Executives at American Eagle Outfitters and Dollar General outlined the evolving use of artificial intelligence and other technologies in the retailers' supply chains at Manifest 2026 in Las Vegas last week.
American Eagle Outfitters leans on gathering timely, accurate and actionable data and feeding that information into AI systems in order to make better decisions more quickly, said Brandon Friez, SVP of global logistics and supply chain intelligence, in a Manifest session. Friez said American Eagle has "built a layered intelligence approach" that leans on AI across its logistics network, which he divided into four layers:
- Forecasting: Machine learning forecasts evaluate consumer demand at a ZIP code level, including where sales are going to occur by channel.
- Inventory: American Eagle can quickly reposition inventory as products flow into its supply chain. The company can shift a purchase order's destination to any distribution center "up to a few moments before it hits the port," Friez said.
- Logistics: American Eagle can optimize its carrier selection based on capacity and cost "at a moment's notice," per Friez.
- Orchestration: This layer ensures all the different aspects of American Eagle's supply chain work in unison to drive enterprise-level value, he said.
The retailer also uses "an advanced simulation capability" for its inbound and outbound supply chain to better understand how its decisions will impact the flow of products, Friez said.
For example, as supply chains reacted to a slew of U.S. tariff announcements in April 2025, American Eagle ran network simulations to explore different ways it could mitigate added duties. The company evaluated possibilities such as relying more on air freight or adjusting the mix of countries it sources from. In September, American Eagle executives said they expected to reduce the impact of U.S. tariffs by more than 60% by early 2026, driven in part by more cost-effective transportation and sourcing shifts.
"It allowed us to make decisions that were, you know, millions of dollars in impact," Friez said. "Do we get every one perfect? Never. But it allowed us to stop, think, simulate and then execute."
Meanwhile, AI and technology systems are benefiting Dollar General's operations in a variety of ways, per a presentation from Rod West, the retailer's EVP of global supply chain. For one, they enable Dollar General to segment storebound orders in different ways, providing a more efficient product mix for the location receiving the order. Inbound appointment scheduling also benefits, as Dollar General can more effectively prioritize which products should enter its distribution network at what time, West said. The company uses 38 distribution centers across the U.S.
Dollar General also has an automated storage retrieval system in two of its distribution centers, which enables increased storage density, improvements in picking labor efficiency and better cube utilization to reduce outbound transportation needs, according to West's presentation. The distribution centers using the technology weren't named, but in a 2024 earnings call, Dollar General CEO Todd Vasos highlighted the use of an automated retrieval system at a new facility in Arkansas.
The end goal with Dollar General's upgrades across its supply chain is to drive improved performance at the store level, West said.
"It's important that we are doing things that are going to drive benefits end to end, and for us, that is a benefit that typically shows up in our store, the things that are going to allow them to have a better experience and to serve our customers in our stores more effectively and efficiently," West said.
