Blue Yonder Launches Agentic AI to Cut Retail Stockouts and Returns Costs — Blue Yonder Group, Inc.

Event summary

Blue Yonder released new agentic AI capabilities to tackle stockouts and returns in retail, part of its Cognitive Solutions portfolio.
The updates integrate forecasting, inventory planning, fulfillment, customer service, and returns management into a unified system.
Returns Management reduces time to resell returned items by 25% on average, improving inventory productivity.
The enhancements include predictive fulfillment intelligence, inventory network visibility, and AI-guided workflows.
The updates are available now as part of Blue Yonder’s 26.2 release.

The big picture

Blue Yonder’s latest AI enhancements address two of retail’s most persistent challenges: stockouts and returns. With global retail losses from stockouts estimated at $1.2 trillion annually and returns nearing $850 billion in the U.S. alone, the move underscores the growing need for AI-driven decision-making in supply chain and retail operations. The integration of forecasting, inventory, and returns management into a single system reflects a broader industry shift toward end-to-end automation and real-time decision-making.

What we're watching

Adoption Pace: How quickly retailers will integrate Blue Yonder’s agentic AI into their existing systems and workflows.
Competitive Response: Whether competitors will accelerate their own AI-driven retail solutions in response.
Margin Impact: The extent to which the new capabilities reduce costs and improve margins for retailers.