Retailers navigate shift toward autonomous delivery management

The retail industry is undergoing a transition as fast, on-demand delivery shifts from a competitive advantage to an expected service standard. With major retailers increasingly utilizing software agents to manage delivery logistics, the question has moved from whether to use AI to how much authority it should be granted in operations.

Industry experts warn of the risks associated with the proliferation of unproven agentic AI tools. According to Salman Habib, cofounder of Burq, businesses often fall into the trap of seeking full autonomy, which can introduce significant operational risk. Instead, Habib suggests that autonomy should be treated as a trust-based process, where software gradually earns the right to make decisions based on documented performance comparisons against human dispatchers.

While software continues to improve in routing and efficiency, the human element remains central to logistics. Physical last-mile challenges and the setting of high-level operational goals require human judgment that models cannot yet replicate. Retailers are advised to maintain strict records of why specific operational decisions are made to ensure that automation remains a tool under management control, rather than an unchecked black box.