The Convenience Foodservice Vision Group (CFVG) released its latest Vision Report, “Embracing AI to Elevate Foodservice,” examining practical artificial intelligence applications, implementation strategies and transformational opportunities across foodservice operations of all sizes.
“AI is rewriting the rules of pretty much everything and it certainly has, and will continue to have, massive impact on foodservice and the business," said Mike Weber, CMO of Upshop.
"My take on it is it's going to change this industry more than anything ever has. We've had a lot of different things come and go, but we feel that it's going to change every aspect, not just food, but how we train, how we track things and everything," said Brandon Frampton, director of fresh food at Loop & Poppy (Loop Neighborhood Market).
Key takeaways in the report include:
- Demystifying AI: practical paths for foodservice and retail: AI represents a transformative shift that requires a structured approach to implementation, moving beyond mystery and black box solutions to practical applications that optimize thousands of daily decisions.
- Preventing waste with AI: AI can address data specificity challenges in convenience stores by using waste capture data to predict demand for individual product varieties even when sold under single PLUs, enabling more accurate forecasting and shrink reduction.
- Data management and sourcing: Successful AI implementation requires at least two years of historical sales data from POS systems, but external data like weather and promotions can be layered in by AI providers to reduce internal data infrastructure burdens.
- Employee adoption and change management: AI systems can make jobs easier and more intuitive while reducing task overload, but successful implementation requires patience, training and addressing resistance from long-tenured employees through communication and AI prompting skills development.
- Implementation logistics and future outlook: AI implementation can begin with demand forecasting live within 14 days, though optimal performance typically requires six to nine months of refinement, with the ultimate goal being a unified data framework connecting all business workflows.
The full report can be found here.