Consultancy Kantar has introduced three retail sales and marketing tools built on artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) algorithms and workflows developed in its Brand Growth Lab in Singapore.

The London-based data, insights and consulting company’s Singapore lab is an analytics hub dedicated to discovering ways to leverage big data to drive strategic decision-making for business. The three tools are designed to help consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands find sustainable growth in south-east Asia.

The tools are:

• Brand growth accelerator is an engine for inquiry to discover growth opportunities and facilitate organisations alignment to monetise them.
• Demand forecasting simulator is a demand forecasting tool integrating multiple data sources and building multi-variate models using algorithms to estimate future demand.
• Promotions simulator is a methodology for modelling CRM effectiveness, helping to understand which touch points and mechanics deliver sales, including which combinations of offerings will provide the biggest sales uplift.

“Each of these three is designed to provide a unique, data-driven overview of the consumer journey with an AI and ML-led approach,” said Hernan Sanchez, co-managing director of Kantar’s Brand Growth Lab. “These provide customisable decision support systems to assist in the evaluation of marketing strategy effects and the potential yields for brands. We believe that these solutions running on powerful AI-based workflows will enable an increase in marketing productivity across the region, as well as the decision support systems (simulators) will help improve decision making for brands in the complex and dynamic digital economy.”

Yee Mei Chan, the other co-managing director of the laboratory, added: “With support from the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), Kantar is developing new capabilities to transform AI by introducing new frameworks, algorithms and computing possibilities that will drive a new wave of innovation in the advanced analytics arena. We are currently working closely with a number of leading clients keen to transform the way data are used to make decisions and forward plan investments.”

Kantar is an evidence-based insights and consulting company. It acts globally and locally in more than 90 markets.