Cool stuff Google Cloud customers built, May edition: Agentic algorithms for supply chains; virtual try-on APIs; robotic camera operators & more

Overview

Google Cloud's monthly round-up highlights real-world projects its customers built using AI and cloud technology. The May edition features Urban Outfitters migrating its order management database, BASF mapping global supply chains with AlphaEvolve, and other customers using virtual try-on APIs and robotic camera operators. Each example shows how organizations applied Google Cloud tools to improve performance, cost or capability.

Key Takeaways

The round-up covers customer projects including Urban Outfitters, BASF, UKG, WPP, Breuninger, Glance and Movix.
Urban Outfitters migrated its IBM Sterling order management system from an Oracle database to Google Cloud's AlloyDB for PostgreSQL.
BASF used AlphaEvolve to build a digital twin of its supply chain and discover a human-readable algorithm of how its network operates.
BASF Agricultural Solutions manages 180 production sites with more than 5,000 distinct value chains.
Google Cloud references a list of 1,302 real-world generative AI use cases from its customers.

Stats & Key Facts

#Urban Outfitters' Oracle database was a massive 11TB
#BASF manages 180 production sites with more than 5,000 distinct value chains
#BASF fed the model three years of historical data
#Google Cloud cites 1,302 real-world gen AI use cases
#Urban Outfitters' AlloyDB deployment includes two read replicas

About the round-up

Google Cloud regularly profiles customer-built projects.

›Highlights projects redefining businesses and creating new categories.
›Covers Urban Outfitters, BASF, UKG, WPP, Breuninger, Glance and Movix.
›Points readers to a list of 1,302 real-world gen AI use cases.

The article frames these as examples of customers building the future on Google Cloud's platform across many industries.

Urban Outfitters database migration

›URBN relies on IBM Sterling OMS as the nerve center of its global ecommerce operations.
›Its 11TB Oracle database had become a bottleneck.
›URBN migrated to Google Cloud's AlloyDB for PostgreSQL.

The AlloyDB deployment architecture includes two read replicas for low-latency reporting and analytics. Google Cloud and IBM teams assisted with a rigorous, iterative switchover testing strategy. The migration delivered a more favorable total cost of ownership and gave URBN the flexibility of an open-source ecosystem with freedom from vendor lock-in.

BASF supply chain with AlphaEvolve

›BASF Agricultural Solutions manages 180 production sites with more than 5,000 distinct value chains.
›Human planners make thousands of local decisions every day on what to produce and how much safety stock to hold.
›BASF used AlphaEvolve to build a digital twin of its supply chain.

Working with Google Cloud and prognostica GmbH, BASF fed the model three years of historical data and generated variations of the code to see if it could simulate a supply chain matching real-world history. By running thousands of experiments, AlphaEvolve produced a clear, human-readable algorithm that explains how the network operates, significantly reducing error rates compared to the initial seed model and discovering domain-specific supply chain rules.

Other featured projects

›UKG's unification strategy for workforce intelligence.
›WPP's approach to training humanoid robot camera operators.
›Breuninger piloted Virtual Try-On APIs, and Glance created automated video clips.

Movix is cited for improving the production of dental aligners. The round-up promises to return next month with more examples from industry leaders and startups.

Why these examples matter

›Urban Outfitters' migration is presented as a blueprint for modernizing mission-critical infrastructure.
›Rob Frieman is CIO of Urban Outfitters and Raj Pai is VP of product management for databases at Google Cloud.
›They cite cross-organizational partnership and a phased, risk-mitigated approach.

Google Cloud presents Urban Outfitters' migration as a blueprint for modernizing mission-critical infrastructure, quoting Rob Frieman, CIO of Urban Outfitters, and Raj Pai, VP of product management for databases at Google Cloud, on the value of cross-organizational partnership and a phased, risk-mitigated approach.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is this article about?

It is a Google Cloud round-up of customer projects built with AI and cloud technology, including Urban Outfitters, BASF and others.

What did Urban Outfitters do?

It migrated its IBM Sterling order management system from an 11TB Oracle database to Google Cloud's AlloyDB for PostgreSQL, with two read replicas for reporting and analytics.

How did BASF use AlphaEvolve?

BASF used AlphaEvolve to build a digital twin of its supply chain, feeding three years of historical data to produce a human-readable algorithm explaining how its network operates.

How large is BASF's network?

BASF Agricultural Solutions manages 180 production sites with more than 5,000 distinct value chains.

What other companies are featured?

The round-up also covers UKG, WPP, Breuninger, Glance and Movix, spanning workforce intelligence, robot camera operators, virtual try-on, automated video clips and dental aligner production.

The round-up shows a range of customers applying Google Cloud tools to modernize infrastructure and optimize operations.