In my last blog, I explored why merchandise planning needs a rethink, from rigid cycles to something more dynamic, responsive, and aligned. But that need isn’t limited to merchandising.   

In fact, it highlights the need to rethink planning across the retail enterprise. This isn’t just about improving isolated functions it’s about evolving toward integrated business planning as a unifying framework. Planning now serves as the ‘decision hub’ that connects finance, merchandising, supply chain, and operations, orchestrating and aligning strategy with execution and enabling faster, more confident decisions across the board. 

 Let’s explore what that looks like in practice and why AI has become central to making it possible across the retail enterprise:  

Finance: The Forecast Isn’t Fixed 

Planning used to be about locking in a forecast. Now it’s about adjusting continuously across inflation shocks, demand swings, and margin pressures. Quarterly reforecasts can’t keep pace with weekly volatility. 

This means there needs to be a shift from fixed models to live scenarios. Board helps finance teams model risk, test assumptions, and connect the dots across cost, revenue, and capital on demand.  

Why it matters: 70% of retail leaders cite macroeconomic disruption as their biggest operational challenge (Bain). Finance needs faster foresight not just hindsight.  

Merchandising: The Shelf Life of a Plan Is Shrinking 

In fashion, luxury, and general merchandise, planning windows have collapsed. One trend can explode overnight. Another disappears before it hits the shelf. 

Retailers need to react at the speed of the customer. Board Agents help planners track demand shifts, simulate allocation changes, and optimize Open to Buy in context. Merchandising becomes adaptive not reactive. 

 Why it matters: The fashion industry generated 2.5–5 billion items of excess stock in 2023, equivalent to $70–$140 billion in unsold inventory and that’s before accounting for markdowns. Even luxury brands saw inventory buildup, underlining how relentless consumer shifts and planning disconnects erode value   (McKinsey/BoF State of Fashion 2025) 

Supply Chain: Resilience Must Be Built In 

Supply chains aren’t built for exception they are the exception. Delays, disruption, and volatility are the new normal. Most networks can’t flex fast enough. 

We’re seeing leaders redesign for resilience: scenario-aware, constraint-based, and margin-conscious. Board makes it possible to sense risk earlier and optimize faster—across sourcing, fulfilment, and service levels. 

 Why it matters: 50% of large retailers are actively restructuring supply chains to handle disruption (Bain). Planning needs to be resilient by design. 

Operations: Execution Is Where Strategy Fails or Succeeds 

The best plans can still fall apart on the shop floor. Poor labor alignment, mismatched stock, or delayed decisions cost real money. 

That’s why we help unify upstream plans and downstream action. Board Agents translate strategy into local action surfacing risks and next steps in time to respond. 

Why it matters: Retailers lose an estimated 4.5% of gross sales annually due to in-store execution gaps (Coresight). Planning must extend to granular customer decisions.  

Planning, Rebuilt for What’s Next 

Planning is no longer a quarterly process or a static playbook. It’s a continuous system— one that must adapt in real time across every decision, function, and signal. 

 At Board, we’re not layering AI on top of yesterday’s workflows. We’re enabling intelligence that fits the realities of modern retail where planners are supported by agents that monitor, reason, simulate, and recommend, all in context. 

 Board Agents don’t replace decision-makers. They extend their reach—helping retail teams move faster, stay aligned, and act with confidence at every level. 

Retailers must kick the habit of optimizing in isolation because disconnected plans and decisions lose value fast. What’s needed now is decision-making that’s continuous, collaborative, and built for what’s next. 

For more on how Board Agents are redefining the planner experience, read our earlier blogs from David Marmer and Fabrizio Straccia 

Let’s talk. 
👉 board.com/board-ai