{"id":14184,"date":"2026-04-30T11:45:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T09:45:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.optimalways.com\/2026\/04\/supply-chain-logistics-key-lessons-from-retail-tech-thursdays\/"},"modified":"2026-04-30T11:45:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T09:45:07","slug":"supply-chain-logistics-key-lessons-from-retail-tech-thursdays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.optimalways.com\/en\/2026\/04\/supply-chain-logistics-key-lessons-from-retail-tech-thursdays\/","title":{"rendered":"Supply chain & logistics: key lessons from Retail Tech Thursdays"},"content":{"rendered":"

After a “tile tour” on the Champs-\u00c9lys\u00e9es<\/a>, we returned to rue de Valois for the 35th edition of Les Jeudis de la Retail Tech<\/strong>, dedicated to supply chain and logistics issues<\/strong>. The atmosphere was more intimate than usual, but the discussions were rich and fascinating, on a dimension of retail<\/strong> and e-commerce<\/strong> that is sometimes hidden, yet absolutely central to the performance of the customer experience<\/strong>. <\/p>\n

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Cdiscount: a transformation driven by the marketplace, AI and customer demands<\/h2>\n

During this talk, Thomas M\u00e9tivier<\/a> shared a very concrete vision of Cdiscount’s transformation, between the pivot of the business model<\/strong>, changes in managerial culture<\/strong>, the rise of AI<\/strong> and the defense of a French e-commerce model<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\uded2 A major French player in e-commerce<\/h3>\n

Today, Cdiscount is France’s leading non-food e-commerce player<\/strong>. By 2025<\/strong>, the company will have achieved sales<\/strong> of close to 3 billion euros<\/strong>, with 19 million unique visitors<\/strong> and one in three French people<\/strong> visiting the platform every month. <\/p>\n

The model is based on a very broad offering, with 20 million products<\/strong> and 10,000 sellers<\/strong>, who account for around 70% of business<\/strong>. At the same time, Cdiscount still does a third of its business directly<\/strong>. <\/p>\n

This scale shows the scale of the challenge: offering a wide range of products, while maintaining the right level of product quality<\/strong>, price<\/strong> and service<\/strong>. As Thomas M\u00e9tivier reminded us, a good marketplace depends first and foremost on good sellers, good products and good logistics<\/strong>. <\/p>\n

Based in Bordeaux<\/strong> since its creation over 25 years ago, the company employs over 2,000 people<\/strong>. It also boasts its own logistics capabilities, with around a quarter of sales products dispatched via the company’s own logistics network<\/strong>. <\/p>\n

\ud83d\udd04 Three years of transformation to boost momentum<\/h3>\n

On his arrival at the head of the company, in a post-Covid context deemed complicated, Thomas M\u00e9tivier launched a transformation plan built around three major axes<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The first was the transformation of the business model<\/strong>. Cdiscount has accelerated its pivot towards the marketplace, a model presented as more profitable and efficient<\/strong> than direct sales. This has meant working on vendor sourcing, quality, the tools made available to them and the services offered, particularly in logistics and retail media. <\/p>\n

The second was to refocus direct sales<\/strong> on categories where the company already had solid positions and sufficiently strong relationships with brands. This move was accompanied by a rationalization of the assortment and adaptation of logistics resources. <\/p>\n

The third focus was on customer-led sales relaunch<\/strong>. After 2023 was devoted to reorganizing and reorienting the model, 2024 marked a reacceleration on the customer side, with a new brand identity<\/strong>, a new logo<\/strong> and the return of television advertising<\/strong>. <\/p>\n

The first results have been clearly highlighted: in 2025, there are 40% more new customers than in 2024<\/strong>, with growth outstripping that of the market<\/strong>, and a growth dynamic set to continue in 2026.<\/p>\n

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\ud83e\udded A cultural shift as important as commercial transformation<\/h3>\n

One of the most interesting contributions of this speech is undoubtedly the idea that transformation is not just a matter of business model or technology, but also of corporate culture<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

In a generalist group like Cdiscount, the competitive realities differ greatly from one category to another. What makes for success in major household appliances is not the same as in telephony, DIY or toys. The same logic applies to technological bricks, such as payment, where the requirement is to be up to the best market standards. <\/p>\n

To respond to this diversity, we need teams capable of making relevant decisions quickly, as close to the field as possible. Thomas M\u00e9tivier explained that the company had previously operated with a more centralized model, marked by a high concentration of decision-making. The challenge was therefore to bring decision-making closer to the field<\/strong>, to listen more closely to customers and to change the role of management. <\/p>\n

The idea is not to do away with management, but to change its posture: less order and control, more support, the challenge of reasoning and the ability to unblock teams. The approach is inspired by lean management<\/strong>, notably Toyota, as well as examples such as Aramis Auto. <\/p>\n

This pivot is presented as a major cultural change<\/strong>. And, according to Thomas M\u00e9tivier, it is producing very tangible effects: fewer battles between silos, more problem-solving, and a greater ability to deal with subjects that really create value. <\/p>\n

\ud83d\udd0e Start with customer problems to act faster<\/h3>\n

The example of the search engine is a good illustration of this logic.<\/p>\n

Starting from the field and customer feedback, the teams identified a simple but concrete problem: certain queries were not correctly categorized. From there, they were able to rework the categorization system and achieve between 0.5 and 1 additional conversion point in one month<\/strong>, on a volume of 1 billion monthly searches<\/strong>. <\/p>\n

The message is clear: when you start with subjects that are too broad, you get into long cycles. On the other hand, when we start from a specific customer problem, solutions emerge more quickly and can be implemented rapidly. <\/p>\n

\ud83e\udd16 At Cdiscount, AI is nothing new<\/h3>\n

Another highlight of the talk was Thomas M\u00e9tivier’s way of placing AI within a longer history.<\/p>\n

At Cdiscount, AI has been a concrete subject for some fifteen years<\/strong>. At the time, the focus was on data science<\/strong>, but the need was already there: when a site grows from a few tens of thousands of products to several million, traditional systems, notably the search engine, are no longer sufficient. <\/p>\n

This accumulated experience has enabled the company to ride the current wave of generative AI more quickly. But this is not to say that this new generation of models replaces everything that came before. On the contrary, Thomas M\u00e9tivier insists on a logic of pragmatic integration into systems already in place. <\/p>\n

\u2699\ufe0f AI used to do things better, faster and more efficiently<\/h3>\n

The first of these uses concerns the improvement of existing systems, in particular product categorization<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

When GPT-3 arrived, the teams tested the idea of completely replacing their machine learning model. The result was inconclusive. On the other hand, using the model only on uncertain cases proved to be very effective. This approach halved the error rate<\/strong>, on volumes of up to 20 million new products per week<\/strong>. <\/p>\n

And the business stakes are far from marginal: a well-categorized product sells 20-30% more<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The company is gradually extending this logic to other bricks of its platform, from helping to better draft certain messages to automating part of the content generation process.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcac AI that also transforms the customer and salesperson experience<\/h3>\n

AI isn’t just about optimizing what already exists: it’s also about changing the way people do business.<\/p>\n

Cdiscount, for example, has developed its own chatbot<\/strong>, capable of helping customers with their searches, producing summaries of reviews, comparing products or translating a need expressed in natural language into usable technical criteria.<\/p>\n

Today, usage is still limited to a few percent<\/strong>, but the shared observation is clear: customers who use this channel convert better<\/strong> than those who only use the classic route.<\/p>\n

On the sales side, the impact is just as tangible. Where product creation used to involve time-consuming manual work – with 7,000 categories<\/strong>, data models to select and mappings to perform – automation now enables this work to be handled from a simple, raw Excel file. <\/p>\n

The shared result is very tangible: more than a million euros in additional sales<\/strong> were generated in 2025 thanks to automatically created products.<\/p>\n

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\ud83e\udde0 Transforming the way teams work<\/h3>\n

The third use of AI mentioned by Thomas M\u00e9tivier concerns the very way in which teams work.<\/p>\n

The example given is that of offer teams, who have to identify missing products, understand what competitors are selling, spot price discrepancies, detect content problems and identify which vendors to contact. Much of this work, historically very manual, can now be accelerated by tools capable of cross-referencing external and internal data to provide useful signals. <\/p>\n

He also cites the acceleration effect produced by the arrival of Claude<\/strong> and coworking-type<\/strong> practices.<\/p>\n

Finally, the subject extends to IT development. Since early December 2025<\/strong>, certain teams have been putting 100% agent-developed<\/strong> code into production, with human validation at key stages. Complete autonomy has not yet been achieved, but the direction is clear: build forms ofagentic code factories<\/strong> capable of greatly accelerating certain projects, particularly on legacy systems. <\/p>\n

With, in passing, a very apt phrase: “AI is not a palliative for incompetence.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

\ud83c\udf10 Agentique trade: vigilance on visibility, not questioning the site<\/h3>\n

On agentic commerce, Thomas M\u00e9tivier distinguishes three stages in the customer journey.<\/p>\n

First, theexploration<\/strong> phase, where customers are still trying to define their needs precisely. Cdiscount is not yet very active in this area, but chatbots could play an increasingly important role. <\/p>\n

Next, theoffer analysis<\/strong> phase, which is becoming a strategic visibility issue. The company has set up a dedicated team and tests 3,700 prompts every week<\/strong> on different platforms to measure its presence and understand what actions to take. <\/p>\n

Finally, the transaction<\/strong> phase. On this point, our conviction is clear: in the short to medium term, e-commerce sites will remain indispensable<\/strong>. <\/p>\n

\ud83c\uddeb\ud83c\uddf7 A French player facing asymmetrical competition<\/h3>\n

The other key dimension of this intervention concerns the position of a French player in a highly unbalanced competitive environment.<\/p>\n

Thomas M\u00e9tivier stressed the importance of sovereignty<\/strong>, which in his view has already been undermined, and the need to be na\u00efve in the face of certain players who do not play by the same rules as European players.<\/p>\n

In particular, he cites the case of Shein<\/strong>, which is said to have crossed the threshold of 2 billion euros in annual business volume<\/strong> by being non-compliant with the RGPD<\/strong> over a given period.<\/p>\n

He also criticizes the logic of certain public responses, such as the 2 euro tax, deemed ineffective in practice. In his view, flows are simply reorganized elsewhere, notably via Antwerp<\/strong>, which creates neither better protection nor real benefits for the French economy. <\/p>\n

While he acknowledges the growing awareness of these issues, he also points to the slowness of European procedures, with delays of 3 to 5 years<\/strong> for certain dossiers, and the risk that the regulatory pile-up will end up benefiting the biggest global players, who are better equipped to absorb this complexity.<\/p>\n

\u2764\ufe0f Customer loyalty as the best life insurance<\/h3>\n

Basically, Cdiscount’s response is not limited to asking for better regulation. The real battle remains that of customer relations<\/strong>. <\/p>\n

Thomas M\u00e9tivier points out that almost 80% of our business<\/strong> is with customers who have already purchased on the platform. The key issue is therefore the quality of the first experience, followed by the ability to continuously improve the value and quality delivered. <\/p>\n

This is particularly true in high-commitment categories such as major household appliances, telephony and certain home and garden equipment, where trust<\/strong> is a determining factor.<\/p>\n

With this in mind, the best protection against competition remains the same: offering choice, price and quality of service<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udccc In conclusion<\/h3>\n

What emerges from this presentation is that Cdiscount’s transformation is not simply a shift to a marketplace, or an AI strategy.<\/p>\n

It is based on a coherent whole:<\/p>\n