Did you know that U.S. retailers send $18.2 BILLION worth of spoiled food a year to the landfills? Even before COVID-19 hit and caused even more spoiled food, three Stanford grads were working on software to limit this awful waste. Their startup Afresh, based in San Francisco uses AI-based algorithms to help retailers with keeping their fresh food inventories optimized.

Already, since 2016, Afresh has saved several grocery chains millions by halving their fresh food waste. This is done by figuring out what consumer demand will actually require supermarkets to stock. For example, bananas are a very common food that goes to waste. Still, think about how tricky it is for a produce manager to decide just how many bananas are needed in stock at one time. The same goes for other produce, bakery, and fresh meat items.

Imagine a world where food doesn’t just sit around to spoil! AI inventory management is likely to become a huge benefit over the next decade. Of course, AI could help retailers beyond the food industry. Online delivery services are likely to require more sophisticated logistics software, as more people have become comfortable with ordering online. However, due to so much package congestion, items have been going missing. AI is likely going to find solutions to these issues.

This is why learning how to code has become such a valuable skill. Having a strong grasp of programming languages like C, Python, and more can allow you a wide range of opportunities. Heuristic-based programs are going to help automate so many repetitive daily tasks. Best of all, most of this clever software is designed for mobile devices, such as tablets and often even smartphones.

If you have any programming experience, or are willing to learn, YOU could be helping to write the next innovative program to reduce waste. It’s so low cost today to learn code and you could be helping to head up the next multi-million (or even billion) dollar start-up. All you need is a few good ideas, a good opportunity to provide a valuable SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) program, and some really hard work.