Smart innovations in B2C versus B2B

We are used to smart innovations that predict our behavior in our personal lives: when I get into my car after work, Google Maps sets the destination to my home, and when I settle into my couch, Netflix knows what series I would like to see. Even though Google and Netflix sometimes seem to know me better than I do myself, it does not scare me. In general, algorithms can only predict the historical, ‘easy’ patterns. When I deviate from my regular pattern, Google has no idea where I’m heading.

In B2B, these technological advancements haven’t yet reached their full potential. The complexity of decisions and their far-reaching consequences present challenges for algorithms to earn trust. If you ask me, there is lots of potential for the B2B world to advance and catch up.

The dynamics of online grocery delivery

Let’s look at the highly dynamic landscape of online and e-grocery retail delivery where planning intricacies have reached unprecedented levels of complexity. Thousands of orders are delivered per day from numerous centers and hubs, with many different drivers and vehicles, and time is of the essence. I would call this a planning puzzle almost screaming for the kind of intuitive foresight we've come to appreciate in our personal lives.

The future planner

There is quite some concern among people about AI potentially replacing their jobs. For planning online grocery delivery, I do not see it this way. Planners offer a wealth of experience and a nuanced understanding of the intricacies involved in effective planning. Smart innovations should be leveraged to automate routine tasks and provide planners with timely alerts, insights and recommendations allowing them to be in the driver seat making informed decisions confidently.

If we combine the smartness of Netflix and Google with online grocery planning, I see a planner who is supported by proactive recommendations when improvements can be made in the future, alerts when their immediate attention is required, and machine learning models that improve planning accuracy. As we embrace the potential of smart innovations in B2B, we embark on a journey where human ingenuity and machine intelligence converge to shape the future of planning!