Vendor Selection
for Enterprise Retail

Situation

The organization wanted to use AI for demand forecasting and assortment optimization. There was plenty of supply, but no clear picture of which vendor actually fit the strategy, the data environment and the ambition to scale. Two suppliers had already presented, and both had an internal fan club.

Challenge

How do you choose the right AI partner in an opaque market, without getting lost in demos, promises and polished pitches? And how do you make sure the choice still holds up two years later, when the first setback arrives?

Approach

Criteria first, vendors second. Business, IT and procurement agreed the weighting factors together before a single name was on the table. Twelve parties went through the same process: the same questionnaire, the same scenario on real data from their own environment, the same amount of time. Scorecards were filled in independently and discussed afterward.

Decision

The three-year TCO analysis flipped the picture. The party with the lowest license fee had by far the most expensive integration and the weakest exit path. The eventual winner ranked third after the demos, but won on data fit, integration cost and reference checks we ran ourselves, outside the list the vendor supplied.

Result

A future-proof partner choice with demonstrable value, €1.1M lower total cost over three years, and a roadmap with quick wins and scalable impact. More importantly: a decision document procurement signed off without additional questions.