Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) companies are striving to remain competitive in a rapidly evolving market. Yet, only 54% of CPGs polled this year have adopted image recognition (IR) tools to get ahead. This may be because their past experiences with traditional image recognition software have left them disappointed or sceptical of new solutions.
For example, they may have invested in technology from established vendors, costing them a lot of money, time, and effort manually importing reference images and annotations into the software. Or, they may have found the solutions highly complex to deploy with less than optimal results in terms of data accuracy and time-to-market.
Additionally, the resources poured into training staff on the new tech took Field Marketing Agents (FMAs) away from their core role of boosting company profits by increasing sales figures. However, new generation image recognition technology that’s powered by synthetic data, like Neurolabs ZIA, is changing the game.
By utilising synthetic image recognition, the need for manual input and their associated time and costs in training image recognition learning algorithms is eliminated. This technology can also easily integrate with existing Sales Force Automation (SFA) solutions and company processes, removing the hassle of onboarding and training teams to use and deploy new technologies in their daily work. In this article, we will explain how plug-and-play synthetic image recognition is helping CPGs boost revenue by empowering CPGs to collect more effective data-driven retail execution insights.
Integrating synthetic IR tools with SFA streamlines processes
SFA solutions provide a wealth of tools to enhance CPG performance and sales strategies. Yet, a study by Accenture found that 80% of industry CTOs admit they find it difficult to generate value with their existing technology solutions. With next-gen image recognition tools entering the market, CTOs must look to modernise their operations or risk losing their competitive edge.
Combining synthetic image recognition technology with existing SFA software can improve data quality and process efficiency, enabling CPG brands to make better decisions and react faster to market developments. For example, plug-and-play tech solutions like Neurolabs ZIA allowed Sagra Technology to quickly upgrade auditing processes through its ease of integration with their existing Emigo SFA System. Let’s take a closer look to see how:
Neurolabs ZIA integration case study: Sagra Technology
With Neurolabs ZIA's synthetic computer vision approach, we could deploy an IR solution for Sagra Technology in one week. This allowed them to hit the ground running in taking their auditing solution to market – a task that would've taken the brand months if they were using traditional IR methods to conduct their vital checks.
Our Neurolabs solution significantly reduced the IR training time to run audits smoothly. For example, after a brief training window (5 days), ZIA identified all 25 SKUs in their project catalogue despite the only visible differences in products being the number of medicine doses contained within each packet.
After the initial ZIA deployment, Sagra Technology tested our solution's effectiveness and found that the synthetic computer vision algorithm could detect SKUs with 98.3% accuracy within just five seconds.
This case study shows that CPGs field reps can integrate synthetic data to streamline their operations and make data-driven decisions with high accuracy and speed, giving them a competitive edge.
Plug-and-play tech provides richer data insights
Integrating synthetic image recognition APIs with business intelligence and data visualisation tools can provide deeper and more actionable insights, leading to better decision-making and increased sales.
For example, synthetic image recognition technology can be used to enhance competitor analysis by identifying key visual elements in rival brands (such as pricing and facings). From here, brands can analyse how this information can be adapted to make brand messaging more appealing to audiences.
Synthetic data offers several critical advantages to retailers’ IR solutions. The first of which is that it’s easier and less time-consuming to generate training data. For example, Neurolabs' ZIA contains 100,000 SKUs preloaded into its database. This means that companies can process large amounts of data quickly, identifying patterns and trends that may have taken longer to spot through traditional competitor research methods. As a result, retailers can take a more data-driven approach to improving their sales.
No additional user training is required with synthetic image recognition technology
Synthetic image recognition technology automates gathering retail images and annotating them with the necessary data to train their algorithms. So, no additional staff training is required to prepare the image recognition learning algorithms.
Plus, all synthetic data is created artificially within the training algorithms generating real-world simulations of retail settings. No time is wasted taking photos and uploading images to a centralised platform.
Additionally, Neurolabs ZIA is easy to use and has an intuitive interface, making it a breeze for teams to onboard the technology and deliver fast results. With this in mind, businesses can focus on their core competencies of increasing productivity and subsequent sales. If you’d like to learn more about the advantages of synthetic data over real data, check out our dedicated article where we go into more detail here.
Neurolabs ZIA is your CPG's ideal fit solution for boosting company revenue
As technology for CPGs advances, ensure you maintain a competitive advantage by utilising powerful plug-and-play image recognition technology like Neurolabs ZIA. Its computer vision capabilities enriched by synthetic data can significantly reduce the need for manual input and training in your operations and provide you with vast amounts of data you can use to improve your decision-making.
Plus, our solution seamlessly integrates with your existing tools, no matter the platform, minimising technology onboarding time while enhancing your data analytics' overall quality and accuracy.
Interested in learning more? Book a demo with us today and see how Neurolabs ZIA can transform your CPG brand.
At Neurolabs, we are revolutionising in-store retail performance with our advanced image recognition technology, ZIA. Our cutting-edge technology enables retailers, field marketing agencies and CPG brands to optimise store execution, enhance the customer experience, and boost revenue as we build the most comprehensive 3D asset library for product recognition in the CPG industry.
