Episode #1641
From Planning to Retail: Where Supply Chain Is Headed
AI, tariffs, shifting consumer expectations, and new delivery models are creating fresh challenges and opportunities for supply chain leaders. In this episode of Supply Chain Now, Scott Luton and Jake Barr sit down with Gartner’s Noha Samara to bust some of the biggest myths surrounding AI in supply chain planning. Then, Scott talks with Wall Street Journal reporter Liz Young about the forces reshaping retail and logistics, from product assortment and tariffs to trucking, last-mile delivery, drones, and returns. Noha challenges the idea that AI success is simply about doing the same work faster, emphasizing instead the need to redesign jobs, rethink processes, build trust with planners, and focus AI investments on a smaller number of high-impact use cases. She also explains why productivity gains should be measured by the higher-value work AI enables, not simply by workforce reduction. Later, Liz brings a reporter’s perspective to the rapidly changing retail supply chain. She shares how companies are reducing product variety to manage tariffs and complexity, building greater flexibility and resilience into their networks, and navigating increasingly diverse consumer expectations around delivery. The conversation also explores rising trucking costs, the potential of drone delivery, generational shifts in shopping behavior, and the costly challenge of product returns. Key Takeaways AI productivity requires redesigning work, not simply accelerating existing tasks. Organizations need to rethink workflows, roles, processes, and decision-making to unlock AI’s full potential. Trust must come before adoption. Planners need to understand how AI reaches its conclusions and how humans and AI will work together before organizations can expect meaningful adoption. AI productivity doesn’t automatically mean workforce reduction. The greater opportunity may be redeploying saved time toward scenario analysis, root-cause analysis, inventory optimization, and other higher-value work. More AI use cases don't necessarily mean more value. High-performing organizations are selective, concentrating resources on fewer, higher-impact initiatives and building capabilities that can support future use cases. Retailers are using assortment and sourcing decisions to manage complexity. Reducing product variety can help companies concentrate on best sellers while simplifying sourcing and tariff exposure. Flexibility and optionality are becoming essential supply chain capabilities. Companies are diversifying sourcing, improving visibility, reconsidering inventory strategies, and preparing for disruptions that may be impossible to predict. The last mile is no longer just a race for speed. Consumers have different expectations around delivery time and cost, forcing retailers to get smarter about inventory placement and fulfillment choices. Returns and emerging delivery models remain major questions for retail. Drone delivery is expanding while retailers continue searching for better ways to manage the cost and complexity created by online returns. Tune in for a wide-ranging look at what supply chain leaders should be thinking about now and what may matter even more in the years ahead. From separating AI reality from hype to preparing for tariffs, transportation shifts, changing consumer behavior, and new fulfillment models, this episode offers practical perspectives for building supply chains that are more adaptable, focused, and prepared for the unexpected. Additional Links & Resources: Connect with Liz: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bylizyoung/ Connect with Noha: https://www.linkedin.com/in/noha-samara-4864863/ Upcoming Live Programming: https://supplychainnow.com/upcoming-live-programming/ Supply Chain Now Resource Hub: https://supplychainnow.com/resource-hub/ Learn more about our hosts: https://supplychainnow.com/about Learn more about Supply Chain Now: https://supplychainnow.com Watch and listen to more Supply Chain Now episodes here: https://supplychainnow.com/program/supply-chain-now Subscribe to Supply Chain Now on your favorite platform: https://supplychainnow.com/join Work with us! Download Supply Chain Now’s NEW Media Kit: https://bit.ly/3XH6OVk Learn more about Blue Yonder Cognitive Solutions: http://blueyonder.com/cognitive WEBINAR- You Can't Manage What You Can't See: Using Visibility, KPIs, and AI to Optimize Logistics Operations: https://bit.ly/4ql6iem WEBINAR- The Four Eras of Freight Audit: How we got here, and why the Control Era (finally) changes everything: https://bit.ly/4yVXPBx WEBINAR- The Real ROI of AI Analytics in the Supply Chain: Better Answers When Everyone Starts Asking: https://bit.ly/3TpCX6u WEBINAR- The Cost of Skipping the Audit: Why Site Scans Should Come Before Every Pallet, Crate, or Wood Packaging RFQ: https://bit.ly/4AJzReA WEBINAR- How to Stop Losing Margin After a Package Ships: https://bit.ly/4An41Ux WEBINAR- Rethinking the Supply Chain Management Classroom: https://bit.ly/4xJIkM2 This episode was hosted by Scott Luton and Jake Barr, and produced by Trisha Cordes, Joshua Miranda, and Amanda Luton. For additional information, please visit our dedicated episode page at: https://supplychainnow.com/from-planning-retail-where-supply-chain-heading-1641 The content in this episode, including all audio, videos, visuals, and graphics, is the property of Supply Chain Now and is protected by copyright law. Unauthorized use, reproduction, distribution, modification, or re-uploading of this content in any form is strictly prohibited without explicit written permission from Supply Chain Now. For licensing inquiries or permissions, please contact us at production@supplychainnow.com © 2026 Supply Chain Now. All rights reserved. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
