3M Opens Consumer Data Science & Merchandising Lab

In the US, product innovation consultancy 3M has opened a Consumer Data Science and Merchandising Laboratory at its global HQ in St Pauls, Minnesota.

The 3M Consumer Business Group develops, manufactures and markets a wide variety of solutions such as Post-it notes and Scotch-Brite cleaning products. In a bid to better foster innovation, its new lab comprises three distinct spaces: Data Science & Merchandising; Data Science and Analytics; and Visualization and Retail. In the Data Science Lab, the 3M team uses science to uncover and apply insights to develop proprietary machine learning and artificial intelligence algorithms. Meanwhile, the Visualization Lab offers a collaborative space to further explore the analytics that underlie those strategies and recommendations; while the Retail Lab can be used for evaluation and testing of packaging and merchandising in an actual, physical space.

Paul Keel (pictured), SVP, 3M Business Development and Marketing-Sales, comments: 'We know that when our customers win, we win. Collaboration is a key part of our brand, and we believe the Data Science and Merchandising Lab will drive even stronger partnerships with retailers as we learn and innovate together.'

Web site: www.3m.com .