Retail AI in Action:
From Buzzwords to Bottom-Line Impact
This summer, Drive Wheel is bringing together leaders in the space to explore practical ways AI is already reshaping how Food & CPG brands operate in retail—from planning and promotions to fulfillment and forecasting.
We’ve curated a four-part speaker series focused on real-world results that go beyond the buzzwords. Short, sharp conversations with companies turning AI from concept into competitive edge. Each Wednesday from July 30 to August 20, we’ll spotlight a different approach to applying AI practically across the supply chain.
Whether you’re experimenting with new tools or rethinking your model entirely, these sessions are designed to help you cut through the noise and get smarter, faster, and more effective.
Guest Speakers:
Decoding Foot Traffic to Win Shelf Space & Sales
J. Hottovy | Head of Analytical Research | Placer.AI
J. Hottovy from Placer.ai opens the series with a look into how retail winners are adapting to ongoing shopper uncertainty. Fewer trips, longer dwell times, and tariff-driven stockups are reshaping behavior, with value channels thriving and others forced to earn attention through smarter plays.
The AI Advantage for Effective Promotions
Alex Whatley | Chief Product Officer | Vividly
Alex Whatley, Chief Product Officer at Vividly discussed how their trade promotion platform uses AI and machine learning to reduce trade waste, improve forecast accuracy, and predict lift and ROI with surprising precision. Their model can train on store-level data and quickly apply those learnings elsewhere—helping brands scale smarter promotions across the board.
Driving Incremental Growth with AI-Optimized Operations
Max Forsius | Product Director, AI Innovations | Relex Solutions
Madhav Durbha | Group VP – CPG & Manufacturing | Relex Solution
Max Forsius, Product Director of AI Innovations, and Madhav Durbha, VP – CPG & Manufacturing at Relex Solutions, shared how they helps unify supply chain planning across functions to reduce the waste caused by disconnected systems—freeing teams to spend less time managing tools and more time leading the business. The platform supports collaborative planning between suppliers and retailers, even with imperfect data, giving leaders a clearer path to joint wins.
Building Resilient Retail & Supply Strategies
Shannon Breen | CEO & Founder | FreightVana
Shannon Breen, CEO & Founder of FreightVana, shared how their power-only model creates the flexibility many shippers struggle to find in today’s freight environment, and how pairing it with their real-time tracking and a transparent, data-forward approach, can help address challenges with safety, waste, and fragmentation that have long held the industry back.
Engaging Discussions Enable Confident Decisions®
When you’re busy with the daily demands of your job, it’s easy to overlook the opportunities that will drive long-term growth. When you become a member of a Drive Wheel peer group, you can identify new strategies, reduce risk, and make confident decisions that will grow your business faster and more strategically.
We host two-day in-person meetings twice a year where leaders discuss their new strategies, innovation plans, and business challenges to get feedback from their peers. Members leave the meeting knowing they have thought about their idea from every angle. Between meetings, we conduct benchmarking studies and weekly news roundups to keep our members informed about changes in the industry.
