Precision as the New Competitive Advantage:
Inside the Next Frontier of Grocery Operations

Few people in grocery retail have a vantage point as wide as Zsuzsa Hordai's — overseeing operations across 50 countries at SPAR International. OrderGrid Co-Founder Aidan Mittra joins her at EuroShop 2026 on the RETHINK Retail Podcast for a candid look at the operational pressures grocery retailers are navigating worldwide: margin compression, labor shortages, omni-channel complexity, and the human side of getting store teams to trust new technology.

Key Takeaways

• Margins and workforce are the defining pressures: Declining profits and difficulty retaining staff at every level of the organization remain the industry’s most urgent challenges.
• Technology should amplify people, not replace them: The best implementations automate low-value tasks so associates can focus on customer engagement and high-value work.
• Real-time data drives better decisions: Moving beyond lagging back-office systems gives retailers the visibility to act on out-of-stocks, expiring inventory, and margin risks before they escalate.
• Out-of-stocks damage more than revenue: In an omni-channel world, stockouts erode customer trust and long-term loyalty.
• Practical automation is already here: Computer vision, RFID, and human-in-the-loop systems are being deployed today to improve shelf availability and operational efficiency.

This episode explores how a real-time data foundation can reduce friction for shoppers and staff alike, and position the physical store as a driver of lasting growth.