Celect is a cloud-based, predictive analytics software-as-a-service platform which offers retailers a means to optimize their inventory portfolios in stores and also throughout their supply chain. To achieve this Celect deploys machine learning and optimization, geared towards enabling retailers to analyze and draw inferences from how an individual customer shopping in store or online chooses from an assortment of products. Such analysis can help to show patterns of true consumer demand.
To help to advance its technology, Celect has recently closed out $15 million in Series C financing. This funding, which was led by new investor NGP Capital together with a current investor Fung Capital, was completed in December 2018. NGP Capital is a venture capital fund working in the U.S., Europe, India and China; Fung Capital is the investment arm of the Fung family in Hong Kong, and the firm sources, distributes, and retails consumer products globally.
Celect aims to use the funding to drive further expansion and to accelerate retail market penetration of its artificial intelligence, which is called the Inventory Optimization Suite. This platform provides the means for retailers to make predictions relating to future buying patterns and consumer behavior so that sounder merchandising allocation decisions can be made.
Commenting on the investment, Upal Basu, partner at NGP Capital stated: “While few things remain constant in retail, the customer always comes first. One of a retailer’s toughest dilemmas is determining what, when, where and how much customers will buy, but advances in machine learning and artificial intelligence can now solve that problem.”
He adds: “Led by a seasoned executive team, Celect’s advanced analytics platform offers retailers a reliable way to anticipate – and generate value from – customers’ ever-changing needs. By accurately predicting future demand, Celect helps retailers overcome longstanding inventory obstacles, while driving revenue and gross-margin increases.”
