Fruitnet

Artificial intelligence can now be used to predict the future with unprecedented accuracy. That’s good news for companies in the fruit and vegetable business, where the products’ sheer unpredictability in terms of yield and shelf-life remains the industry’s biggest inherent challenge. Michele Dall’Olio, chief operating officer Fresh4cast, says companies have started to unlock the big potential that AI offers. In particular, he says, greater predictability means greater profitability. “Being able to see into the future, and have a good understanding of what happened in the past, brings you multiple benefits,” he tells Chris White during the latest episode of Fruitnet’s conversation series Fruitbox. Fresh4cast has pioneered the introduction of AI-based yield forecasting software over the past decade, and in doing so has enabled suppliers of items like berries and tomatoes to fine-tune their operations by making them more predictable. “If you think about the medium to long-term time horizon, this can help y