InsideOutdoor Magazine

Inside Outdoor | SUMMER 2018 24 annually by removing weather-driven distortions from past sales. With “de- weatherized” baselines, Planalytics says, businesses can improve the ac- curacy of their plans and minimize lost sales and inventory expenses. Plana- lytics helps its customers to understand and quantify the impact of weather volatility for top-level transactions down to the exact location and time. So, with so many options available, how do you select a weather forecasting service that’s right for your business? We turned to AccuWeather director of data science Rosemary Radich for guidance. “Quite simply, customization and accuracy,” Radich said. “Retailers also want to work with a weather partner that takes their unique needs into account for a given industry. And, to get the best predictions and insights, businesses need to work with a trusted weather partner that offers the most consistency and reliability.” AccuWeather, for that matter, was proven to be the most accurate weather provider in a comprehensive study from ForecastWatch. In the report, Accu- Weather was proven to be 33 percent more accurate than the closest provider for weather forecasts. The company was also found to be 41 percent more accurate than the average of all other sources that were examined. “The ForecastWatch study, which measured the accuracy of 95 million forecasts in 1,140 locations in the U.S. and globally, clearly demonstrates that AccuWeather’s forecasts are superior to the next five sources of weather forecasts,” Radich continued. “This ac- curacy, combined with our proprietary data and techniques, ensures the best results for our retail clients.” Radich shared some insight as to how AccuWeather is able to sustain such a high level of performance. “First, AccuWeather forecasts are more localized than other sources,” Radich said. “Further, they are more detailed and extend further into the future. For example, the independent verification by ForecastWatch was based on comparing all New York City forecasts, but AccuWeather provides further detail for each neighborhood and most other sources do not, which means we deliver accuracy not even captured in this comparison.”  Radich also pointed to Accu- Weather’s MinuteCast solution, which provides customers with a minute-by- minute forecast of precipitation. “This powerful combination of ac- curacy and detail, both in location and time, and our emphasis on how pre- dicted weather conditions will impact our users and customers, make Accu- Weather’s forecasts many times more valuable than our statistical advantages proven in this latest study. AccuWeath- er’s Superior Accuracy is powered by exclusive patented technology, the larg- est collection of forecast models and data, leading-edge predictive AI and machine learning, and the best IP and procedures developed and refined over the company’s 56-year history, com- bined with the most talented and expe- rienced group of meteorological fore- casters on the planet. We use Microsoft Azure heavily for responsive API as well as machine learning tech (AML).” For retailers, Radich explained, AccuWeather offers a wide range of services based on its unique weather data insights. AccuWeather utilizes a uniquely detailed, highly localized and accurate historical weather database to help identify statistical relationships between past weather conditions and consumer spending habits and other important data.   Furthermore, she continued, Accu- Weather helps its clients turn such mod- els into prescriptive analytics of factors and statistics that are specifically impor- tant to them. The company can apply analytics and machine learning models to help retail clients avoid stock outs or determine staffing at each location. “AccuWeather’s Impact Indicator and AccuWeather Data Driven Decisions (D3) Tailored Analytics solution alerts our clients for impacts to particular locations so they know exactly what merchandise they need to stock up on, when to alter delivery routes, and how to optimize marketing campaigns and promotions,” said Radich. “In the case of severe weather, we advise clients which loca- tions in a region should remain open and which should close, ensuring safety of employees and customers.” m Tech Savvy Source: The Weather Company; IBM Business