6 Questions With … Christian Floerkemeier

="margin-bottom:11px">Retailers today face a significant challenge in inventory distortion. In this 6 Questions With … feature, Christian Floerkemeier, CTO and VP of product at Scandit, highlights how outdated manual inventory management processes hinder retailers from making data-driven decisions and why AI and automation can play a crucial role in solving these challenges by improving demand forecasting, optimizing last-mile logistics, and enhancing warehouse operations with robotics.

Floerkemeier, who co-founded Scandit, is responsible for the company’s product strategy and roadmap and is the technical lead behind Scandit’s patented barcode scanner technology. Before co-founding Scandit, Floerkemeier was the associate director of the Auto-ID Lab at MIT and a member of the MIT research team that developed RFID technology which is today in use in major supply chains. He also co-founded Fosstrak, an open-source RFID software platform that implements the EPC Network specification.

 

(Questions and answers have been edited for length and clarity)

SCMR: What are the biggest challenges retailers are facing today?

FLOERKEMEIER: The biggest quiet threat for retailers is without a doubt inventory distortion. Currently a problem worth $1.7 trillion worldwide, inventory distortion refers to the total business costs associated with overstocking and understocking. It can significantly impact retailers’ profitability given the added costs of unsold and expired goods, and that’s on top of lost sales, damaged brand reputations, and customer frustration generated by low inventory levels.

This status quo is fueled by retailers’ tendency to overlook data capture and digitization processes across the supply chain. Many frontline workers still rely on manual data collection for inventory, often using outdated and cumbersome devices. These tools frequently lack real-time capabilities and fail to deliver actionable insights, leaving data isolated across disconnected systems. Without a unified view, retailers struggle with inaccurate, incomplete, or outdated inventory information, making it difficult to forecast demand and manage stock effectively.

SCMR: What roles do modern technology solutions like AI and automation play in transforming retail supply chains?

FLOERKEMEIER: AI and ML are crucially supporting retailers with enhanced data-driven decision-making across their supply chains. These technologies analyze vast datasets lightning fast to help identify trends that support key business operations including demand forecasting, order management, supply planning, and more. In the last mile, for instance, AI can assess both real-time and historical traffic conditions and predict likely delays to optimize routes for drivers, increasing the number of deliveries. AI-powered tools also assist with complex logistics tasks like return sorting and inventory management, reducing manual labor while increasing accuracy and speed.

In warehouses specifically, the combination of both AI and robotics is transforming operations, boosting productivity, ensuring greater accuracy, and reducing burnout. AI-powered tools have become crucial for optimizing warehouse management, while robotics technologies like Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) and Autonomous Guided Vehicles (AGVs) help alleviate warehouse workers’ physically demanding and time-consuming tasks.

SCMR: How can retailers balance the push for operational efficiency with new demands to personalize customer experiences?

FLOERKEMEIER: Personalization can go a long way in solidifying customer loyalty, but if foundational operational areas such as inventory management fall short, no amount of personalization can save the relationship with the customer. My advice for retailers would be to treat operational efficiency as a prerequisite for a personalized experience and invest accordingly in technology that can truly make a long-lasting difference.

However, if personalization has reached a stage where it’s the primary focus, retailers should invest in technologies that still deliver an operational edge. For instance, AI is one technology that can confidently do both. It enables the analysis of vast amounts of customer data and facilitates tailored product recommendations and promotions, streamlining customer care processes. At the same time, it helps with forecasting by looking at historical sales data, market trends, seasonal patterns, and external factors. Last but not least, when combined with computer vision, it can also offer a real-time view of inventory.

SCMR: What are some of the most innovative supply chain technologies you’ve seen retailers adopt to improve their operations?

FLOERKEMEIER: Many of the world’s top retailers are equipping workers’ devices with smart data capture, or the ability to capture data intelligently from barcodes, text, IDs, and objects, to increase their supply chain visibility. The technology captures information as soon as an item or package is scanned, giving retailers a real-time, accurate view of their inventory in their systems. This up-to-date data is essential for better decision-making and optimizing processes across the supply chain.

Augmented reality (AR) is also revolutionary for store associates, warehouse workers, and delivery drivers, who often have to scan hundreds of items each day. Camera-based devices like smartphones and handheld computers can facilitate both the capturing of the data and acting upon said data. AR can significantly help with the latter by displaying overlays to help workers locate the correct items quickly in workflows such as in-store order fulfillment, identifying and handling exceptions, or searching in the van. The technology can also facilitate optimized vehicle loading for deliveries, efficient price management, and even gamified promotions for customers.

SCMR: As sustainability remains a key focus for many consumers, how can technology help retailers create more sustainable and transparent supply chains?

FLOERKEMEIER: Investments to increase the transparency of the supply chain and business practices should be at the forefront of retailers’ minds, especially with Gen Z obtaining more and more buying power. Youngsters value sustainability and local products and are willing to pay for them, but in today’s era of greenwashing, only end-to-end transparency will truly satisfy them and trigger a purchase: from ingredients and sourcing to manufacturing conditions and the overall CO2 footprint.

Technologies like smart data capture can not only offer end-to-end supply chain visibility by tracking inventory in real-time as it is scanned at every touchpoint by logistics professionals, but it can also help store associates gain access to the product information customers require or empower customers themselves to access it in self-scanning scenarios. This democratized access to data will drive long-term consumer trust and, ultimately, loyalty.

SCMR: What advice would you give to retailers who are looking to integrate new technology into their existing supply chain systems without disrupting their operations?

FLOERKEMEIER: For AI and other technologies to work to the best of their ability, retailers need full inventory visibility. Unfortunately, many won’t be able to achieve this without a fundamental shift in how they collect data. Several retailers still operate under fragmented supply chains with siloed systems that don’t communicate effectively, and fragmentations with various third-party logistics providers, different regulations, and varying technology standards make it extremely difficult to get a holistic view. The resulting inaccurate or incomplete data can lead to poor decision-making, as algorithms are only as good as the database they work with.

Advanced capabilities such as smart data capture are essential to achieve an accurate, comprehensive, real-time inventory picture that frontline workers themselves can access for immediate use.

SCMR: Thank you.

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