In this episode of Confessions of Supply Chain Executives, host Chris Walton sits down with Omar Akilah, SVP of Product at Infios, and Aadil Kazmi, Head of AI Product Development at Infios, to tackle one of the biggest questions facing retail leaders today: Are retailers actually ready for agentic AI? While AI dominated the conversation at NRF, the reality inside many retail organizations is far more complicated. Many companies are still struggling with fragmented systems, unclear strategies, and uncertainty about where AI should even be applied.
Omar and Aadil break down what agentic AI really means for commerce, how it differs from traditional generative AI, and why the biggest opportunity may not be flashy customer experiences but rather the operational backbone of retail: supply chain execution. From autonomous order monitoring to real-time visibility across the entire order lifecycle, they explore how agentic AI could fundamentally reshape how retailers manage fulfillment, delivery promises, and operational decision making.
The conversation also challenges common assumptions about AI readiness, including why retailers may not need perfect data infrastructure to begin adopting agentic AI and what leaders should actually focus on in the next 30 days if they want to stay competitive.
Key Topics Covered:
• 00:00:20 – Why many retailers are still unprepared for the next wave of AI
• 00:03:25 – What agentic AI actually means and how it differs from generative AI
• 00:06:23 – How agentic AI will impact the entire retail value chain
• 00:13:50 – Why supply chain execution is a prime use case for AI agents
• 00:17:46 – How autonomous order visibility can transform customer experience
• 00:29:54 – Why retailers may not need a perfect data lake to begin adopting AI
• 00:32:07 – The three ways retailers can approach AI adoption
• 00:35:47 – How companies get stuck in “AI pilot purgatory”
• 00:45:15 – The first practical AI use case retailers should implement
Be careful out there,
– Chris and the Omni Talk Team
P.S. Be sure to check out all our other podcasts from the past week here, too: https://omnitalk.blog/category/podcast/
Music by hooksounds.com
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Omni Talk® is the retail blog for retailers, written by retailers. Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga founded Omni Talk® in 2017 and have quickly turned it into one of the fastest growing blogs in retail.