E-commerce has become a powerful engine of global economic growth. In the aftermath of the Pandemie, the global online sale rose to an estimated $ 5.8 trillion USD in 2023 more than one fifth of the total value of Global financial services in 2023.
This growth is fed by intense competition, so that companies are urged to race to meet rising customer expectations for variety and speed. Customers expect wide product selection and immediate convenience. As Queen -Frontman Freddie Mercury said: “I want it all, and I want it now” – a feeling that perfectly catches the mindset of today.
However, the demand for directness and abundance entails environmental costs: extensive product range and accelerated delivery windows insist the carbon emissions and packaging waste. A way to solve this problem is to call in the help of artificial intelligence.
AI enables companies to collect data, optimize activities, to streamline the packaging and to consolidate delivery routes with which e-commerce companies such as Amazon and Walmart can offer more responsible retail activity that is in accordance with saving our planet.
The wider the product range, the more complex operations and fulfillment become. Categories such as perishable food or dangerous products require tailor -made shipping strategies. Weight and vulnerability differences add countless shipping variables.
Even such as one -day shipment, our planet is. Consumer pressure has tightened the delivery windows from 48 to 24 hours, until the same day and even within the hour. Although this consumers offers immediate satisfaction and speed, it also leads to inefficient routing and oversized packaging inflated with excess materials and rising carbon emissions.
AI offers a better path to produce fulfillment
The use of AI in combination with data repositories, analyzes and reasoning tools offers unparalleled technology for the management of the multidisciplinary complexity of daily operations in the warehouse. AI is able to analyze the challenges and to respond to critical activities, including sustainable food production, material innovation, waste reduction, warehouse automation, smart-grid management and transport optimization. Solutions such as Computer Vision that can identify the maturity of a BES or measure the void in a package prove that this technology can change dramatically what is possible in e-commerce fulfillment, because they open a world of new applications for automation because they can feel the physical world and respond to the physical world.
AI is ready to become a powerful motorcycle of sustainability in e-commerce by showing consumers the environmental impact of fulfillment. It can involve consumers directly by offering them informed choices and helping them understand the consequences of their decisions. Just as consumers can discover new products through personalized recommendations, they will grow comfortably to make informed decisions about the environmental impact of e-commerce fulfillment.
Most e-commerce companies already have the required data to understand the environmental environment. What is missing is how you can take action on that data. With AI, concrete steps can be taken, such as following carbon footprints, optimizing delivery routes and the use of environmentally friendly packaging. Chatbots can guide consumers to options such as “Wait-en-Save” that bundles multiple shipments to reduce emissions. Smart packaging can lower waste and freight costs for materials. Even when these choices are offered, consumers cannot give a priority to sustainability above convenience.
Consumers tend to choose convenience over sustainability
According to psychologists Daniel Kahneman and Amos TverskyWe were wired for immediate satisfaction and we tend to concentrate on the good parts of buying “environmentally friendly” products, while we often ignore the environmental damage caused by having them deliver quickly.
We also fall for the “sunken costs” flute. We believe that if we have paid a premium subscription, we must take advantage of fast delivery to “get our money.” Although consumers have consistently demonstrated that they prefer sustainability and the desire to support brands that they regard as ecologically responsible, a recent McKinsey study Show that other factors can be more important. The challenge for e-commerce is the coordination of sustainability with shops of shops and cost savings, because people no longer pay or are uncomfortable to buy greenery. Remember what Freddie Mercury said.
AI solutions already influence the complex sciences behind e-commerce version by identifying gasket boxes that are too large for the item sent and by helping packers identify the optimum packaging material to send a product.
By including AI, e-commerce consumers can offer more opportunities to act for sustainability without giving up the convenience or cost savings. AI can train and involve consumers, which gives them the opportunity to optimize, make it involved and to retain when buying online.
Omar Asali is chairman and CEO of Ranpak.
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