Retail runs on inventory management. And inventory management increasingly runs on artificial intelligence.
Historically, retail forecasting and replenishment have been constrained by lagging indicators and siloed systems, forcing teams to make judgment calls based on incomplete or outdated information. AI, by contrast, enables the ingestion and analysis of vast datasets in near real time, surfacing patterns that would be invisible to traditional models.
To hear more about how this is reshaping supply chain operations at the retail industry’s highest levels, PYMNTS sat down with Camille Fratanduono, Lowe’s SVP, Inventory Replenishment and Planning; and Greg Wilson, VP Field Strategy at RELEX Solutions.
“AI is making the biggest impact in demand forecasting and inventory optimization, where it can process far more variables than traditional methods,” Fratanduono said. “The power of AI allows us to be more precise in how we position inventory. This improves in-stocks on high demand items while reducing excess.”
“What we’re seeing is that successful retailers are moving away from treating forecasting, replenishment, allocation, and store execution as separate activities,” Wilson added.
What Supply Chain Agility Really Means
As Lowe’s itself works to balance the needs of DIY consumers and professional contractors, the home improvement retailer is betting that better data, faster insights, and tighter system integration can turn supply chain complexity and rich operational data into a competitive advantage.
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At the core of the company’s smarter supply chain push is a recently announced platform that combines RELEX’s AI capabilities with Lowe’s internal technology. The ambition is to move beyond manual, reactive workflows toward a system that continuously senses and responds to demand in real time.
“A more unified view makes it much easier to align decisions across forecasting, replenishment and allocation. We can decide where inventory should go, how much to send, and when to move it with confidence,” Fratanduono said.
Wilson argued that this integration, and not any single capability, is where AI is delivering the greatest value.
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“The biggest impact comes from how those things work together holistically,” he said. “Forecasting, replenishment and allocation are all critical, but the real value shows up when AI helps connect them in a more continuous way.”
The result is a shift from static planning to dynamic, continuous decision-making. Instead of relying on periodic updates, organizations can adjust in real time as new information becomes available, whether that is a sudden spike in demand, a supply disruption, or a change in customer behavior.
In practice, that means each decision feeds the next.
“A better forecast should lead to a better replenishment decision. Better replenishment should improve allocation, and vice-versa. And all of that should help teams respond faster when something changes,” Wilson said.
Strategic Shift, Not Just a Tech Upgrade
For Lowe’s, the move to AI-driven inventory management is ultimately about building a more responsive, data-driven organization. After all, few retailers face as wide a spectrum of customer needs as Lowe’s. DIY shoppers prioritize convenience and immediate availability, while professional contractors depend on consistent depth and reliability across projects.
The new platform is designed to reconcile those demands by improving visibility into distinct demand patterns.
“This platform gives us better visibility into different demand patterns across DIY and Pro customers, allowing us to position inventory more precisely by location and channel,” Fratanduono said. “This creates improved availability on everyday project needs for DIY customers while ensuring the depth and reliability Pros depend on.”
“Supply chain technology is increasingly becoming a direct driver of the customer experience,” she added, noting that as shopping behaviors blend across physical and digital channels, the ability to respond seamlessly becomes critical.
AI enables Lowe’s to differentiate not just by geography, but by customer type and purchasing behavior, ensuring that inventory decisions align more closely with how customers actually shop.
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