Intelligent CIO Europe Issue 14 | Page 7

NEWS SAS AI optimises Carrefour’s supply chain and food chain management Carrefour is meeting the challenge of omnichannel distribution and inventory optimisation by using SAS Viya to collect and process data from stores, warehouses and e-commerce sites. Analysis of the data will improve downstream forecasting and upstream ordering with suppliers – reducing waste and overstocks. Following an 18-month test period, SAS Viya will be deployed at Carrefour in a way that allows procurement and replenishment teams greater agility for integrating working methods and continuously improving forecasting processes. Robust, secure, open and elastic, SAS Viya stores and processes large volumes of data and will allow Carrefour’s experts to develop tailor-made algorithms to meet their specific needs. R etail giant, Carrefour, has chosen SAS Viya to optimise its supply chain as part of the company’s global transformation plan to better meet customer expectations through advanced technologies. Carrefour aims to create a unique online and in-store shopping universe where the most suitable merchandise for recognised loyalty customers is guaranteed any time, any place. The deployment of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to optimise the supply chain is a first for the French retail sector. “The SAS Viya deployment will allow us to take a step forward in our supply chain optimisation. Artificial Intelligence will free up time for our teams to focus on developing differentiated forecasting strategies and best meet our customers’ expectations while reducing waste,” said Franck Noel-Fontana, Forecasting Director at Carrefour France. SAS and partner, Capgemini, will offer Carrefour technological and business expertise throughout the deployment. ///////////////// Equinix expands its interconnection and data centre services to Hamburg E quinix, a global provider of interconnection and data centre services, has announced that it will open its first data centre in Hamburg this year. Equinix is investing approximately US$36 million in the purchase, conversion and expansion of the new data centre ‘HH1’ at Vierenkamp, which is expected to be operational in the third quarter of 2019. With Hamburg, Equinix will soon enter the fourth market in Germany. In addition to the data centres in Frankfurt, Dusseldorf and Munich, HH1 will be the 10th IBX data centre in Germany. Hamburg will play an important role in Equinix’s business in Germany. One of the strategic advantages of the location, for example, is the geographical proximity to the North Sea, which offers new possibilities for connecting to submarine cradles. As one of the most important www.intelligentcio.com commercial and business centre of Northern Europe, Hamburg also plays a major role for the European and German economy. Thousands of national and international companies are based in the region and benefit from connectivity with companies, partners, network and cloud providers within Equinix data centres. Donald Badoux, Managing Director Equinix Germany GmbH, commented: “As a port and commercial city, Hamburg has always been known as Germany’s ‘Gateway to the World’. With the help of our interconnection and colocation services, we will soon make sure that this also applies to the digital world. The expansion to Hamburg was the next logical step for us in Germany. With our locations in Munich, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt and now Hamburg, we can meet the rapidly growing demand for interconnection services nationwide.” INTELLIGENTCIO 7