AI for Retail Design: Where are the Efficiencies?

In today’s workplace, we’re surrounded by multiple software solutions that were built to help our lives better.  However, it feels like many of these software packages are so busy trying to do everything, they forget to focus on making things great.

There is an old saying that “a system that is a mile wide is an inch deep”.  Basically, this means that the broader the solution is, the less depth that it has in any specific area or process. A software company is like any other and has finite resources so by expanding the scope of their system, they must limit the depth of some/all features/processes in their system.

Many software companies have the philosophy that they need to make sure their system works for everyone and can be configured to meet any customer ask.  On the flip side, the systems that focus more on meeting specific process needs at the sacrifice of flexibility tend to be the best in terms of increasing efficiencies.

There are more sophisticated ways to compare these approaches, but we’ve always been fans of Lego™ so let’s use that to compare the two approaches.

• Configurable System: If you are given a big box of Legos with every possible shape, color, and size, you will have the maximum flexibility.  You can build whatever you want but it will probably take you a bit longer and it’s probably not going to win any awards (our apologies to any Lego™ Masters that are reading this and can prove us wrong!)

Results when if flexibility is prioritized over process

• Best Practice Solution: If you buy one of the predefined kits, it comes with clear instructions, and you will produce a work of art in a very short timeframe.

Results when you optimize for the specific need

How is any of this relevant to AI?

It is incredible to see examples of what people are producing using these new technologies.  However, when someone is kind enough to share what they did, it usually goes something like “I went and did A in tool B, then I took the result over to tool C to get D, and then finally I did E and Voila!”

The results are amazing, but at Straight Lines AI, we believe the true value is how you can get to the result in a single step.  And more importantly, how can you do this on a scale?  Unless you are one of the lucky few, you’re likely never just working one thing at a time.  How can we do 10, 20, or 50 things at a time?  How can we take an existing process that used to take days or weeks and compress it into seconds or minutes?

The ability to scale is also not just a factor of how many things the software can do or how quickly it can do it.  It is also a factor of how easy it is to use with little to no training!

AI can support the creative design process, but the key is not just adding new capabilities but allowing for rapid iteration of ideas with minimal effort.  At Straight Lines AI, we’re focused on delivering industry leading solutions that have best practices and end user efficiencies built directly into them.