Super-Pharm: Transforming ecommerce with optimized demand forecasting
Improved demand forecasting to be 10x more efficient
Improved inventory accuracy from 50% to 90%
Optimized on-site customer journey
Super-Pharm is leveraging Google Cloud's Vertex AI to optimize its ecommerce site for hyper-accurate demand forecasting, and smart inventory and merchandising decisions while also modernizing its IT infrastructure.
Super-Pharm is leveraging Google Cloud's Vertex AI to optimize its ecommerce site for hyper-accurate demand forecasting, and smart inventory and merchandising decisions while also modernizing its IT infrastructure.
Smarter analysis for ecommerce optimization
As a retail business operating in the rapidly-evolving ecommerce space, it was clear that we needed to provide our customers with an outstanding online shopping experience. We needed to step up our game in order to remain competitive, and the only way we could do that was through Google Cloud.
Nir Ben-Zion
IT and Cloud Director, Super-Pharm
With consumers preferring online shopping to in-person browsing, an ecommerce website that provides a stellar user experience is critical for success in today’s retail landscape.
Coupled with rising customer expectations around delivery times and product availability, retailers must be able to get items to customers as quickly and conveniently as possible, or risk being left behind.
Online sales recently surpassed brick-and-mortar revenue for Super-Pharm, Israel’s leading drugstore. Super-Pharm’s click-and-collect option, which enables customers to buy online and pick up at a physical store near their homes, emerged as an especially promising revenue stream for the business.
But because of complexity and data volumes, on-premise tools were unable to keep up with predicting customers’ demand and thus managing inventory requirements. This resulted in potential loss of revenue due to missing items.
Inaccurate demand forecasting and incorrect inventory analysis led to abandoned carts and dissatisfaction with user experience on-site. The company needed a big-picture, accurate analysis of its inventory of tens of thousands of items, as well as an efficient solution to ensure customers could source the products they wanted, quickly and locally.
“As a retail business operating in the rapidly-evolving ecommerce space, it was clear that we needed to provide our customers with an outstanding online shopping experience. We needed to step up our game in order to remain competitive, and the only way we could do that was through Google Cloud,” says Nir Ben-Zion, IT and Cloud Director at Super-Pharm.
“We chose Google Cloud because it truly felt like a partnership. Their personalized, precise support and direct access to their engineering team made a significant difference for us,” Ben-Zion notes. “From start to finish, Google Cloud collaborated closely with us to ensure a smooth modernization of our infrastructure, both internally and for our customer-facing site.”
Innovative models for maximizing sales
To optimize customer experience and boost sales on their ecommerce site, Super-Pharm needed to guarantee that consumers could select in-stock products, purchase them, and ship the items to the brick-and-mortar store nearest to them within 24 hours.
Super-Pharm had access to years of extensive data ideal for demand forecasting purposes, including historical sales patterns, inventory trends, and purchase orders. But the physical limits of their on-premise systems restricted the number of datasets that could be used for predicting sales and determining geographic estimates for inventory demands.
Due to the large volume of data and their inability to process it using their on-premise infrastructure, Super-Pharm was unable to accurately determine the scope of future sales.
BigQuery’s impact on our ecommerce site has been tremendous. Super-Pharm’s demand forecasting is 10 times more efficient now. Our accuracy has improved to 90%, when it was previously about 50%.
Elran Aharonee
Data Manager, Super-Pharm
BigQuery enabled Super-Pharm to transform their data into actionable insights that are leveraged for demand forecasting and smarter logistics, including more efficient use of their warehouses and planning for inventory transfers.
“Vertex AI offered us the most advanced options for our Machine Learning models, along with an intuitive, user-friendly interface that makes implementing our models as easy as creating a table. It’s a holistic solution that covers all the elements we need, with everything included in one place,” says Elran Ahronee.
Demand forecasting for products, based on previous sales history and logical predictions, was the key to ensuring that the right stock was available at the correct locations. Understanding the likely volume of items to be purchased, along with the smartest places to store and ship them, was also central to the site’s optimization.
“Using Vertex AI AutoML model, the impact on our ecommerce site has been tremendous. Super-Pharm’s demand forecasting is up to 10 times more efficient now. Our accuracy has improved to 90%, when it was previously about 50%,” Ahronee adds.
Before using Vertex AI, Super-Pharm relied on an eight-person, in-house team for demand forecasting, along with placing much of the logistical burden on in-store employees and managers. Vertex AI enabled Super-Pharm to sharpen their accuracy, create inventory predictions far more quickly and efficiently, and ease the burden on their employees.
Insights obtained from that project are now applied within their brick-and-mortar locations, with inventory tailored to predicted consumer demand and optimization of shelf and warehouse space.
Data science solutions company Intellerts was also a crucial partner in Super-Pharm’s Vertex AI implementation on Google Cloud. Intellerts provided Super-Pharm with technological, backend support to establish their new Machine Learning-powered demand forecasting system.
Intellerts’ practical guidance was critical for Super-Pharm, as their data scientists helped facilitate the design and creation of the system, which now serves as an essential tool for the ecommerce site.
Additionally, Super-Pharm is using Gemini AI to auto categorize products in their MarketPlace website. Leveraging Gemini and the solution’s data infrastructure, SuperPharm can automatically generate and determine a product’s category and characteristics on the MarketPlace website. This enabled Super-Pharm to learn how to place items on the website’s “virtual shelves” to generate maximum sales.
Leading the competition with Cloud
Transitioning to Google Cloud has been a game-changer for staying competitive as an employer and recruiting talent. Our new Millennial and Gen-Z employees were discouraged by our outdated systems. Today’s talent expects to work with updated tools such as Google Cloud and is eager for opportunities to do so.
Nir Ben-Zion
IT and Cloud Director, Super-Pharm
Super-Pharm’s legacy IT infrastructure, including stagnant on-premise solutions, limited the speed and agility needed to leverage modern applications and technologies. These on-premise systems also created an obstacle for attracting and retaining new employees, who were unfamiliar with their legacy programs.
Migrating to Google Cloud brought Super-Pharm’s IT into the modern era, enhancing collaboration between departments and making the company more attractive to potential hires.
“Transitioning to Google Cloud has been a game-changer for staying competitive as an employer and recruiting talent. Our new Millennial and Gen-Z employees were discouraged by our outdated systems. Today’s talent expects to work with updated tools such as Google Cloud and is eager for opportunities to do so,” Ben-Zion notes.
"Super-Pharm’s modernization of its internal network is ongoing as the company continues migrating legacy systems to Google Cloud. Yet, the benefits of transitioning to a hybrid network are already evident, with more efficient resource utilization, increased productivity, and employees enthusiastic about their streamlined work processes."
Google Cloud partner WideOps was a major driving force behind Super-Pharm’s successful transition, Ben-Zion says. WideOps helped plan and build Super-Pharm’s landing zone within Google Cloud, laying the foundation for all of the company’s Cloud-focused projects. The task of migrating Super-Pharm’s on-premise systems along with data security and structural support, was led by the WideOps team.
Super-Pharm was founded in 1978, and today, it is the leading pharmacy and beauty retailer in Israel with 290 branches across the country (operated by franchisees), 80 branches in Poland, and an ecommerce website. Super-Pharm also owns the eyewear chain Erroca, with over 60 branches.
Industry: Retail
Location: Israel
About Google Cloud Partner- WideOps
WideOps is a Google Cloud Partner with a proven track record of delivering state-of-the-art solutions, serving customers from all industry verticals and sizes.
