How Personalization and Supply Chain Efficiency are Driving Retail Resurgence

Designed for retail leaders and lovers alike, Retail Refined explores the in-store technology of the future, challenges the industry’s preconceived notions, and brings together retail’s biggest names to understand the brand strategies that will define the next decade in retail.

 

Melissa Gonzalez, host of MarketScale’s Retail Refined, knows what’s at the top of everyone in the industry’s mind as 2021 dawns – more personalized experiences and better supply chain efficiency.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, these two trends are paramount. Consumers are still hesitant to shop in person in many cases but, when they do, they’ll likely return to elevated expectations for personalized and tailored experiences. Those experience also transfer to online shopping, where data and analytics can help find ways to cater to individual consumers engaging in eCommerce.

More pressing on the backend of retail operations, though, is the need to find ways to ensure the supply chain keeps pace with all of this innovation.

To dive further into personalization and optimization of the supply chain, Gonzalez invited Paul Burel, Senior Consultant within Fujitsu America’s Consumer and Commercial Industries Group, onto the show to share his insights.

Prior to joining Fujitsu, Burel held several senior management roles in Store Operations and IT at Home Depot. He is also a consulting engineer with extensive experience in retail store design and construction andcomes from a family retail business that owned and operated grocery, hardware and convenience stores.

“A lot of conversations we’re having as we’re relooking at store design are about how we make these environments as agile and modular as possible, so they can flex as needed throughout key times of the year,” Burel said. “It’s a lot to think through, for sure, with all these technology integrations. I think one of the silver linings is all the learnings that we can garner, and I think that there’s a much more concerted effort within brands and retailers to understand that data and take actionable steps based on that. I think it also helps the ability to deliver upon personalization and really being able to map out customer journeys and offerings to satisfy what different consumers are looking for.”

Listen to Previous Episodes of Retail Refined Right Here!

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!

Image

Latest

CaseFlow
CaseFlow by Vecna Robotics: Smarter, Safer Case Picking with Robotic Orchestration
May 8, 2025

At ProMat 2025, Vecna Robotics introduced CaseFlow, a next-generation case picking solution that combines robotic automation with real-time orchestration to deliver faster, safer, and more efficient warehouse operations. Presented by Senior Product Manager Rebecca Li, CaseFlow is designed to more than double productivity while reducing labor costs and improving safety—without the need to overhaul existing…

Read More
Pivotal Orchestration
Pivotal Orchestration: Real-Time AI Coordination for Smarter, Safer Warehousing
May 8, 2025

At the heart of Vecna Robotics’ automation ecosystem lies Pivotal Orchestration—a powerful, real-time coordination engine that transforms how warehouse operations are managed. Showcased at ProMat 2025 by Senior Product Manager Rebecca Li, this orchestration platform is the key to unlocking seamless collaboration between autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), human associates, and warehouse management systems (WMS). Unlike…

Read More
EV
What is Unreasonable Hospitality in EV Environments?
May 8, 2025

As electric vehicle adoption surges—projected to make up over half of all new car sales in the U.S. by 2030—the expectations around where and how we charge are rapidly evolving. Charging stations are no longer just utility hubs; they are becoming lifestyle touchpoints. Today’s EV drivers seek more than speed and convenience—they want frictionless technology,…

Read More
educators
Nontraditional Education Is Outpacing the System With Real-World Skills, Student-Led Ventures, and Community-Driven Networks
May 7, 2025

Across the country, a growing number of students and educators are taking education into their own hands—literally. As frustration with traditional education mounts, a new wave of entrepreneurial energy is leading to radically reimagined learning spaces. From food forests to fashion start-ups, the classroom looks more like a collaborative studio than a lecture hall….

Read More