Everything in the Retail supply chain feels urgent right now. Tariffs keep shifting. AI promises to revolutionize shopping experiences. Consumers’ habits are shifting in ways that require retailers to rethink everything from product mix to marketing. Personalization demands are escalating. And that's before you even get to the supply chain transformation work itself: onshoring, nearshoring, diversifying suppliers to reduce risk.
Here's the problem: When everything is urgent, nothing is. Leaders are drowning in competing priorities, and the pressure to respond to each new development creates whiplash. So how do you decide what actually matters?
The Quicksand of Retail Priorities
According to Blue Yonder research, 43% of retail leaders name both improving efficiency and becoming more resilient as top strategic priorities. That's not surprising—what is surprising is that these leaders are far less confident about achieving resilience (only 77% feel confident) compared to technology implementation (91% confident).
Here's where it gets interesting. Supply chain transformation is both one priority on the list and a universe of competing priorities within itself. It's like quicksand: the more you struggle with competing demands, the deeper you sink. Retailers are trying to decide whether to focus on supply chain transformation or personalization or AI-driven commerce, but if they choose the former, they immediately face another decision tree: Which structural improvements matter most? What sequence creates the clearest path forward?
Most retailers need to prioritize supply chain transformation before they can effectively meet the demands of other trends. Our advice: Start by focusing on the fundamentals in favor of shiny solutions.
The Framework: Prioritizing What Actually Matters for Your Supply Chain
Start with metrics alignment before any work begins. Not vendor metrics that make their solutions look good. Not departmental KPIs that optimize supply chains at the expense of the broader business. Enterprise-level outcomes that matter to people who don't live in supply chain operations.
Ask the questions that force clarity: Will this reduce cost to serve? Will this improve forecast accuracy in ways that actually impact inventory turns? Does this build capability we'll need in three years, or just solve today's problem? Does this fix a structural weakness, or does it add complexity on top of broken foundations?
Here's the uncomfortable truth: Boring often wins. Unglamorous data cleanup, process standardization, and system stability deliver more value than flashy innovation layered on top of dysfunction. Research from the National Retail Federation (NRF) shows that efficient supply chain management can reduce costs by up to 20%—but that efficiency comes from getting the fundamentals right, not from implementing the trendiest technology.
Track Value Consistently or Lose Focus
Defining metrics upfront is meaningless without consistent tracking throughout execution. This is where most transformation efforts lose their way. Something new and urgent emerges (and it will), and suddenly the original priorities get deprioritized without anyone consciously deciding to do so.
Consistent tracking does two things. First, it prevents scope creep and mission drift. When you're measuring progress against specific outcomes, it's harder for the work to gradually shift into something else entirely. Second, it builds credibility through demonstrated value. "We said we'd deliver X, here's proof we delivered X" is how supply chain moves from service center to strategic partner. You're speaking the language of business outcomes with receipts.
Consider how a global fashion brand approached their North America logistics strategy. They could have chased multiple initiatives simultaneously, but instead prioritized premium service for key customer segments and product lines. They positioned regional fulfillment centers with optimized inventory assortments, then tracked two specific metrics: customer experience improvements within the prioritized segment and split-shipment cost reduction. Consistent measurement kept the entire organization focused on what mattered, not what felt urgent.
This discipline also gives you permission to say no. When you can point to committed metrics and current progress, you have grounds to deprioritize the latest urgent request.
What Matters Now
Two things are true for retail supply chain leaders:
- Everything still feels urgent.
- You can’t transform while constantly fighting fires.
94% of retail leaders feel confident about improving quality of service. Only 64% feel confident about breaking down silos to ensure end-to-end supply chain connection. That gap tells you everything. The structural, “boring” work is the hardest. It's also the most necessary.
Leaders who define what matters upfront, measure consistently throughout execution, and build structural strength before chasing innovation are positioning their teams as indispensable.
They're also sleeping better at night.
Want to hear more about how retail leaders are navigating these decisions? Jayson Hill, Senior Managing Director, shared his insights on strategic prioritization at RILA LINK 2026. Check out our newsroom story.
