From a meteorological perspective, the winter storm sweeping across the country this weekend is a supply chain disruption in its own right: A high-pressure system from the north is smashing into a low-pressure system from the south, belting large swaths of the US with heavy snow, sleet, and freezing rain.
While the snarl in the upper atmosphere could trickle down to the real supply chain on the ground, some retailers are taking steps to anticipate the impact of the storm and position their products accordingly.
Walmart, for instance, is employing AI-powered technology to forecast demand shifts based on historical weather data.
“By utilizing advanced forecasting models and our simulation platform, we can anticipate shifts in demand and dynamically reroute essential supplies,” Indira Uppuluri, SVP of supply chain technology at Walmart, told Retail Brew.
Storm chasers: Ahead of the storm, Walmart used anticipatory inventory staging to place storm-related supplies such as ice melt and water where they are needed several days earlier than was previously possible without the use of artificial intelligence. In addition, hundreds of thousands of perishable and dry goods bound for impacted facilities were rerouted to secondary distribution centers to secure against disruptions.
