Modern Inventory Optimization

Modernizing Retail was an executive event series focused on retail supply chain excellence in the age of AI, pricing volatility, and visibility challenges. The event was produced in partnership with ToolsGroup, Spinnaker SCA, and Planalytics. This on-demand session features the standout presentation from the event, delivered by Jeanette Barlow, Chief Product Officer at ToolsGroup.

Modern inventory optimization in retail refers to the use of AI-driven, probabilistic planning methods to determine the right inventory levels at every location in a distribution network — balancing service level targets against working capital constraints. Unlike traditional coverage-period or min-max approaches, modern optimization models the full range of demand uncertainty at the SKU-location level and automatically adjusts safety stock, replenishment triggers, and allocation decisions to maintain target availability with minimum inventory investment.

ToolsGroup uses a probabilistic forecasting engine that models a full probability distribution of demand for every SKU and location, rather than generating a single-point forecast. This distribution is used to set optimal safety stock levels and trigger automated replenishment orders that maintain target service levels under demand uncertainty. The platform integrates inventory optimization with demand sensing, pricing optimization, and S&OP to ensure that inventory, pricing, and replenishment decisions are made in a connected, coordinated way.

Jeanette Barlow is the Chief Product Officer at ToolsGroup, responsible for the product strategy and roadmap of ToolsGroup's AI-powered supply chain planning platform. In this session, she presents ToolsGroup's perspective on modern inventory optimization, AI-driven pricing, and the retail visibility gap — drawing on ToolsGroup's experience with over 400 enterprise customers across retail, manufacturing, and distribution.