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Felipe Caro
MIT Ph.D. & UCLA Professor
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Santigo Gallino
Wharton Ph.D. & Wharton Professor
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Víctor Martínez de Albéniz
IESE Business School & MIT Ph.D.
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.
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.
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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.
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.
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.
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.
