How AI helped a retailer prevent stockouts

How AI Helped a Retailer Prevent Stockouts

A national retailer combined optimization modeling with large language models to address the issue.

Supply chain leaders have long used optimization to make sense of complexity, from network design to replenishment, as mathematical models provide clarity in uncertain situations.

However, these models often struggle to communicate their solutions, leading to a communication gap.

When the plan cannot be explained, it will not be adopted.

This paradox results in companies investing heavily in optimization engines, only to have the resulting plans reworked, delayed, or ignored.

In 2024, a national hardlines retailer confronted this problem directly by fusing optimization modeling with large language models.

Author's summary: AI helps retailer prevent stockouts with optimization modeling.

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Supply Chain Management Review Supply Chain Management Review — 2025-11-04

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