Optimizing Warehouse Logistics with Artificial Intelligence : Market analysis

Sammanfattning: This report is a part of a larger project with the aim of developing a proof-of-concept prototype. The project was started on the initiative of Company X and is a collaboration between them and the University of Borås. Company X are a logistics consultant firm specialized in warehousing operations. Through this project Company X hope to strengthen their standing on the market and offer their customers new and innovative solutions. The purpose of this project is to, with the assistance of AI, calculate in what cluster within a warehouse a product should be placed in order to create more efficient picking routes and to research the market in order to evaluate the business potential for this kind of service. This specific report aims to conduct a market analysis for the potential service. It will do so by conducting interviews and creating a theoretical framework consisting of relevant literature. When performing the market research and analysis of the potential IT-service there are a few limitations caused by a number of factors that could potentially affect the significance of the end result. The service is not yet developed and cannot be described in detail but only as an idea, which could make it difficult for the interview respondents to fully understand the service. The report will also be limited for certain practical reasons such as the Covid-19 pandemic. Because of this, the report has not had the opportunity to conduct the interviews with potential customers on site but have been conducted online, via link. The theoretical framework has two different main focus areas. The first area addresses basic warehouse logistics and difficulties in selling high technology products, while the second area includes marketing strategies and strategic marketing planning. The market analysis will consist of a SWOT-analysis and an STP-analysis. The report has concluded that the service has potential and suggests that company type B is the best suited potential customer. Personal and demand driven sales are also considered helpful factors when selling high-tech products and solutions.