Retailers often express a legitimate and recurring desire to keep pace with industry demands. They must swiftly adapt to changing customer needs, incorporate innovative store concepts, and leverage supportive technologies. This also applies to the latest hot topic: Artificial Intelligence.
AI value – Recognizing and Creating Opportunities
No matter how the retail industry adapts or evolves, avoiding the topic of Artificial Intelligence is nearly impossible—and not advisable. The opportunities it presents are simply too convincing. Simplifying repetitive manual processes through pattern recognition saves valuable time. AI's strength in data analysis sheds light on customer behaviour and makes purchase forecasts more accurate.
However, implementation presents challenges for decision-makers. They must quickly translate theory into practical applications to stay ahead of competitors. At the same time, key factors must be considered, such as ensuring data security, maintaining a modern IT infrastructure, and empowering employee acceptance of new technology. Once the foundation is established, retailers can benefit from increased efficiency and competitive advantages—even in exploring new application areas.
AI Potential in Vault Management
The application of AI technologies in vault management demonstrates significant potential. The core functionality of AI—systematic recognition of patterns and objects—assists managers in counting coin rolls (Change) while simultaneously simplifying the required documentation. Ideally, providers of such solutions adopt the principle of simplicity, ensuring the application is as user-friendly as possible.
For example, employees can use an app to take a photo of the vault's contents. The AI automatically analyzes the objects displayed—in this case, the coin rolls—and counts them. The app then presents the results, specifying which rolls are present and the quantities. No additional effort is required to achieve targeted process optimization through repetitive tasks—and beyond. This principle can also be applied to the verification of cash deliveries.
Boosting Efficiency Through Automation
The automation of the counting process highlights clear advantages of implementing AI-powered vault management. With technical support, employees can perform this task faster and more efficiently, resulting in reduced workload and providing more time for other responsibilities. This benefit is further enhanced by the speed gained in counting and recording cash. Tasks that previously took several minutes can now be completed in a few seconds with AI assistance.
Additionally, documentation becomes significantly simpler. Instead of painstakingly filling out manual forms or maintaining spreadsheets, coin rolls are now digitally recorded through a photo uploaded to the cloud. This image, enriched with AI-generated data, serves as a reliable record accessible to all authorized employees. Along with increased transparency, this approach promotes efficiency in traceability and archiving. Digital data management in an AI context also opens up further opportunities, such as automated ordering of cash for change to fully automate that process.
Keep a watchful eye
Given the numerous advantages of AI-powered vault management, retailers opting for a software solution should set clear requirements for the system:
- What model and algorithms underpin the AI? An AI model trained on real-world scenarios is essential, as this directly impacts the quality of results. Techniques like image annotation classify countless captured photos to create training data for the AI model.
- What technical requirements are necessary? Ideally, no significant technical investments should be needed. Smartphones with cameras and auto-focus capabilities are sufficient.
- Is security prioritized? Processing data via encrypted communication in the cloud offers both security and flexibility.
- Is the AI sufficiently monitored? To err is human—but not exclusively. AI also has vulnerabilities in reliability and error rates. Employees should be able to report detected errors automatically within the system. Additionally, providers should regularly verify the AI model with test data where expected outcomes are known to ensure accuracy.
Providers and solutions that address these points, such as ALVARA | Digital Solutions, deliver not only efficiency, transparency, and streamlined documentation but also a sense of security when using AI.
Conclusion
AI is no longer just a passing trend—it’s here to stay. The technology simplifies work in various domains, extending beyond well-known applications. For this reason, it’s worthwhile for retailers to promptly explore the potential of AI-powered solutions.
Steven Schwarznau has been the Managing Director of ALVARA | Digital Solutions since January 2021. As a certified "Practical Computer Scientist," he has also been overseeing software development, cloud operations, and product development for more than ten years.
