After the Düsseldorf-based startup aifora closed one of Germany’s largest seed financing rounds in 2018 with €3 million, the company is now receiving fresh growth capital totaling €7 million.
We see many retail experts who are afraid of “the cloud”. But in the end, it’s just someone else’s computer. In order to process big amounts of information, we need a well-performing computer system that is robust and resilient.
Jean-Baptiste Collet has joined aifora a year and a half ago, since than he has accompanied various retailers through the onboarding process and project execution. In an interview he told us a bit more about his role as CSM.
Retailers are under constant pressure to balance multiple formats, fluctuating demand, increasing customer expectations, endless data, ambitious financial goals, and ever-changing trends.
Executives often believe that they have to choose between a “right” and a “wrong” compromise. But are these decisions really effective?
While many businesses surround themselves in this cloud of skepticism, others are thriving by accepting the change.
Algorithms determine the future: Why they work more objectively and are more scalable than humans, but will never entirely replace humans.
If setting the right price is so crucial for both winning customers and making profits, how exactly do retailers set prices? The answer depends on the time period in history that you’re considering.
As the retail landscape faces disruption, the importance – but also the challenge – of setting the right price continues to grow. Determining the optimal prices for retail goods is no easy task to begin with.
On May 5, 2020, the NRW Bank will become an investor in the Düsseldorf-based start-up aifora. Capnamic Ventures, an investor in aifora since 2018, has also increased its investment in the young company. The total investment is in the 7-digit range.
To remain competitive in the dynamic retail market, ADLER launched its “Strategy 2020”. At the core of this strategy: customer-centricity powered by a data-driven business model. One crucial element of this approach is to continuously offer the right merchandise in the right quantity in the right place, at the right time.
The market that Reno operates in has changed dramatically over recent years and become increasingly dynamic. Like many other retailers, Reno lacked the necessary tools to manage its complex operative processes, as it still relied on outdated systems and processes.
When it comes to climate change, one sector that has a particularly bad rep is the fashion industry. With resource-intensive production processes and extensive global supply chains, fashion retailers contribute significantly to CO2 emissions.
NKD was faced with the challenge of optimizing markdowns across multiple sales channels and countries – for thousands of SKUs. As the markdown process typically requires a high level of manual effort and involves a plethora of data, NKD recognized the need for an automated solution based on accurate demand forecasts.
Total retail sales loss in Europe exceeds €3 billion due to closures of major sales channels. A chance to turn the corner: AI and advanced technologies. Check out these 5 retail technologies that will help you fight back.
Since April 1, Felix Finger has been working as interim CFO/COO at the Dusseldorf-based software company aifora and has now also joined the company as a shareholder.
Retail is in a new state of disruption. The culprit: COVID-19. As “non-essential” retailers across Europe and North America have been ordered to close their doors to the public, many fear for their existence. Here are some examples of retailers who have temporarily pivoted their business to help combat the crisis.
In today’s fast-paced dynamic market, innovations abound. AI in retail is here and now and is expected to reach a global market size of $426.3 million by 2026. So, what does the future of retail hold?
As the retail landscape faces disruption, the importance – but also the challenge – of setting the right price continues to grow. Determining the optimal prices for retail goods is no easy task to begin with.
Pricing has always been and continues to be a core capability for retailers. Get pricing right and retail companies gain a competitive advantage. Get pricing wrong and retailers lose opportunities to take their company to the next level of growth and profitability.
Most retailers make the mistake of reducing their profits even further themselves. The reason for this is price discounts that are too extreme or too early – a mistake which is entirely avoidable.
The retail apocalypse has seemingly no end in sight. The era that has brought down dozens of brick and mortar retailers across the globe is building a metaphorical graveyard.
Christmas: no other holiday puts people into such a panic every year. Although Christmas, unlike Easter, has a fixed date, Christmas always seems to come “all of a sudden”. And this despite the onset of gingerbread sales in September, the first Christmas discounts in October and Wham on repeat from November to January.
The “for-rent signs” are lined up one after the other – more and more commercial spaces are vacant. Of course, there are still open shops, but they also have signs: the merchandise displays are plastered with sales and discount signs seemingly all year round.
aifora, a leading provider of intelligent pricing software, was mentioned as a Representative Vendor in Gartner’s 2019 Market Guide for Unified Price, Promotion and Markdown Optimization (UPPMO) Applications.
The automotive industry, retail, aviation and medicine. These industries (and many others) currently have one thing in common. They’re all preoccupied with artificial intelligence (AI).
The Düsseldorf-based software company aifora has entered a partnership with the innovation consultancy KIVALUE. The companies will combine their expertise in the areas of artificial intelligence (AI) and big data and support the retail industry in developing data-driven business models.
The world’s most successful currency is neither the dollar, nor the euro, nor Bitcoins. It’s data. Every business and almost every interpersonal interaction is based on the exchange of data, figures or numbers. But not all data is equal. To create value, data must first be refined. The Big Data World According to a recent …
Collaborative Machine Learning – Success Thanks to Data Sharing Read More »
The AI software company aifora has moved within the Düsseldorf MedienHafen. One and a half years have passed since the founding of the start-up. Since then, aifora has not only outgrown its status as a start-up, but also its premises.
The Düsseldorf-based AI company aifora has developed a software that enables retailers to make intelligent price decisions in real time. With the textile retail chain NKD, aifora has now been able to convince another well-known retailer of the advantages of its solution.
With the Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions from aifora, the fashion retailer ADLER is able to manage its inventory with the help of artificial intelligence – automated and in real time. This enables ADLER to make optimum use of sales and storage space and also reduce operating costs.
The reactions are different when we encounter AI in our everyday lives – because we cannot simply reload the game or switch off the computer. AI knows what users want to buy before they have realized it themselves, and thus delivers tailored advertisements via Facebook & Co. Furthermore, product prices are adjusted in real time and our job landscape has changed. A frequent consequence: fear and insecurity.
Fixed prices were yesterday. The future of price policy is not only dynamic, but also democratic. In other words, everyone is involved in setting prices and everyone can benefit – retailers as well as customers. Dynamic pricing has largely established itself in online retail businesses and is nowadays also being used more often in brick-and-mortar …
With the data-sharing and AI platform of the software company aifora, retailers can intelligently control their price and inventory management and thus significantly increase sales, turnover and earnings and reduce inventories.
Real-time pricing using artificial intelligence (AI) has long been the order of the day in e-commerce – after all today’s customer is a bargain hunter who is always looking for the best price. Meanwhile, brick-and-mortar retail is (still) lagging behind. In e-commerce, a fierce price war is raging and there is no end in sight. …
Real-Time Price Fluctuations: Is AI Threatening Retail? Read More »
12 months. 19 employees. 3 million euros in venture capital funding. And over 10 major retailers on the aifora platform. It’s been an unbelievable first year. Let’s take a look at a few of the highlights: Launching markdown optimisation After countless discussions with retailers to understand their specific needs when it comes to pricing, we …
Happy Birthday aifora! A look back at the first 12 months Read More »
German consumers are often suspicious of dynamic pricing. They fear having to pay higher prices. In reality though, dynamic pricing frequently offers consumers the opportunity to save money. There is a spirit of distrust in the German e-commerce landscape: the German Angst of Dynamic Pricing. It is not the first time that the fear of …
Where is retail heading? What are the latest developments in retail technology? What’s a necessity in 2019 and what’s just bells and whistles? One thing is clear: inspiration, trends and insights can best be experienced live at the numerous upcoming retail conferences and trade fairs. Of course, aifora will also be on tour! From our …
The early-stage investor Capnamic (www.capnamic.com) is investing three million euros in the merchandising optimisation platform aifora (www.aifora.com). The financing is primarily intended for the further development of aifora’s product and technology, as well as for expansion into new markets
The data-sharing and AI platform of the software company aifora is enabling retailers to compete with the large online players. Through intelligent price and inventory management, retail companies can significantly increase their sales, turnover and profits and simultaneously reduce inventories.
On November 22nd, we held our “Grand Opening” Event at the Skyloft Düsseldorf. The aim: to connect our existing with our potential clients, share the aifora vision as well as customer success stories and celebrate our successful launch. Retailers from various industries joined us for a series of inspiring speeches and the chance to network …
aifora Grand Opening: a celebration of aifora’s successful launch Read More »
Lisbon, Berlin, Düsseldorf, Mainhausen. It’s been a whirlwind month for us. From Web Summit to the German Retail Congress, we’ve had a blast showing off our solutions, pitching on stage and networking, networking, networking! Here’s a look back at the past few weeks. Web Summit, Lisbon Web Summit: the largest technology conference in the …
aifora on tour: a look back at the past few weeks Read More »
IF ONLY I’D KNOWN. Uncertainty and the subjunctive are the biggest enemies of Merchandise Planning: if spring hadn’t been so rainy, the summer collection would surely have captured record sales. If one had known that this season precisely this look would become the style of the stars, one would certainly have jumped onto the trend …
Demand Forecasting: How technologies explain the future Read More »
Digitalization projects not only concern customer experience or touchpoint-related activities, but also offer far-reaching possibilities to improve sizing and fitting. Sizing has always been a key topic in the apparel and shoe industry and can create satisfied and recurring customers through a positive shopping experience. Everyone in the industry is aware of the customer’s desire …
Improving sizing and fitting through digitalization Read More »
A dystopian vision that sounds more like science fiction than reality is that artificial intelligence systems will surpass the intellect of mankind in all its manifestations in the future – thereby making the human unnecessary. In fact, artificial intelligence is already superior to human beings in certain areas: AI systems are successfully used in case …
Artificial intelligence in fashion design – real creativity or creative catalyst? Read More »
The statutory regulations on which end-of-season sales used to be based have long been abolished. Nowadays, retailers permanently reduce prices and luminous red sale signs are visible almost year-round in the shop windows of fashion houses. Many retailers advertise reductions on a wide variety of occasions and thus take part in the ongoing price war. …
You’ve probably already noticed that prices for online products fluctuate considerably. Amazon alone has an estimated 2.5 to 3 million price changes, every single day! Dynamic price management has been causing a stir for quite some time, and is currently one of the hottest topics in retail: while long since a daily occurrence in online …
