Research & Advisory Hub | Advancing retail intelligence through research & insights

Welcome to invent.ai’s research & advisory hub, a central resource showcasing the thought leadership, research and perspectives of our Scientific Advisory Board.

Led by the world’s foremost retail scholars and PhD experts, the hub bridges academia and real-world retail, translating pioneering research into actionable strategies. Drawing on decades of scholarly rigor and deep domain knowledge, our advisors help retailers anticipate market trends, optimize operations and make confident, AI-driven decisions.

Insights & contributions

The hub is more than a showcase of expertise, it’s a resource where leading scholars and PhD experts share research, analysis and perspectives that shape the future of retail.

Board members translate pioneering research into practical applications, exploring how AI is transforming retail operations, decision-making and strategy.

Invent.ai's Scientific Advisory Board advances retail intelligence through research and insights.

Explore our content

This hub serves as a living library of ideas, connecting rigorous scholarship with practical knowledge for retailers, innovators and industry leaders.

Research & commentary: In-depth analysis of emerging trends, academic perspectives and evidence-based approaches shaping next-generation retail strategies.
Blogs: Practical examples demonstrating how AI optimizes operations and supports informed decision-making.
Articles & thought leadership: Ongoing contributions from our advisors, including research highlights and academic insights.
Webinars: Expert-led sessions offering interactive discussions on retail innovation, AI applications and industry trends.

The research & advisory Hub is continually updated with new insights, research and discussions from our Scientific Advisory Board.

Explore, learn and return often to discover the latest ideas shaping the future of retail.

Research & thought leadership

Alignment over analytics: How leading retailers move faster

Retailers face growing complexity from SKUs, omnichannel inventory and margin pressures. NRF 2026 showed that alignment across forecasting, allocation, pricing and inventory is the real competitive edge.

Platforms like invent.ai help teams act faster, reduce overrides and optimize results without extra headcount.

Insights from NRF 2026

NRF-Retails-Big-Show-2026-1

The solution to service-worker churn

High turnover among frontline retail employees is costly and disruptive. Santiago Gallino, a scientific advisor at invent.ai, and Borja Apaolaza show in their HBR research how analytics can transform scheduling.

By examining factors like predictability, fairness, fatigue and managerial flexibility, retailers can design schedules tailored to each store and employee segment. Their findings highlight that one-size-fits-all approaches fail, and locally optimized schedules improve retention, morale and operational efficiency, without adding costs.

Read the HBR study

Frontline retailer looking to solve employee turnover.

Size substitution and its role in assortment and inventory planning

Felipe Caro, a scientific advisor at invent.ai, and Yi-Chun Akchen explore how retailers can improve assortment and inventory planning by accounting for size substitution.

These insights help retailers use AI to optimize inventory, better meet demand and complement invent.ai’s coordinated merchandising and allocation solutions.

View report

Size substitution and its role in assortment and inventory planning.

Positioning omnichannel inventories to protect revenue

Victor Martínez-de-Albéniz, a scientific advisor at invent.ai, and Alborz Hassanzadeh explore how retailers can strategically allocate limited inventory between online and offline channels.

By positioning stock where it generates the most revenue and protecting higher-margin channels, retailers can optimize fulfillment, improve margins and make better omnichannel allocation decisions.

Explore the full insights

Omnichannel fulfillment for a shoe retailer.

Maximizing retail efficiency through AI insights

In this video, Jiri Nechleba, Scientific Advisor at invent.ai, explains how AI can transform retail operations by connecting siloed data and orchestrating decisions across inventory, merchandising and the supply chain.

By analyzing every item at every store, retailers can maximize profitability, optimize inventory placement and make better financial decisions at the atomic level.