Arizona-based Blue Yonder is using its artificial intelligence (AI) platform to help UK retailer chain Sainsbury’s power its supply chain strategy.

The multi brand, multi-channel retailer sells food, clothing, general merchandise and financial services. It selected Blue Yonder’s Luminate end-to-end supply chain platform as the foundation of its supply chain transformation.

Sainsbury’s will deploy the technology to power its end-to-end supply chain strategy, on a single AI-powered platform. To support the business’s future supply chain programme, Sainsbury’s will benefit from extending its current Blue Yonder footprint with more capabilities.

These current and new capabilities will now span AI-powered demand forecasting and replenishment, digital control tower, space management, macro space planning, range management, warehouse and labour management, and yard management.

Sainsbury’s operates more than 2000 stores across its Sainsbury’s, Argos and Habitat brands. It also operates a number of wholesale partnerships globally.

By partnering with the in-house engineering expertise of Sainsbury’s Tech, the two businesses will create an autonomous self-learning supply chain platform with machine learning (ML) capabilities. This step will enable Sainsbury’s staff to spend more time on the store floor serving customers.

“We relentlessly seek to improve the way we serve the needs of our customers,” said John Elliott, chief technology officer at Sainsbury’s. “Having a predictive, autonomous and adaptive supply chain powered by world class technology products and Sainsbury’s Tech engineering means we can show up for our customers whenever and however they shop with us. Blue Yonder provided a strong balance of advanced capabilities, ML experience and a culture and value set closely aligned to our own, including a commitment to sustainability.”

By implementing Blue Yonder’s technology, Sainsbury’s aims to enhance its ability to monitor and respond to changing customer needs, predicting and preventing potential supply chain disruptions.

The Luminate platform includes ML-based forecasting and ordering that help stores better manage fresh and perishable products. It also includes a crisis control centre that provides complete supply chain visibility, orchestration and collaboration across the end-to-end supply chain and helps prescribe more automated, profitable business decisions.

“We are thrilled to expand upon our long-standing partnership with Sainsbury’s by offering iconic, game-changing and customer-centric solutions that meet consumers’ daily and ever-changing needs, particularly in the critical environment in which we are all living today,” said Mark Morgan, executive vice president at Blue Yonder. “We know how important Sainsbury’s supply chain is to the company’s rich history of success and the loyalty of its customers. Our innovative AI and ML capabilities have a proven track record of real results, and our end-to-end platform is unmatched in the market. Our goal is to make AI and ML become key enablers of Sainsbury’s future digital transformation as the company expands its remarkable, trusted, multi brand, multi channel business.”

Blue Yonder, formerly JDA Software, provides seamless, friction-free commerce, empowering organisation and people to fulfil their potential. Its ML-driven digital fulfilment platform enables clients to deliver to their customers when, how and where they want it. It is helping more than 3300 of the world’s manufacturers, retailers and logistics companies create more autonomous, sustainable and profitable operations.