April was a month of mixed signals for retail, logistics and supply chain leaders. On the surface, there were signs of resilience: retail sales held up in places, grocery and rapid delivery networks continued to expand, and investment in AI, automation and warehouse technology remained strong.
But underneath that, the pressure was building, inflation climbed back to 3.3% and food inflation is now forecast to reach up to 9%. Demand remains fragile, costs are rising, and while labour markets are softening, workforce cost and availability are still difficult to control.
Across retail and logistics, the focus has shifted from growth to efficiency; from scaling operations to managing them effectively under pressure.
The message from the month is clear: the organisations that win will not simply be the ones investing most in AI or automation. They will be the ones that can make better, more realistic decisions, faster.
Phil, CEO
Robots are coming… but not for your job! Gartner predicts 50% of new warehouses will be robot-dominated by 2030. The real question isn’t automation anymore; it’s how humans and AI will work together when the balance shifts this far. (5 mins)
AI is solving real operational problems (not just theory). From smarter routing to better forecasting and real-time optimisation, AI is starting to tackle the day-to-day challenges operators actually care about. This is where the value is finally becoming tangible. (6 mins)
Turns out “boring data” is where the gold is. Albertsons is using AI to read supplier emails and PDFs to extract delivery risks and timelines automatically. By linking this directly to store labour, they’ve improved shelf availability speed by 15% during peak periods. (4 mins)
A £5m haulage firm quietly outplayed everyone, scaling to £20m by automating last-mile communication. Their AI calls customers ahead of delivery, reducing missed deliveries by 22% – a simple use case with real impact. (4 mins)
An autonomous AI agent is already handling around 9% of code changes at Delivery Hero. That’s not assistance – that’s capacity. It’s a glimpse of what happens when AI starts taking on real workloads, not just supporting them. (4 mins)
MIT research shows AI’s biggest impact isn’t individual productivity, it’s how entire workflows are redesigned. Tasks are being re-sequenced, grouped, and handed between humans and machines in completely new ways. Think less “tool”, more “new operating model”. (5 mins)
UPS is building a digital twin of its global network to test scenarios like weather disruption or port delays before they happen. Its “confidence score” tool even predicts delivery success before a parcel leaves the warehouse. (5 mins)
Anyone with a Google account can now create up to 10 AI-generated videos per month, dramatically lowering the barrier to high-quality content creation. It’s a glimpse into a world where video production becomes as easy, and as scalable, as writing an email. (3 mins)
AI is increasingly being used across the UK to analyse and prioritise chest X-rays, helping clinicians identify urgent cases faster and manage growing demand. Large-scale trials show AI is already embedded in real diagnostic workflows, not replacing radiologists, but shaping how decisions get made. (4 mins)
We’ve refreshed our website. Not because we fancied a new look, but because the conversations we’re having with operators have become much sharper.
Across retail and logistics, the same themes keep coming up:
- Plans are breaking faster
- Labour decisions are carrying more risk
- And the gap between planning, execution, and cost is getting harder to manage
Most teams already commit to labour. That part isn’t new.
What’s changing is everything around it; how those decisions are made, how quickly they adapt, and how clearly the trade-offs are understood before execution.
So, we’ve tried to reflect both what we mean by Labour Decision Intelligence, and the problem we’re here to solve. If nothing else, it should feel closer to the reality on the ground.
Take a look and let us know what you think, we’re always open to feedback or a general chat!
Until next month, Team Predyktable