American Eagle Outfitters envisions a collaborative, beneficial supply chain

When envisioning the future of the supply chain, it’s integral to work through new ideas and processes to make the supply chain more reliable, efficient and dependable.

Shekar Natarajan, chief supply chain officer for American Eagle Outfitters, joins Retail Gets Real from NRF’s recent Supply Chain 360 conference to discuss AEO’s innovative approach to a more sustainable supply chain network.

Natarajan has seen how challenges in the supply chain can cause disruptions. For AEO, the importance of having the forethought to consider these challenges has proved integral to sustain company operations. Natarajan’s vison for the supply chain of the future is one that is collaborative across many retail businesses and works for everyone. In the past year, the company has acquired two logistics companies that Natarajan now also leads: AirTerra and Quiet Logistics. 

“Our vision is to be able to create interoperable networks,” he said. In Natarajan’s eyes, the process of creating a system that allows the exchange of information across supply chains will “optimize the system as a whole,” not just a singular business as an entity. In sharing a supply chain platform he equates to the “internet of packages,” Natarajan believes smaller and mid-size retailers can compete with retail giants and create economies of scale.

Tune into this episode of Retail Gets Real to hear more from Natarajan on how American Eagle Outfitters is looking to the future and creating sustainable systems for more efficient supply chains.