This article is brought to you by Modisoft.

In the fast-paced retail environment, AI tools are emerging that make convenience operators’ jobs easier, more efficient and more strategic.

User-friendly AI tools can assist retailers, especially those without large IT or data analytic teams, with streamlining a number of back-office tasks. By synthesizing and analyzing data, AI can not just present information, but generate insights for decision-making with more accuracy, said Safi Modi, head of growth at Modisoft.

Using AI for inventory management, for example, could help a retailer immediately see what items are in stock, how many of them there are, what the top-selling items from the past week or other time frame were, and what the slowest selling items were. By tracking stock levels and analyzing sales trends, AI could generate ideas for how to increase sales on specific items, or suggest promotions, bundling ideas or cross-merchandising strategies based on sales in other categories, Modi said.

Or, using AI for managing relationships with vendor partners or suppliers could streamline a process with a lot of moving parts—AI software can read and quickly input invoice data, help with inventory management by predicting ordering trends and fulfillment requirements, track delivery schedules or generate pricing strategy for products. “This all allows retailers to create more efficiency in their back-office operations and completes critical tasks with more accuracy by analyzing data instead of using manual processes or instinct,” said Modi.

Modisoft developed Sunny, its AI assistant, to act as a conversational chatbot that answers retailers’ questions about their business, provides quick answers and offers recommendations or insights to help with decision-making.

“Most AI software is a tool, but we don’t see Sunny that way. We designed Sunny as a business assistant—it’s your coworker that’s always on call and never clocks out,” said Modi. He described Sunny as a “friendly teammate” that you can speak to as you would a regular coworker on your team, designed with conversational skills that retailers can easily ask questions or bounce ideas off of.

“Most importantly it helps you understand your business at a deeper level and allows you to develop more strategy around what you’re doing,” said Modi.

Sunny integrates with Modisoft Insights software to be uniquely tailored to a retailer’s business. “It knows your business inside and out. It’s not generic,” said Modi. “Whether you’re checking sales trends, managing inventory or planning your next promotion, Sunny is built to be your AI business assistant, so you can spend less time analyzing and more time growing your business.”

Learn more about Sunny and other offerings from Modisoft at Booth S4172 at the NACS Show.

This is part one of a two-part series on Modisoft. Look for part two on Thursday.