How do you solve a problem like Amazon Rufus?: last week's most read retail tech articles

Check out our most clicked retail technology articles from last week, including Amazon, Auger, TCS, East of England Co-op, Pricer, Foundit!, Asda, Sainsbury's, JD Sports Fashion, Tennessee Titans, and Ocado Group.

Amazon veteran Satish Guddati heads to Dave Clark's supply chain technology startup Auger

Satish Guddati has left Amazon Web Services, where he spent over 17 years, to join Auger, a supply chain technology startup founded by former Amazon executive Dave Clark, as Principal Engineer.

In a LinkedIn post, he said: "After 17+ extraordinary years, I closed a deeply meaningful chapter at Amazon ast Friday. I joined Amazon in 2008, fresh out of school, and it’s hard to overstate how transformative that journey has been, both personally and professionally."

"Over the years, I have had the opportunity to work across a wide range of domains, learning, building and operating systems at massive scale and gaining perspectives that few early in their careers are fortunate to experience. Amazon gave me not just roles, but a foundation - a mindset of ownership, a culture of relentless innovation, and the confidence to take on big, ambiguous problems with clarity and purpose."

He added: "I’m profoundly grateful to the leaders, mentors, teammates, and partners who invested in me, challenged my thinking, trusted me with hard problems, and helped shape the engineer and leader I am today.”

“There are far too many people to thank individually in a single post, but you know who you are, and I hope you know how much of an impact you’ve had on me. The people and experiences at Amazon will always be a part of who I am, and I will miss working with all of you more than I can put into words."

At Auger, he will be working on building a supply chain operating system powered by AI and designed to bring simplicity, real-time insight, and automation to global logistics.

He concluded: "This felt like a natural next step - one that builds on my professional experience building distributed AI systems that scale for real-world operations. I’m incredibly excited to work with a world class team of builders and innovators at Auger, modernising supply chains so they are smarter, more efficient, and more resilient. I’m energised by the opportunity to contribute meaningfully to this vision."

Milestone for Amazon Just Walk Out tech as Tennessee Titans boost fan experience

Amazon reports the largest single venue deployment of its Just Walk Out technology to date.

This will see Tennessee Titans’ new Nissan Stadium become the first NFL stadium to go frictionless across all 40+ concession locations with Just Walk Out technology.

Amazon said: “We are setting a new standard for sports retail innovation. What this means for Titans fans: More time cheering, less time waiting in lines; Seamless shopping powered by advanced computer vision and AI; Grab what you need and get back to the action - no traditional checkout required.”

It added: “This comprehensive partnership transforms every retail touchpoint and demonstrates the future of frictionless fan experiences. Congratulations to the Tennessee Titans on this groundbreaking partnership. We can't wait to see this technology enhance game day for fans when the new Nissan Stadium opens in 2027.”

Former Sainsbury's Transformation Director Nigel Blunt lands at TCS

Nigel Blunt has stepped into the role of Managing Partner for the EMEA Retail Strategic Initiatives Consulting Practice at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).

Blunt spent almost eight years at Sainsbury’s, serving as the UK grocery giant’s Transformation Director. He has also worked at Argos, holding the role of Head of Operations Development.

He said: “In this position, I’ll be working closely with retail leaders across the UK, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa to shape strategic initiatives that drive transformation at scale. Our focus will be on enabling intelligent enterprises, modernising value chains, and unlocking growth through data, automation, and AI powered decision making.”

He added: “After years of leading transformation journeys and growing retail businesses globally, I’m thrilled to help drive innovation with such an impressive team. My focus will be on unlocking value across retail operations, from merchandising and marketing to supply chain, stores, and digital experiences.”

Retail is at a pivotal moment, Blunt believes, arguing that success will come from bold strategies, empowered teams, and technology led reinvention. “I’m looking forward to collaborating with visionary leaders to build what’s next for the industry.”

He concluded: “I’m deeply grateful for the hands on learning and diverse experiences I’ve gained working with retailers throughout my career. I look forward to building on that knowledge and sharing fresh perspectives with like minded retail leaders.”

JD Sports Fashion's Dan McGrath looks back at 2025 store roll-outs, RFID pushes

Dan McGrath, JD Group Head of Customer Operations at JD Sports Fashion, has taken to social media to discuss how the retailer fared in 2025, a year that included major store roll-outs and RFID initiatives.

McGrath said: “It was a year of real professional and personal growth but more importantly, a year defined by people. None of what we achieved happened through strategy or technology alone.”

“It happened because of an exceptional, multi-skilled team who trusted each other, challenged constructively, and showed up every day with pace, care and pride in what we were building. My role was simply to create the space, direction and belief. They did the rest.”

2025 highlights included:

Building and winning support for a compelling business case, securing full Investment board sign-off.

Designed, led and delivered a multi-million-pound, cross-functional programme which was on time, on budget and delivering against ROI KPIs.

Took a PoC to full enterprise roll-out in 76 working days, aligning legal, supply chain, IT, infosec, tech, retail and training around a single outcome.

Delivered to 414 stores across the UK and Ireland in 16 weeks, sustaining a pace of 25 stores per week without compromising quality.

Created and delivered a fully immersive, week long change and culture programme on RFID, enabling 26 retail Change Champions to lead from the front.

Partnered closely with brand partners, taking RFID from education and advocacy through to adoption into 2026.

Christina Sharp exits Asda to join grocery retail rival Sainsbury's following Project Future push

Christina Sharp has left Asda, where she spent just over five years, most recently serving as Supplier Change Manager - Commercial Transformation, a job that involving working on the UK grocery giant’s Project Future initiative.

In a LInkedIn post, she said: “Today I start a new chapter at Sainsbury's, leaving behind a hard working and dedicated team at Asda. It’s been an adventure and a challenge, personally and professionally. As I sit on the train London bound, I reflect on an amazing career so far with great colleagues and businesses and look forward with excitement to the next chapter.”

Pricer partners with East of England Co-op in UK for first Avenue platform pilot

Pricer reports completion of its first pilot installation of Pricer Avenue, a communications platform delivering shelf-edge digital experiences, in partnership with East of England Co-op, a 120-store grocery retailer operating in the UK.

The pilot was deployed across high value in-store zones and builds on East of England Co-op’s use of Pricer electronic shelf labels (ESLs).

Pricer Avenue adds a larger format displays, powered shelf-edge layer that extends ESL functionality beyond pricing, with the aim of supporting clearer communication, more effective promotions, and richer in-aisle communication at the point of decision.

“Avenue is bringing new energy to our key promotional areas. It’s a big step toward delivering a store experience that’s ready for the future,” says Rob Smith, Technology Officer at East of England Co-op.

“The new shared Floating Canvas feature opens up fresh ways to talk to customers. It lets us highlight specific products, deliver rich brand storytelling and drive promotional engagement - right at the shelf edge.”

Ocado Group's new CRO Nick de la Vega discusses building the future of grocery and retail

Nick de la Vega has taken to social media to discuss his new job, CRO at Ocado Group. He joined the grocery delivery and automation technology firm in November from IT and consulting business, Atos, where he was SVP and Head of Global Sales. de la Vega also previously held positions at Hewlett Packard and Electronic Data Systems.

In a LinkedIn post, he said: “A new year, a new chapter - and a bold opportunity to help transform the way the world shops. As we enter a new year, I’m energised by a new chapter. On 19th November, I stepped into the role of Chief Revenue Officer at Ocado Group, and the opportunity ahead is both exciting and meaningful.”

He added that Ocado stands out for three reasons: It is a British technology success story operating at global scale; It is a founder led organisation with clarity of vision and an exceptional leadership team; And it presents a rare commercial opportunity: how to combine world class technology, compelling economics and deep partnership to transform grocery retail.

de la Vega commented: “What excites me most about Ocado Group is its Why - and its ability to turn purpose into results. To transform the way the world shops by enabling grocers to: scale e-commerce at pace; automate existing operations; improve consumer proposition and satisfaction while materially reducing cost.”

“All delivered through our AI enabled Ocado Smart Platform, spanning a market leading digital front end, superior in-store picking and store-based automation (SBA), through to next-generation CFCs that can be built at a fraction of the cost, footprint and time.”

He wrapped things up by observing that Ocado Group is now fully open for business globally, including in the US following the end of exclusivity deals, and that it is partnering with grocers looking to accelerate growth, improve economics and compete more effectively.

“I’m excited to work with partners around the world and to help convert innovation into commercial impact. Here’s to a new year - and to building the future of grocery and retail,” de la Vega concluded.

Rufus and the AI shopping war: why Amazon's assistant reveals the battle for customer intent

Amazon's Rufus validates what we've known for years: solving the Intent Gap is worth billions, says Warren Cowan, CEO at FoundIt!.