IBM Weather Signals Links Companies and Weather Outcome

Weather Clouds, Image/Tech Mainstream

Weather Clouds, Image/Tech Mainstream

IBM and the Weather Company recently introduced AI-based tool, IBM Weather Signals, which directs businesses in predicting how weather fluctuations can impact business performance well into the future. With certain future weather changes, businesses can adjust supply chains to help ensure accurate inventory, staffing and promotional activities accordingly, particularly to their benefit.

The output of IBM Weather Signals can be integrated with common analytics platforms like Tableau, which offers an intuitive dashboard environment and interactive capabilities to determine the link between weather and business performance and its relation to business forecast planning.

Intended to decrease waste and produce beneficial results, such as increase productivity and profits, IBM Weather Signals can be summarized as follows:

“IBM Weather Signals uses Watson AI to merge weather data with a company’s operational data to create a model that can predict how anticipated seasonal weather conditions, or even minor fluctuations in temperature, wind chill or humidity, are anticipated to impact business performance, right down to sales of individual product categories at specific locations.”

By applying this technology to supply chains companies can alter inventory to accommodate changes in demand. This technology is particularly relevant to retail, consumer packaged goods, services, hospitality, entertainment and travel and transportation industries due to their high sensitivity to changes in daily or seasonal weather conditions.

“Companies instinctively know that weather impacts their businesses, but most rely on historical weather norms to make assumptions about the future,” said Kristen Lauria, General Manager of Watson Media and Weather.

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