2017 Top Innovators

Since the dawn of retail, the ultimate goal of giving the customer what she wants has not changed, but the path toward it has. So, too, has the concern for the stakeholders on that journey. There’s the customer, of course, but also the people who design and create the products, the factory workers who produce the products, and all of the other workers who pack and drive and deliver and sell. There are, too, the people who live in the communities where all of these functions take place, whose health and livelihoods may be directly or indirectly connected to these businesses.

This year’s crop of Innovators, like those before it, is harnessing the power of technology to improve their businesses and serve the consumer, yet each year, the players seem to be more capable of, and thus more interested in, taking a more holistic view of their supply chains. With increasing visibility into everything enabled by automated and connected systems as well as business intelligence, the possibilities for collaborating with partners, identifying consumer desires and speeding the whole lifecycle increase.

From sustainability and artificial intelligence to automating workflows, doubling down on fit technology and perfecting patterns, this year’s innovative cohort shows that there’s no wrong way to move your business forward and rise above the competition — even as the stakes get higher every day.