This contributed story by Dr. Michael Feindt, strategic advisor with Blue Yonder, originally appeared in Forbes on May 20, 2020. Excerpts from the story below. To see the full story Forbes.com.

As software as a service (SaaS) becomes more of a staple model for businesses to adopt, our approach as vendors has transformed. We’re no longer just facilitators of digitalization – we’re on the front line of customer success.

For artificial intelligence (AI), this notion takes on extra significance. Here, industries like retail and the supply chain may well have realized the benefits of outsourcing their digital processes and storage to third parties and the cloud. But, as we’ve explored previously, they’re not yet as forthcoming as they should be when it comes to outsourcing the art of decision making.

This gives us a responsibility on two fronts: To leverage the SaaS trend for the enrichment of our customers and to repay their faith in a realm they’re only just coming to terms with in the form of data-driven optimization of „supply and demand.”