In a bold move towards sustainable growth and value creation, M&S, the UK retail giant, is embarking on a three-year digital transformation journey. Partnering with o9 Solutions, a leading software platform provider, M&S aims to revolutionize its Clothing & Home operations through the implementation of an AI-powered solution known as Digital Brain.
Digital Brain, a cutting-edge platform, is poised to streamline end-to-end planning by unifying merchandise planning, sales stock & intake, and range planning. This transformative initiative involves replacing and modernizing existing systems, with the second phase extending to forecasting and replenishment systems.
Over the next three years, the strategic rollout of the AI-powered platform is expected to enhance the agility, connectivity, and responsiveness of M&S’s Clothing & Home business to customer needs and emerging trends. Richard Price, Managing Director of Clothing & Home at M&S, highlights the pivotal role of data and AI in informed decision-making and future planning, ensuring sustained relevance to customers.
Chakri Gottemukkala, co-founder and CEO of o9 Solutions, expresses enthusiasm about propelling an iconic brand like M&S into the future with their next-generation platform. In the fiscal year 2022/23, M&S’s Clothing & Home division achieved remarkable growth, witnessing a sales increase of 11.5%, and like-for-like sales up by 11.2%. The latest update on Christmas trading revealed an additional 4.8% surge in Clothing & Home sales.