Last month, we talked about Decision Intelligence and why labour is the obvious place to start in warehouse operations. A recent analyst conversation sharpened that point.
There are lots of labour planning tools in the market but there are far fewer true optimisation systems. And the difference matters. Planning helps you build a rota. Optimisation helps you understand demand, cost, constraints and trade-offs, then recommends the best course of action across the operation.
For us, real optimisation needs to combine labour forecasting, cost-to-serve analytics, labour optimisation, descriptive analytics and integration into the wider operating stack. Without that, it is probably still planning.
The same applies to AI agents. Operators do not need black-box autonomy. They need suggestive systems that surface the best options, explain the trade-offs and help teams make better decisions faster.
That’s what we do.
If you want to know more check out our Predyktable Explained video.
Phil, CEO
Supply chains do not need more software. They need better signals. This piece on GALLO’s use of agentic AI is a strong decision intelligence example, showing how AI can help teams act on supply chain signals before they are delayed, aggregated or lost. (4 mins)
DHL is taking a refreshingly practical view of AI: clean data first, use cases second, hype nowhere near the steering wheel. Its current deployments focus on exception management, analytics and labour optimisation, because while people can make the judgement call, they cannot monitor 200 data sets at once looking for variance. That is where AI starts to earn its keep. (5 mins)
Kearney’s State of Logistics report argues that disruption is no longer something to “manage through”; it is becoming the operating environment. The AI point is especially useful: the gap between leaders and laggards is widening, and the winners are those redesigning workflows around better, faster decisions. (6 mins)
McKinsey says AI could unlock €240bn–€320bn across European retail. The catch? Most retailers will not get there by adding another chatbot. The real value sits in rewiring the less glamorous parts of the business: supply chain, merchandising, labour planning, pricing and the workflows that decide what actually happens day to day. (7 mins)
Not all retail AI needs to look like a chatbot asking if you need help finding jeans. This MIT Technology Review piece looks at how Macy’s is using AI behind the scenes, from search and personalisation to inventory, planning and faster responses to changing customer behaviour. The useful phrase here is “closing the gap between signal and action”. (5 mins)
Everyone wants a Chief AI Officer. Fewer seem entirely sure what they should actually do. This is a good read on why AI leadership needs to be about business change, governance and execution, not just giving someone a shiny new title and hoping transformation happens. (4 mins)
Anthropic suspending access to new AI tools after US government security concerns is a reminder that powerful AI is not just a capability story. It is also a trust, access and governance story. Less fun than a chatbot writing your shopping list, admittedly, but probably more important. (3 mins)
Gemini Live Translate can translate speech across 70+ languages while trying to keep your tone, pacing and pitch intact. Useful for travel, meetings and international conversations. Slightly alarming if you were relying on your terrible accent to hide what you were saying! (3 mins)
Predyktable helps warehouse and logistics teams make better labour decisions before execution begins.
Our Labour Decision Intelligence platform turns demand, workload, productivity and operational constraints into clearer labour plans; helping teams decide what labour to commit, where, when, and with what trade-offs.
The result is earlier, more deliberate decisions, better visibility of cost and service risk, and less reliance on late corrective action such as overtime, agency and firefighting.
We work with retailers, grocers and logistics operators where labour is a major cost, operational volatility is high, and better labour decisions can materially improve control, service and performance. Find out more here
Until next month,
Team Predyktable