When retailers plug into Altana’s supply chain management technology, they now have some timely AI-powered controls. They can game out models of how various tariffs could hit different parts of their logistics operations, and maybe renegotiate contracts or switch suppliers as a result, according to Amy Morgan, Altana’s VP of trade.

What Altana doesn’t offer—and what no other AI tool can really promise right now—is a way to confidently predict the future. At a time when a scattershot trade war has thrown global trade into flux, fast-changing policies are testing the limits of AI’s predictive powers.

Tech vendors say AI has a lot to offer when it comes to supply chain management, from scenario planning to agents that manage coordination. And retailers have been beefing up on this kind of tech, especially since the supply chain chaos of the pandemic. But there’s only so much that the historical data powering these algorithms can tell them amid unprecedented moves and teetering tariffs.

“[You can say] ‘Here are my top categories, or maybe my top products, that I import and that I sell. I want to know how they’re going to be impacted if the tariffs go back up to 145%. Or what if they come down?” Morgan said. “Or what if I were to find a supplier in Mexico that qualifies for [the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement,] which removes the tariffs altogether?”

“That’s the sort of modeling we’re talking about,” Morgan said. “We’re not passing predictions on what’s going to happen.”

Keep reading here.—PK

Will tariffs increase the business case for AI adoption? It’s a good question. Let’s ask ChatGPT what it thinks.

“Yes, tariffs can strengthen the business case for AI adoption in the retail industry, though the exact effect depends on the nature, scope, and duration of the tariffs,” it said.

The chatbot then went on to explain over several bullet points that tariffs could push retailers to adopt AI in order to accelerate reshoring, optimize supply chains, and forecast changes in demand.

Then again, it would say that, wouldn’t it?

To give the arguably biased bot some credit, though, a whole cottage industry of companies are now pitching AI-powered business tools as a potential solution to tariffs.

• To name just a couple, Salesforce recently unveiled its new “always-on” Import Specialist Agent, an autonomous AI agent designed to rapidly process and analyze the 4,400-page US tariff schedule and provide “predictive insights” and “actionable recommendations.”
• And supply chain management platform Kinaxis just launched an AI-powered modeling tool that allows companies to simulate tariff exposure and generate strategic scenarios to assist with planning.

Keep reading on Retail Brew.—AV

The auto industry is making progress on reducing emissions from areas like manufacturing—but slow momentum on vehicle electrification is causing the sector to fall behind its peers.

That’s one takeaway from PwC’s second annual State of Decarbonization report, which found “quiet, but consistent progress on climate action” across 12 sectors including agriculture, automotive, and energy. The report used GenAI to analyze responses from more than 4,000 companies. Overall, 37% reported increasing their climate ambitions, while 16% said they were scaling back.

“Automotive companies’ ability to close the gap between ambition and progress will depend in part on accelerating product R&D to improve EV range and hybrid fuel economy,” the report concludes, “reducing use-phase emissions and lowering costs for consumers and making low-carbon vehicles more attractive and accessible.”

Keep reading here.—JG

Two decades after Gmail revolutionized the workplace, we’re surrounded by apps promising to make work easier—yet somehow we feel more overwhelmed than ever. From “toggle tax” to AI assistants, here’s how digital workers are navigating an era where the tools meant to help us…might be holding us back.