Dylan Telford, the Head of Order Operations at Aries Solutions, breaks down the essential strategies for peak retail readiness. Drawing from over 20 years of hands-on experience in retail operations and strategy, Dylan explains why preparing for the holiday rush is a year-round commitment rather than a last-minute scramble.

The conversation explores the critical need for cross-functional ownership and the power of using real-time data to drive decisions. Dylan shares innovative approaches to staffing, such as on-call models and neurodiverse hiring, while highlighting the hidden costs of returns and the dangers of confusing promotional strategies during high-traffic events like Black Friday.

• Why peak preparedness requires a dedicated leader and a continuous, year-round feedback loop.
• The importance of real-time inventory management and testing order routing rules to balance cost with customer expectations.
• Strategic staffing solutions for distribution centers, including dynamic on-call models that increase worker reliability.
• How to manage the "margin-eroding" impact of returns through proactive initiatives and resell opportunities.
• Using KIBO to automate complex routing rules and protect store staff from being overwhelmed by omnichannel fulfillment.
• A cautionary peak season "horror story" about the risks of inconsistent pricing between online and in-store channels.

To learn more about KIBO visit our site https://kibocommerce.com/ and follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/kibocommerce

Jayme Reynolds, Director of AI and Commerce Partnerships at Grid Dynamics, discusses his unique role as a "Chief Dot Connector," emphasizing the importance of connecting people and ideas to solve complex business and technology problems. He highlights Grid Dynamics as an engineering company and systems integrator that works closely with IT organizations to assess and recommend the right technologies for clients.

The conversation delves into the evolving landscape of B2B commerce. Jayme notes that B2B buyers now expect the same seamless e-commerce experience as B2C consumers, including the ability to buy in bulk, receive timely deliveries, and flexibly change orders. He shares examples from the roofing industry, where precise delivery timing for materials is crucial. Jayme addresses the historical hesitation in B2B to adopt modern commerce solutions, attributing it to a long-standing reliance on personal interactions and heavily customized ERPs, which often lack real-time inventory visibility and efficient order management capabilities.

Show Highlights:

• The evolving expectations of B2B buyers for seamless e-commerce experiences and flexible order management.

• The critical need for modern OMS solutions in B2B to manage inventory, fulfillment, and returns more efficiently than traditional ERPs.

• How AI is poised to enhance human creativity and efficiency in the workplace, shifting roles rather than eliminating them.

• The strategic advantage of adopting agile, cloud-native, and API-first commerce platforms.

• The philosophical discussion around the "should" question in AI implementation, focusing on practical use cases that deliver real business value.

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To learn more about KIBO visit our site https://kibocommerce.com/ and follow us on LinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/company/kibocommerce

Sonja Keerl, one of the original founders of the MACH Alliance, joins the show to share her unconventional opinions on technology, ethics, and the future of commerce. By day, Sonja helps B2B SaaS companies with strategy, messaging, and positioning. By night, she is busy creating "Unomundi", a network for children to explore different cultures.

The conversation starts with Sonja's thoughts on how tech professionals have negatively impacted the internet and social media for the next generation. The hosts pivot to Sonja's role in co-founding the MACH Alliance in 2019, before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. She explains the alliance started in a London pub, to unite best-of-breed vendors and offer a flexible, agile alternative to the dominant monolithic platforms. The discussion covers the distinction between headless and composable, with Sonja using children's toys to illustrate how composable software needs interoperability standards to truly be effective for brands. Finally, Sonja discusses the current state of composability, the challenge of SI lock-in, and her vision for an AI-driven, automated future for buying commerce software.

This episode was originally recorded August 6th, 2025.

• The origin story of the MACH Alliance
  
  

• Understanding the difference: Headless separates presentation from content; Composable is modular software for specific business needs, but true freedom requires interoperability.
  
  

• The composable industry faces a challenge with "SI lock-in," where System Integrators provide the "glue" between systems and retain the intellectual property.
  
  

• The collision of AI and composability: modular vendors are uniquely positioned to leverage agents for back-end efficiency and goal orchestration across multiple systems.
  
  

• AI-driven interoperability is the next race and can make composable solutions feasible across different maturity stages in the coming years.
  

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To learn more about KIBO visit our site https://kibocommerce.com/ and follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/kibocommerce

Madhulika Saxena, Product Director at KIBO, discusses the recently launched Estimated Delivery Date (EDD) feature for KIBO's order management system. This feature allows retailers to provide shoppers with a promised date for when they will receive their items, a capability Madhulika considers "table stakes" in today's retail landscape. She emphasizes the importance of this feature for increasing "add to cart" rates and sales across various retail verticals, including apparel, grocery, and home furnishings.

The conversation delves into the complexities behind calculating accurate EDDs. Madhulika explains that factors like multiple inventory locations (stores, warehouses, regional DCs) necessitate accounting for transfer times between locations. Different processing times at various fulfillment locations and diverse carrier shipping methods further add to this complexity. Other critical considerations include fulfillment cutoff times and the ability to factor in future incoming inventory or remorse periods. She stresses that all these elements must be synthesized in real-time to provide the shopper with a reliable and accurate delivery date.

Show Highlights:

• The importance of Estimated Delivery Dates (EDD) as a "table stakes" feature for modern retail, boosting conversions and sales.

• The intricate factors involved in calculating accurate EDDs, including multi-location inventory, transfer times, processing variations, and carrier methods.

• How retailers can optimize customer experience by balancing delivery speed with cost efficiency, and offering flexible delivery options.

• KIBO's plans to use AI and machine learning to enhance EDD accuracy and granularity by incorporating real-time data like traffic patterns.

• The critical role of accurate and real-time data in successful EDD implementation.

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To learn more about KIBO visit our site https://kibocommerce.com/ and follow us on LinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/company/kibocommerce

Rutvee Shah, Director of Product at KIBO, discusses the exciting new rules management feature recently launched for KIBO's order management platform. She emphasizes that this feature provides clients with enhanced control and agility, allowing them to define, configure, and enforce business logic without needing engineering changes. This means businesses can automate decisions, adapt quickly, and align with changing customer expectations more effectively.

The initial rollout of rules management focuses on three high-impact areas: customer return policy rules, safety stock management, and B2B purchase limits. Rutvee provides real-world scenarios for each. For instance, a fashion retailer can set stricter 30-day return windows for clearance items while offering VIP customers a more lenient 60-day window. An inventory planner can establish minimum stock thresholds for high-demand items or specific locations, even adjusting dynamically for seasonality. For wholesale account managers, the feature helps prevent large resellers from over-purchasing popular items or exceeding contractual limits.

Show Highlights:

• The power of KIBO's new rules management feature, enabling businesses to define and enforce logic without code changes.

• Practical applications across return policies, safety stock, and B2B purchase limits.

• Enhanced self-service capabilities for business users, promoting operational agility.

• Future plans to integrate AI for automated rule generation based on desired business outcomes.

• How smart rules can improve customer experiences and reduce manual work for retailers.

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To learn more about KIBO visit our site https://kibocommerce.com/ and follow us on LinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/company/kibocommerce

Lauren Livak Gilbert, a leader at the Digital Shelf Institute, discusses the need for a fundamental shift in how businesses operate to align with modern consumer shopping habits. She challenges the traditional question of where e-commerce should sit within an organization, advocating instead for a complete re-evaluation of organizational structures and processes.

The conversation highlights key principles for the "org of the future," including joint leadership across sales and marketing functions to ensure shared goals and accountability. This approach aims to eliminate internal friction and focus all efforts on overarching company objectives. Lauren also emphasizes the increasing role of AI as an enabler, foreseeing a future where human orchestrators are supported by specialized AI agents for various tasks, from content creation to optimization. The discussion touches on the evolving talent landscape, stressing the need for generalists who are agile and adaptable, rather than highly specialized individuals.

Show Highlights:

• Rethinking organizational structures to prioritize consumer-centricity over traditional departmental silos.

• The importance of joint leadership and shared goals for sales and marketing teams to drive unified business outcomes.

• How AI will transform work by enabling human orchestrators with specialized agents for tactical tasks.

• The shift in demand for generalist skill sets in the future workforce, emphasizing adaptability and a broad understanding of commerce.

• The critical need for companies to prepare their data infrastructure for AI adoption to avoid being left behind.

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To learn more about KIBO visit our site https://kibocommerce.com/ and follow us on LinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/company/kibocommerce

Sachin Sharma, KIBO's Chief Product Officer, discusses the strategic importance and practical applications of KIBO's new dropshipping and marketplace services. He emphasizes how these offerings are not merely new features but fundamental extensions of business models, designed to help retailers expand their product assortments and drive revenue.

The conversation delves into the distinction between dropshipping and marketplace models. Dropshipping involves KIBO's clients listing third-party products on their websites, controlling pricing and promotions, with the trading partner fulfilling the order. Conversely, the marketplace model transforms a retailer's storefront into a platform for third-party sellers, who dictate their own product pricing and promotions, with the retailer earning a commission on sales.

Show Highlights:

• Explanation of dropshipping versus marketplace business models and how KIBO's new services cater to each.

• The strategic advantage of KIBO's unified, microservices-based platform in enabling rapid development and seamless integration of new capabilities.

• How KIBO's dropshipping and marketplace solutions address the pain points of legacy EDI systems, reducing costs and accelerating vendor onboarding.

• The importance of direct OMS integration for dropshipping, streamlining order fulfillment and enhancing customer experience.

• KIBO's client-centric product development philosophy, emphasizing continuous innovation based on customer feedback.

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To learn more about KIBO visit our site https://kibocommerce.com/ and follow us on LinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/company/kibocommerce

Liesl Walsh, a digital retail transformation pioneer, explores the dynamic shifts in the shopping landscape, from fast fashion to immersive retail experiences. Drawing from her extensive experience with retail giants like Gap Inc. and Restoration Hardware, Liesl offers valuable perspectives into how e-commerce is redefining consumer habits, particularly for time-pressed parents.

The conversation examines the rapid rise of fast fashion brands like Shein and Temu, highlighting their innovative customer engagement tactics and the sustainability challenges they pose. Liesl also discusses the growing importance of personalization and technology in improving customer experiences. The discussion further delves into the concept of "distributed commerce," where brand websites are becoming less central as consumers discover products through various channels, including social media and marketplaces. This shift impacts customer data ownership and necessitates new strategies for brands to communicate their value, such as adopting digital product passports for authenticity and supply chain transparency.

Show Highlights:

• Examination of fast fashion's impact on retail, focusing on companies like Shein and Temu, their business models, and sustainability concerns.

• How personalization and strategic notifications enhance customer experience in modern retail.

• Insight into immersive retail experiences and how these experiences transform shopping into an event.

• The role of technology and data in enhancing customer engagement and personalization in retail.

• The rise of "distributed commerce" and its implications for brand websites and product discovery.

• The importance of digital product passports for authenticity and supply chain transparency.

Follow and Review: We'd love for you to follow us if you haven't yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We'd love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select "Ratings and Reviews" and "Write a Review," then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second, and it helps spread the word about the podcast.

To learn more about KIBO visit our site https://kibocommerce.com/ and follow us on LinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/company/kibocommerce