XAI for Product Demand Planning: Models, Experiences, and Lessons Learnt

Abstract

Today, Explainable AI is gaining more and more traction due to its inherent added value to allow all involved stakeholders to understand why/how a decision has been made by an AI system. In this context, the problem of Product Demand Forecasting as faced by Whirlpool has been elaborated and tackled through an Explainable AI approach. The Explainable AI solution has been designed and delivered in the H2020 XMANAI project and is presented in detail in this chapter. The core XMANAI Platform has been used by data scientists to experiment with the data and configure Explainable AI pipelines, while a dedicated manufacturing application is addressed to business users that need to view and gain insights into product demand forecasts. The overall Explainable AI approach has been evaluated by the end users in Whirlpool. This chapter presents experiences and lessons learnt from this evaluation.