Adlibris is entering into a collaboration with Dema, an AI-driven platform for commercial insights. The goal is to reduce manual reporting and provide the organization with insight into what drives margins. The initiative is a response to operational complexity where more marketing channels and fragmented systems make it difficult to track performance.
Companies today have access to more data than ever before, but that doesn't automatically lead to better decisions. The challenge lies in connecting the information so that it becomes operationally usable throughout the organization, says Nina Egnell, Chief Sales & Marketing Officer at Adlibris.
Dema's system collects data from marketing, orders, returns and customer behavior, among others, in a common data warehouse. Through the platform's newly launched AI agent, employees can ask business questions and receive answers based on the company's actual transaction data in real time.
Focus on Operational Benefit
Dema was founded in 2022, before the broader AI wave gained momentum, by, among others, Babyshop founder Marcus Tagesson. The company is based on a self-developed data platform and quickly raised 4 million euros in venture capital from investors such as J12 Ventures.
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According to Marcus Tagesson, the next step for the industry is to move from experimentation to integrated infrastructure.
We believe that the next phase of AI in commerce is about moving from AI chats and demo presentations to actually performing and automating work that teams can rely on, says Marcus Tagesson, CEO and co-founder of Dema.
When AI is to affect margins, inventory, campaign budgets, purchases and other commercial decisions, a chat on top of a data export is not enough. It requires the right data foundation and connections to the systems where the work takes place.
Clear Trend in the E-commerce Industry
Adlibris' move reflects a broader industry trend. Recently, a number of Nordic e-commerce players, including companies that previously developed a lot of technology internally, have announced AI collaborations.
Among the players who have recently announced AI strategies are Boozt, BHG and Sweden Buyersclub. Boozt launched its AI assistant in Sweden in April and announced in connection with this an acquisition of 20 percent in the Danish startup Dialog Intelligens to accelerate the technical implementation. Boozt says, however, that they do much of the AI work in-house.
ALSO READ: How Boozt Builds Its Technical Moat: "Wants Full Control"
BHG has also chosen an external partner through its collaboration with Swedish Algorithma, where the focus is on developing digital agents for product advice and customer service. Furthermore, Sweden Buyersclub entered into a strategic partnership with the AI company Etals during the first quarter of the year. Their purpose of the collaboration is to automate the structuring of product data and thus be able to expand their range more quickly.