or allocation system without fixing the forecasting behind it may give leaders a better user interface, but they’ll be stuck with the same bad results.” 

Antuit.ai’s solutions are used by senior retail supply chain, merchandising and planning leaders across CPGs and retailers in North America and the UK. “Our demand intelligence engine leverages both internal and external data, including weather and local events, as demand drivers that can forecast more accurately and granularly, providing better inventory decision making power to the business,” said Hawkings. “It’s particularly needed today with supply chains proving turbulent and constrained.” 

Zebra will also showcase its Workforce ConnectSmartCountRFID, and mobile computing solutions, providing delegates with a one-stop-shop and experienced team of retail executives to help them take the next step in their transformation journey.    

Attendees and members of the media are invited to meet Zebra’s retail team at stand 6E10 (Grand Hall Entrance) for booth and demo tours and media interviews.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • Zebra has decades of experience working with retailers on their transformation journeys. The Modern Store by Zebra sets out the hardware and software solutions needed to engage associates, optimise inventory and elevate the customer experience.
  • Zebra executives point retail and CPG leaders toward real-world software solutions with AI tools for workforce and task management and AI-powered demand forecasting.


ABOUT ZEBRA
 TECHNOLOGIES 

Zebra (NASDAQ: ZBRA) helps organizations monitor, anticipate, and accelerate workflows by empowering their frontline and ensuring that everyone and everything is visible, connected and fully optimized. Our award-winning portfolio spans software to innovations in robotics, machine vision, automation and digital decisioning, all backed by a +50-year legacy in scanning, track-and-trace and mobile computing solutions. With an ecosystem of 10,000 partners across more than 100 countries, Zebra’s customers include over 80% of the Fortune 500. Newsweek recently recognized Zebra as one of America’s Most Loved Workplaces and Greatest Workplaces for Diversity, and we are on Fast Company’s list of the Best Workplaces for Innovators. Learn more at www.zebra.com or sign up for news alerts. Follow Zebra’s Your Edge blog, LinkedInTwitter and Facebook, and check out our Story Hub: Zebra Perspectives.

Media Contact:
Daniel Blackman
Zebra Technologies
+44 (0) 7408 864 597
daniel.blackman@zebra.com

Industry Analyst Contact:
Kasia Fahmy
Zebra Technologies
+1-224-306-8654
k.fahmy@zebra.com

ZEBRA and the stylized Zebra head are trademarks of Zebra Technologies Corp., registered in many jurisdictions worldwide. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. ©2023 Zebra Technologies Corp. and/or its affiliates.