Resilience Over Efficiency: How AI Is Rewriting Retail’s Rules

Re:Tech, Freightos, Agistix, and Aera Technology are all urging retailers to adopt AI not as a bolt-on tool, but as the backbone of how they navigate disruption. As the pace of retail accelerates, tech-savvy retailers are redefining what resilience means—ditching predictive guesswork in favor of embedded intelligence and dynamic response. The result isn’t a smarter dashboard—it’s a structurally smarter business.

For retailers still chasing cost reductions through legacy optimization tools, Yael Kochman offers a blunt diagnosis: "You’re solving yesterday’s problems."

As CEO of Re:Tech.io, a retail-focused innovation lab and advisory firm, Kochman works with both brands and tech vendors. Her message is consistent: resilience—not just efficiency—needs to be baked into the retail operating model. "We’ve moved from a world of forecast-and-execute to a world of constant adaptation," she says. "Planning cycles are collapsing. And if your systems can’t adjust in real time, your competitors will."

Yael Kochman, CEO of Re:Tech

She points to retail clients adopting AI-powered control towers, autonomous planning platforms, and digital twins to navigate everything from supplier disruptions to extreme weather. The goal isn’t to predict the future perfectly, she says—it’s to be structurally ready for anything.

"Resilience is about optionality," Kochman adds. "Smart retailers are investing in capabilities that keep doors open, shelves stocked, and customers engaged—even when the unexpected hits."

Ian Arroyo: Navigating Volatility at the Container Level

If resilience starts at the top, it gets real at the port.

Ian Arroyo, Chief Strategy Officer at Freightos, says that for many retailers, freight volatility is no longer a quarterly hiccup—it’s a strategic concern.

“Retailers used to rely on stable shipping schedules and predictable costs. That’s gone,” Arroyo says. “When your freight costs double mid-season or your containers get rolled last-minute, your margins take the hit.”

Ian Arroyo, Freightos chief strategy officer

Freightos, which operates a real-time freight booking platform and maintains the Freightos Baltic Index, sees retailers shifting toward more dynamic procurement practices. "The leaders are the ones simulating shipping scenarios daily, not quarterly," he says.

According to Arroyo, large retailers are increasingly integrating real-time freight data into inventory and promotion planning. This allows them to reallocate budgets, stagger launches, or even pull products altogether when logistics costs spike.

"AI in retail logistics isn’t about autopilot," he says. "It’s about visibility and rapid response. The market punishes slowness."

Trevor Read: Visibility Isn’t Just for Supply Chains

Agistix may be best known for supply chain visibility tools, but President Trevor Read says the company is seeing growing demand from retailers trying to unify operational data across internal teams.

"In retail, silos kill speed," Read says. "Merchandising, logistics, and store ops are often working off different datasets, which slows everything down."

Agistix helps retail clients surface actionable data from fragmented systems—especially around inbound shipments and fulfillment lead times. Read argues that visibility is no longer a back-office function. It’s a competitive lever.

Trevor Read, President at Agistix

"When retailers can see delays coming before they hit the store, they can change promotions, shift inventory, or redirect orders to e-commerce," he explains. "That’s how you stay relevant in today’s market."

He’s also bullish on what he calls "collaborative visibility," where retailers and suppliers share data in real time. “It’s not enough to optimize your own house. You need to align with your ecosystem.”

Fred Laluyaux: Retail Decisions at Machine Speed

For Aera Technology CEO Fred Laluyaux, AI’s most transformative impact in retail comes from decision automation.

Aera’s "Decision Intelligence" platform is designed to automate those calls—not just suggest them. That includes pricing adjustments, reorder points, assortment tweaks, and more. "We’re not talking about replacing people," he clarifies. "We’re enabling them to focus on strategic exceptions while AI handles the routine but essential decisions."

According to Laluyaux, the real challenge is cultural: convincing organizations to trust AI enough to act on its recommendations. But once they do, he says, the performance gains are hard to ignore.

Fred Laluyaux, Co-Founder and CEO, Aera Technology

The New Playbook

Together, these four perspectives point to a retail future where AI is embedded, not optional. It’s not just about better analytics—it’s about faster reactions, tighter coordination, and systems designed for surprise. Whether it's Kochman advocating for real-time resilience, Arroyo pushing for dynamic logistics, Read enabling cross-functional data access, or Laluyaux automating decision-making at scale, one thing is clear: retail is no longer a slow-moving beast. It’s a high-speed, high-stakes environment where adaptability wins, and AI is the infrastructure making it possible.

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