Blue Yonder unveils new AI tools for supply chains

Blue Yonder has released its first-quarter 2026 company highlights, reporting 30 new customer logos during the quarter.

The supply chain software provider was also included in 24 technology industry analyst reports and published findings from its 2026 Supply Chain Compass study, which surveyed nearly 700 supply chain professionals in North America and Europe.

Much of the update focused on product changes for retail supply chain operations, alongside a broader push into artificial intelligence agents and mobile tools for planners, store staff, warehouse teams and transport operations.

In retail, Blue Yonder introduced changes across planning and execution products, including updates to merchandise financial planning and assortment planning tools, a mobile companion app for allocation and replenishment, and additions to order management, returns and micro-space planning.

Its merchandise and assortment planning AI agents are designed to help retailers identify profit risks, recommend actions and build assortments using trend analysis. A new mobile app for allocation and replenishment allows planners to review daily store orders, adjust allocations and confirm quantities while away from their desks.

Inventory and shelf management also featured in the update. Inventory Ops Agent and Shelf Ops Agent now support evaluation of inventory strategies, changes to multi-sourcing setup through natural language prompts, and automation of micro-space planning work.

Elsewhere, Blue Yonder expanded order management and returns functions with sourcing simulator and rebalancer updates, AI models in its Smart Disposition engine, and new AI agents for fulfilment and customer service. It also introduced planogram optimisation features and a mobile app intended to help store associates carry out planograms more quickly and accurately.

AI expansion

Beyond retail-specific tools, Blue Yonder expanded its use of AI agents and role-based mobile apps across planning and execution software. It said the additions were based on customer use cases and feedback.

Among the new releases was a Fulfilment & Sourcing Agent in beta, which analyses product availability, service-level agreement risks and fulfilment performance in real time. Blue Yonder also expanded AI functions for manufacturing planning and transportation management to cover issue detection, resolution support, prioritised briefs, active load monitoring, weather-linked alerts and backhaul identification.

The warehouse product line also received updates, with embedded AI and mobile features added to warehouse management, including operational briefs, guided root-cause analysis and broader functions in its Warehouse Operator App.

Blue Yonder also extended mobile and collaboration features through an Orchestrator mobile app and broader Microsoft Teams integrations. The additions are intended to place workflow prompts and AI-generated insights within collaboration environments used by operations teams.

Survey findings

The company's Supply Chain Compass report pointed to a more cautious view among supply chain leaders than a year earlier. According to the findings, 66% of leaders said they believe they are ready for the future, down from 73% in the previous report.

Improving efficiency and productivity ranked as the top strategic priority for 2026, selected by 35% of respondents. Faster, better decision-making rose to second place after ranking seventh in the previous year's survey.

The research also found that unified data platforms were the most widely adopted new technology among respondents, reflecting a focus on visibility and more integrated, data-led supply chain planning.

Nearly half of surveyed leaders said they were optimistic about the future. The report linked that confidence to stronger visibility, wider technology adoption and a more joined-up approach across supply chain functions.

Analyst recognition

The quarter also brought a series of mentions in analyst research across planning, transportation, warehousing, manufacturing scheduling, retail inventory, workforce management and network design. The list included multiple Gartner market guides, Magic Quadrants and Critical Capabilities reports, alongside studies from IDC and Forrester.

Those references covered both process and discrete industry supply chain planning, transportation management systems, retail forecasting and replenishment, store inventory management applications, warehouse labour systems and supply chain network design tools.

Blue Yonder said it serves more than 3,000 retailers, manufacturers and logistics service providers. Its latest quarterly update suggests it is seeking to tie product development in retail operations, warehousing, transport and manufacturing more closely to AI-based software and mobile workflows.