Syrup Wins 2022 SXSW Enterprise & Smart Data Pitch

AUSTIN, TX — March 13, 2022 — Syrup Tech, an AI-powered inventory optimization platform that helps retailers increase sell through while avoiding stockouts and markdowns, took home first prize in the Enterprise & Smart Data category at the 14th annual SXSW Pitch® (formerly SXSW Accelerator), the marquee event of South by Southwest® (SXSW®) Conference and Festivals (March 11 - 20, 2022) Startups Track.

In a world with deep supply chain disruptions, true omni-channel networks, and sustainability-minded consumers, there is a need for next-generation inventory systems. Syrup Tech revolutionizes allocation, ordering and planning decisions by leveraging hundreds of internal and external data points that are collected every day to empower merchandising and planning teams to make smarter, faster inventory decisions.

Initial customers have seen dramatic results including:

• A 5-10% improvement on gross margins by selling more inventory at full price.
• A 20-30% reduction in end-of-season and fringe-size excess inventory.
• Up to 95% less time spent on manual planning, allocation and ordering tasks.

Syrup Tech competed against four other finalists in the Enterprise & Smart Data category which featured technologies that increase productivity for businesses and/or individuals by simplifying informational data through new workflows and analytics. These startups, among others that applied, had applications in data collection, management, analysis, presentation, interpretation, security, and augmentation across industries such as business, finance, advertising, and more.

“We’re thrilled to be recognized as the winner for the Enterprise & Smart Data category. Predictive analytics have been transforming many business functions but have yet to make their way into inventory planning & ordering – until now,” says co-founder and CEO James Theuerkauf.

Syrup Tech relies on powerful AI and machine learning algorithms that run 24/7 on real-time data. They’re scanning product assortment across styles, colors, sizes, and POS data for demand signals to determine over-stocks and under-stocks. The algorithms, combined with predictive analytics, offer a variety of recommendations that merchandising and planning teams can either accept, adjust or reject.

“We built Syrup to help today’s merchandising and planning teams make faster, more accurate inventory decisions when it comes to forecasting customer demand. Our hope is to reduce the amount of excess inventory each year that not only costs the retail industry billions but, in many cases, ends up in landfills,” said Theuerkauf.

For more information about SXSW Pitch and to view the complete list of winners, visit: https://www.sxsw.com/pitch