We collaborated with a leading fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) manufacturer to investigate how intelligent image processing (IIP)-based shelf monitoring aids manufacturers’ shelf management by using data from a quasi-experiment and a field experiment. We discovered that such artificial intelligence (AI) assistance significantly and consistently improves product sales. Several underlying mechanisms were revealed by our quantitative and qualitative analysis. First, retailers are more likely to comply due to the greater monitoring effectiveness enabled by AI assistance. Second, the positive effect of IIP-based shelf monitoring partially persists after it is terminated, implying that human learning takes place. Third, the value of IIP-based shelf monitoring can be attributed to independent retailers rather than chain retailers. Since the degree of contract heterogeneity is the major difference between these retailers in terms of monitoring, this finding further suggests that AI is relatively more scalable when coping with more heterogeneous instances. Apart from these great benefits, we demonstrate the low marginal costs of implementing IIP-powered shelf monitoring, which indicates its long-term applicability and potential to generate incremental value. Our research contributes to several literature streams and provides managerial insights for practitioners who consider AI-assisted operational models.

中文翻译：

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让人工智能成为您的货架看门狗：智能图像处理驱动的货架监控对产品销售的影响

我们与一家领先的快速消费品 (FMCG) 制造商合作，利用准实验和现场实验的数据，研究基于智能图像处理 (IIP) 的货架监控如何帮助制造商进行货架管理。我们发现，这种人工智能 (AI) 的帮助可以显着且持续地提高产品销量。我们的定量和定性分析揭示了一些潜在机制。首先，由于人工智能协助提高了监控效率，零售商更有可能遵守规定。其次，基于国际投资头寸的货架监控的积极效果在终止后部分持续存在，这意味着人类学习正在发生。第三，基于国际投资头寸的货架监控的价值可以归因于独立零售商而不是连锁零售商。由于合同异质性程度是这些零售商在监控方面的主要差异，这一发现进一步表明，人工智能在应对更多异质实例时相对更具可扩展性。除了这些巨大的好处之外，我们还证明了实施由 IIP 驱动的货架监控的边际成本较低，这表明其长期适用性和产生增量价值的潜力。我们的研究为多个文献流做出了贡献，并为考虑人工智能辅助运营模型的从业者提供了管理见解。我们证明了实施由国际投资头寸驱动的货架监控的边际成本较低，这表明其长期适用性和产生增量价值的潜力。我们的研究为多个文献流做出了贡献，并为考虑人工智能辅助运营模型的从业者提供了管理见解。我们证明了实施由国际投资头寸驱动的货架监控的边际成本较低，这表明其长期适用性和产生增量价值的潜力。我们的研究为多个文献流做出了贡献，并为考虑人工智能辅助运营模型的从业者提供了管理见解。