Frequently Asked Questions

Celes is an artificial intelligence platform for retail supply chains in Latin America. It forecasts the demand of every product in every store (SKU × store × day) and turns that forecast into executed decisions: store replenishment, transfers, purchase orders and supplier collaboration.

Celes is a Colombian company founded by Luis Almanza (CEO), Luis Miguel Ballestas and David Florián. It is backed by FEMSA Ventures, FEMSA's investment arm, together with MatterScale, Rockstart, Primeline, Wayra Hispam, Kuiper VC, NOA Capital and Storm Capital, and it is ISO 27001 certified.

Celes is built for the operating reality of Latin American retail: SKU × store × day forecasting that learns from every sale, replenishment and purchasing executed on that forecast, AI agents (Autopilot) that run the inventory policy within the team's rules, implementation in weeks and a Customer Success team in the region. It replaces spreadsheets and generic ERP modules, not the ERP.

Sales history by SKU and store, current inventory, product and store masters, and logistics parameters such as lead times, pack sizes and delivery frequencies. It connects to the existing ERP, POS or WMS through API, files or EDI.

Yes. Celes reads and writes data through API, files or EDI and has been integrated with ERP, POS and WMS systems from different vendors. The ERP remains the system of record; Celes returns the decisions (replenishment orders, transfers and purchases) to be executed there.

It is the layer of AI agents that executes, every day and for every SKU in every store, the inventory decisions within the rules the team defines, with autonomy levels from proposing to running the full policy, and a log of every action for audit.

Most clients reach break-even within the first 6 to 12 months of operation, driven primarily by inventory reduction and lost sales recovery. Impact is measurable from the first weeks in production.

You get a centralized dashboard with real-time visibility into sales, inventory, lost sales, and forecast accuracy. Each client has a personalized performance panel consolidating key business KPIs.

Pricing depends on the volume of stores, SKUs, and modules contracted. We offer an annual contract model with no hidden fees. In the demo we present a personalized proposal with ROI projection for your operation.

Between 3 and 12 weeks from contract signature to running in production, depending on the number of stores, categories and integrations; the first stores are usually live within the first weeks. That is a fraction of what is typical in supply chain planning software, where an implementation can take more than a year. No third-party consultants are required: integration is a direct project between the client and the Celes team.

No. The Celes team leads and manages the entire integration process. We form a mixed project team with leads from both sides to tackle implementation together.

Yes. Celes integrates natively with the leading enterprise systems including SAP, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Oracle NetSuite, Blue Yonder, Infor, Epicor, Odoo, and Salesforce Commerce Cloud, among others.

No. Celes doesn't replace your SAP, Oracle, or Dynamics — it enhances them. It installs as an AI layer on top of your existing stack, turning your data into accurate demand forecasts and automating purchasing and replenishment decisions.

Celes models operate at the SKU × store × day level, incorporating historical sales, seasonality, promotions, weather, and local events. Using Machine Learning and daily retraining, the platform delivers forecasts with over 95% accuracy.

Always. Celes Autopilot operates within the rules and limits your team configures. You can define manual approval thresholds, exceptions by category or supplier, and the team can intervene at any time.

Celes incorporates promotional and event variables as explicit model inputs. For new launches without history, it applies models from similar products. Supplier constraints are configured as system policies and updated in real time.

Celes works for any retail vertical: food, pharmacies, apparel, home goods, and more. Clients like Cruz Verde, Puppis, Maja Sportswear, and Tiendas 3B operate in very different categories.

Yes. Celes can work with multi-channel data and considers omnichannel demand in forecasts and inventory decisions.

On the contrary. Celes frees the team from repetitive operational tasks so they can focus on supplier negotiation, category strategy, and exception analysis.

Celes is designed for business profiles, not technical teams. Onboarding includes in-person training, virtual workshops, and access to Celes Academy — the 24/7 training platform.

Celes is ISO 27001 certified. Data is hosted in cloud infrastructure with encryption in transit and at rest. The security policy and DPA are shared before signing any contract.

Each client has a dedicated Customer Success Manager and access to ongoing technical support. Post go-live support is a core part of the service.

Celes operates across Latin America with clients in Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Chile, and more.