Click here to learn more about Nedbank Retail Services.<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\nReddy highlighted how most major brands are now routinely using AI, which has gone from being a back-office function to a strategic powerhouse. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
She warns that businesses that don\u2019t embrace this new technology risk being left behind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cInternational brands like Starbucks, McDonald\u2019s, and Burger King use AI not just for operational efficiency, but to reach customers in a personal, targeted way,\u201d said Reddy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSmaller players like Juici Patties are already using AI to predict stock needs, improve store hours, and boost sales. In South Africa, SPAR, Woolworths, and Total are investing heavily in tech to keep up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, adopting AI isn\u2019t a simple process, as data privacy and cybersecurity are major concerns, and integrating multiple different systems can be very complicated, added Reddy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Evolution of AI<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
While generative AI has become a standard tool for many companies, the next step in AI evolution is agentic AI, which enables greater autonomous action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This includes automating financial and support team processes and adjusting supply in real time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMultinational retail giants are already using these tools, and soon, each of us may have multiple AI agents helping us manage daily tasks,\u201d said Reddy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She also noted that success is driven by adaptability, with staff training, system integration, and ethical data use making all the difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How Nedbank supports companies<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
It can be overwhelming for a business to adopt AI, so Reddy recommends starting small with repetitive tasks and training before moving from reactive to predictive operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She also noted that AI must never replace human roles entirely and that human-centred AI creates safer, skill-based roles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Karen Keylock, National Manager for Retail Franchising at Nedbank Commercial Banking, said that Nedbank understands these challenges and has taken steps to support its clients, allowing retailers to tap into its industry knowledge to track trends and prepare for future changes in the retail sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She added that, along with this, Nedbank\u2019s experts and collaborators support retail sector stakeholders in navigating economic shifts and embracing new opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAt Nedbank, we believe our role goes beyond offering best-of-breed financial products in the market, to providing access to up-to-the-minute insights on major shifts and trends in the industry,\u201d said Keylock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThrough our collaboration with Franchise Coaches, we create opportunities for franchisers to learn from leaders like Vilochanee and translate those learnings into practical strategies for growth.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The future of AI in franchising is no longer coming; it’s here, and companies need to embrace it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Click here to learn more about Nedbank Retail Franchising.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nedbank Retail Franchising and Franchise Coaches recently held a mentorship session where the importance of AI and its adoption in procurement for franchises was unpacked.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":850919,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10459],"tags":[8556,24743,1799,23965,24744],"class_list":["post-850915","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industry-news","tag-ai","tag-franchise-supply-chains","tag-nedbank","tag-nedbank-agribusiness","tag-nedbank-retail-franchising"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/850915","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/57"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=850915"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/850915\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":850935,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/850915\/revisions\/850935"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/850919"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=850915"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=850915"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=850915"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}