Part 3: Agentic AI Deepening Supplier-Retailer Partnerships

Part 3: Agentic AI Deepening Supplier-Retailer Partnerships

The deeper shift is in how collaboration between retailers and suppliers happens. Instead of relying on meetings and contracts, agents negotiate, coordinate, and solve problems together in real time. These agents operate across company lines, linking retailers, suppliers, logistics networks, and payment systems through structured, machine-readable requests.

To support this, organizations need shared protocols, interoperable data models, and the confidence to let agents act without constant human supervision. This approach enables faster decisions, more accurate responses, and scalable coordination across the entire value chain.

Download: Part 3 – Milo and the Retail Marketplace

 

Preface: What happens next in retail

Retailers are under pressure to deliver more automation, more personalization, and more efficiency. Most efforts focus on improving what already exists. But a different model is taking shape — one where AI agents act on behalf of customers, working across systems to complete real tasks with minimal input.

This paper introduces a set of ideas that help explain how this shift will unfold. It is not a technical manual, and it does not assume implementation is around the corner. Instead, it offers a way to think differently about the systems we build and the assumptions we carry into that process.

The underlying technologies are already here. They are not yet reliable enough to manage mission-critical operations at scale — but they are improving fast. Every month, what was previously experimental becomes product ready.

This paper is written for decision makers who want to stay ahead of that curve. Not to react later, but to prepare now.