AI Is Finally Coming for One of Retail's Most Broken Jobs And It's About Time | Spotlight Series
Podcast:Omni Talk Retail Published On: Mon Apr 06 2026 Description: In this Retail Technology Spotlight episode, Jeff Fish, co-CEO of Intelo.ai, and Noah Herschman, Head of Merchandise Strategy at Intello AI, join Omni Talk to tackle one of retail's most persistently under-teched problems: merchandise planning and allocation. From spreadsheet-driven chaos to agentic AI, Jeff and Noah break down why merchandise planning has been left behind by technology for nearly 30 years, how AI is finally changing that, and what retailers can actually do right now to drive real results — including a 47% reduction in stockouts and a 42% reduction in broken sizes. If you've ever wondered whether AI can finally make life better for merchandise planners, allocators, and buyers, this episode is for you. 🔑 Topics covered: Why merchandise planning has been "under-teched" for decades The art vs. science balance that makes AI transformation so hard — and so valuable How agentic AI and agent-to-agent protocols are changing real-time planning collaboration Why inventory rebalancing and size curve optimization are low-hanging fruit for luxury and specialty retailers How Intelo.ai deploys in as little as three weeks — and what results look like 🎧 Don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more retail tech insights! #retailai #merchandiseplanning #retailtech #agenticai #omnitalk #supplychain #retailinnovation #inventoryoptimization #Inteloai #retailpodcast