Sainsbury’s challenge: Increasing shelf life and sell-through of products while reducing waste

The causes of food spoilage and reduced shelf life are relatively well understood, Still, food manufacturers fail to consistently maximise shelf life and quality of food due to supply chain and raw material complexities. This is as a result of both supply chain and raw material complexities. Sainsbury’s is interested in developing real-time data collection and interrogation mechanisms and data-based automated feedback and control loops that would allow inter-relationships to be identified and managed along an integrated supply chain.

You can read more about Sainsbury’s and the two challenges here.

About Singular Intelligence

Singular Intelligence, a top UK AI company, offers artificial intelligence products and platforms to significantly improve and augment commercial decisions in the consumer goods sector – for manufacturers, retailers and online. The company is funded by Oxford University and Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency. The partners include Nielsen, Microsoft, IBM, and Digital Catapult. The company is also part of the Oxford-Singapore Human-machine collaboration program.

The solution

Using an AI-based decision-making system, Singular Intelligence Limited will develop a predictive shelf-life model for the supply chain, along with an automated, centralised optimal control system that takes necessary action to maximise the shelf life from the first stage in the supply chain, through to the consumer. With most consumer complaints in store caused by low shelf life and spoiled product, this system considers each supply chain process. Each different external factor at each stage, from farm to consumer, can negatively affect the food shelf life and this solution automatically sets corrective actions. By considering the change in external factors, including weather and logistics, the systems can decide the optimal corrective actions needed, using a mathematical model which will predict the product shelf life.

For industry, the solution sets out to:

• Create an adaptable solution which can be adopted for multiple food products
• Provide accurate prediction of the food product shelf life at every stage of the supply chain
• Provide a centralised automated control system to make optimal corrective actions, relieving the human operators from the complex supply chain related decisions
• Integrate a human-AI interface to incorporate human decision making into the process

Why the project is unique

The project will enable higher accuracy and effectiveness of decisions through AI-based modelling. The solution would scale efficiently at lower unit cost.

What the Made Smarter Technology Accelerator means to Singular Intelligence

The Made Smarter Technology Accelerator programme with leading UK retailer Sainsbury’s, gives Singular Intelligence Limited the opportunity to take a leap towards realising our vision of building technologies for both commercial and social impact.” Sarvesh Kumar, CEO, Singular Intelligence Ltd

Business achievements

• Innovate UK Smart Grant winner 2020
• COVID-19 Fastrack Business-led Innovation award winner 2020
• Retail-tech Top 50

Prototype presentation

On 23 June 2021, the programme proudly presented the first phase insights and learnings for industry in an online event.  Watch the Singular Intelligence pitch here: