Our analytics team is always on the lookout for innovative solutions that make our in-store employees’ lives easier. It’s no coincidence that one of our latest projects goes by the name of HOLMES. HOLMES stands for Holistic Management of Exceptional Salespattern. The tool uses artificial intelligence to help store employees find items that are hidden in the shelves or currently sold out, for example.
It works by analysing in-store transaction data with the help of AI. According to Lorenz Determann, Head of Analytics, this makes it possible to identify certain patterns, which can then be used to explain sales anomalies.
The first step was to ‘feed’ the AI thousands of receipts to help it recognise and further refine patterns,
explains Julian Mennenöh, Head of Sales and Business Functions in Analytics. As a result, the AI became better and more accurate at detecting anomalies.
Store employees also support the work by providing feedback on the lists: We can therefore check the learned patterns right there on the shop floor, plus we can improve them even further. The sophisticated technology enables us to support in-store employees and offer our customers the shopping experience they want,
explains Alexander Moser, Head of Digitalisation, Projects and Processes – Sales at PENNY.
Heike Matusche, Product Owner Analytics, and Mirko Kopilas, Project Manager IT Projects, explain in the film how this comprehensive detective work is helping to fulfil all customer wishes.
HOLMES: Learning gap list in the market
HOLMES is an acronym for Holistic Management of Exceptional Salespattern and serves as support for our store employees through the use of artificial intelligence. The tool helps to identify items that may be hidden on the shelf or currently out of stock.
