Latest / Omni Talk Retail / RELEX’s Madhav Durbha on Building an AI-First Mindset in Grocery | FMI 2026

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RELEX’s Madhav Durbha on Building an AI-First Mindset in Grocery | FMI 2026 · Omni Talk Retail

• 0:00
  Hello,
• 0:00
  everyone.
• 0:00
  This
• 0:01
  is
• 0:01
  Omnitalk
• 0:01
  Retail.
• 0:02
  I'm
• 0:02
  Chris
• 0:02
  Walton,
• 0:03
  and
• 0:03
  we
• 0:03
  are
• 0:03
  coming
• 0:03
  to
• 0:04
  you
• 0:04
  live
• 0:04
  from
• 0:04
  the
• 0:04
  Simbi
• 0:05
  booth
• 0:05
  in
• 0:06
  beautiful
• 0:06
  San
• 0:06
  Diego,
• 0:07
  once
• 0:07
  again
• 0:08
  from
• 0:08
  the
• 0:08
  FMI
• 0:09
  Midwinter
• 0:09
  Conference.
• 0:10
  We're
• 0:10
  in
• 0:10
  booth
• 0:10
  118
• 0:12
  in
• 0:12
  the
• 0:12
  FMI
• 0:13
  Tech
• 0:13
  section.
• 0:13
  Now,
• 0:14
  standing
• 0:14
  in
• 0:14
  between
• 0:14
  us
• 0:15
  again
• 0:15
  is
• 0:16
  our
• 0:16
  next
• 0:16
  guest
• 0:16
  of
• 0:16
  the
• 0:16
  day,
• 0:17
  and
• 0:17
  that
• 0:17
  is
• 0:17
  Madhav
• 0:17
  Durba,
• 0:18
  the
• 0:18
  group
• 0:18
  vice
• 0:19
  president
• 0:19
  at
• 0:19
  Relex.
• 0:20
  Madhav,
• 0:20
  welcome
• 0:21
  to
• 0:21
  OmniTalk.
• 0:21
  Thanks
• 0:22
  for
• 0:22
  being
• 0:22
  with
• 0:22
  us
• 0:22
  today,
• 0:22
  man.
• 0:23
  Thanks
• 0:23
  for
• 0:23
  having
• 0:24
  me
• 0:24
  here,
• 0:24
  Chris.
• 0:25
  Glad
• 0:25
  to
• 0:25
  be
• 0:25
  here.
• 0:26
  All
• 0:26
  right,
• 0:26
  so
• 0:27
  I
• 0:27
  caught
• 0:28
  wind
• 0:28
  of
• 0:28
  a
• 0:28
  talk
• 0:28
  you
• 0:29
  gave
• 0:29
  recently
• 0:30
  and
• 0:30
  I
• 0:30
  got
• 0:30
  to
• 0:31
  see
• 0:31
  some
• 0:31
  notes
• 0:31
  on
• 0:31
  it.
• 0:32
  And
• 0:33
  one
• 0:33
  thing
• 0:33
  that
• 0:33
  struck
• 0:34
  me
• 0:34
  in
• 0:34
  the
• 0:34
  talk
• 0:34
  you
• 0:35
  gave
• 0:35
  is
• 0:35
  it
• 0:35
  was
• 0:35
  the
• 0:36
  talk
• 0:36
  was
• 0:36
  around
• 0:36
  developing
• 0:36
  an
• 0:37
  AI
• 0:37
  mindset.
• 0:38
  And
• 0:38
  you
• 0:39
  said
• 0:39
  there
• 0:39
  was
• 0:39
  this.
• 0:40
  You.
• 0:40
  You
• 0:40
  espoused
• 0:41
  the
• 0:41
  concept
• 0:41
  of
• 0:41
  a
• 0:42
  recipe,
• 0:43
  which
• 0:43
  I
• 0:43
  thought
• 0:43
  was
• 0:43
  really
• 0:44
  interesting.
• 0:44
  So
• 0:45
  can
• 0:45
  you
• 0:45
  explain
• 0:45
  for
• 0:45
  our
• 0:46
  audience
• 0:46
  what
• 0:46
  the
• 0:47
  recipe
• 0:47
  is
• 0:47
  to
• 0:48
  develop
• 0:48
  an
• 0:48
  AI
• 0:48
  mindset?
• 0:49
  Actually,
• 0:49
  it's
• 0:50
  called
• 0:50
  AI
• 0:50
  First
• 0:51
  Mindset.
• 0:51
  Oh,
• 0:51
  AI
• 0:52
  First
• 0:52
  Mindset.
• 0:52
  Okay.
• 0:53
  So
• 0:53
  the
• 0:54
  recipe
• 0:54
  is
• 0:54
  something
• 0:55
  that
• 0:55
  we
• 0:56
  have
• 0:56
  seen
• 0:56
  so
• 0:56
  many
• 0:56
  patterns
• 0:57
  of
• 0:57
  cloud
• 0:57
  companies
• 0:58
  being
• 0:58
  successful
• 0:59
  with
• 0:59
  their
• 0:59
  AI
• 0:59
  journey.
• 1:01
  What
• 1:01
  we
• 1:01
  have
• 1:01
  seen
• 1:02
  work
• 1:02
  well.
• 1:02
  And
• 1:03
  for
• 1:03
  most
• 1:03
  companies,
• 1:04
  this
• 1:04
  is
• 1:04
  what
• 1:04
  I
• 1:04
  would
• 1:04
  recommend.
• 1:05
  This
• 1:05
  is
• 1:05
  just
• 1:05
  like
• 1:06
  your
• 1:06
  stock
• 1:06
  portfolio.
• 1:07
  Okay.
• 1:07
  Yeah.
• 1:07
  Right.
• 1:07
  You
• 1:08
  have
• 1:09
  certain
• 1:09
  amount
• 1:09
  of
• 1:10
  stocks
• 1:10
  that
• 1:10
  you
• 1:11
  are
• 1:11
  very
• 1:11
  predictable,
• 1:12
  very
• 1:12
  proven.
• 1:13
  Whereas
• 1:14
  you
• 1:14
  will
• 1:14
  have
• 1:15
  some
• 1:15
  stocks
• 1:15
  that
• 1:15
  are
• 1:15
  a
• 1:16
  little
• 1:16
  bit
• 1:16
  more
• 1:16
  aspirational
• 1:17
  in
• 1:17
  nature.
• 1:17
  So
• 1:18
  it's
• 1:18
  no
• 1:18
  different.
• 1:19
  We
• 1:19
  think
• 1:19
  about
• 1:20
  the
• 1:20
  mix
• 1:20
  has
• 1:21
  70%
• 1:21
  proven
• 1:22
  AI.
• 1:22
  There's
• 1:23
  plenty
• 1:23
  of
• 1:23
  AI
• 1:24
  that
• 1:24
  is
• 1:24
  already
• 1:24
  proven
• 1:25
  and
• 1:26
  delivering
• 1:26
  true
• 1:26
  value
• 1:27
  and
• 1:28
  focus
• 1:29
  70%
• 1:29
  of
• 1:30
  the
• 1:30
  effort
• 1:30
  on
• 1:30
  those
• 1:30
  types
• 1:31
  of
• 1:31
  AI.
• 1:31
  Okay.
• 1:32
  20%
• 1:33
  of
• 1:33
  the
• 1:33
  effort
• 1:34
  on
• 1:34
  emerging
• 1:34
  use
• 1:35
  cases
• 1:35
  in
• 1:35
  AI.
• 1:36
  Right.
• 1:37
  Something
• 1:37
  that's
• 1:37
  in
• 1:38
  earlier
• 1:38
  innings
• 1:39
  of
• 1:39
  AI
• 1:40
  then
• 1:40
  about
• 1:40
  10%
• 1:41
  in
• 1:41
  aspirational
• 1:42
  projects,
• 1:42
  or
• 1:43
  call
• 1:43
  it
• 1:43
  moonshots,
• 1:44
  if
• 1:44
  you
• 1:44
  will.
• 1:44
  Moonshots,
• 1:44
  yeah.
• 1:45
  So,
• 1:45
  yeah,
• 1:46
  that's
• 1:46
  how
• 1:46
  we
• 1:46
  think
• 1:46
  about
• 1:46
  it.
• 1:46
  That's
• 1:47
  how
• 1:47
  you
• 1:47
  think
• 1:47
  about
• 1:47
  it.
• 1:47
  Okay.
• 1:47
  That's
• 1:48
  how
• 1:48
  you
• 1:48
  advise
• 1:48
  others
• 1:48
  to
• 1:49
  have
• 1:49
  an
• 1:49
  AI
• 1:50
  first
• 1:50
  mindset.
• 1:50
  That's
• 1:51
  correct.
• 1:51
  Okay.
• 1:52
  AI
• 1:52
  is
• 1:52
  an
• 1:52
  exciting
• 1:53
  topic.
• 1:53
  It's
• 1:54
  very
• 1:54
  easy
• 1:54
  to
• 1:54
  get
• 1:54
  caught
• 1:54
  up
• 1:55
  in
• 1:55
  that.
• 1:55
  But
• 1:55
  ultimately,
• 1:57
  humans
• 1:58
  are
• 1:58
  at
• 1:58
  the
• 1:58
  heart
• 1:58
  of
• 1:58
  supply
• 1:59
  chain.
• 2:00
  As
• 2:00
  long
• 2:00
  as
• 2:00
  I've
• 2:01
  been
• 2:01
  in
• 2:01
  this
• 2:01
  business,
• 2:02
  it's
• 2:02
  a
• 2:02
  human.
• 2:03
  Human
• 2:03
  business.
• 2:04
  Right.
• 2:05
  So
• 2:05
  making
• 2:06
  sure
• 2:06
  that
• 2:07
  we
• 2:07
  bring
• 2:07
  humans
• 2:08
  along
• 2:08
  on
• 2:08
  that
• 2:08
  journey,
• 2:09
  AI
• 2:10
  by
• 2:10
  itself
• 2:11
  is
• 2:11
  not
• 2:11
  going
• 2:12
  to
• 2:12
  be
• 2:12
  successful.
• 2:13
  Right.
• 2:13
  You
• 2:13
  have
• 2:14
  to
• 2:14
  make
• 2:14
  sure
• 2:14
  the
• 2:15
  humans
• 2:15
  that
• 2:16
  operate
• 2:16
  your
• 2:16
  supply
• 2:17
  chain
• 2:17
  are
• 2:17
  embracing
• 2:18
  AI.
• 2:19
  So
• 2:19
  it's
• 2:19
  very
• 2:20
  important
• 2:20
  for
• 2:20
  organizations
• 2:21
  to
• 2:22
  over
• 2:22
  invest
• 2:23
  in
• 2:23
  the
• 2:23
  people
• 2:23
  aspect
• 2:24
  of
• 2:24
  it.
• 2:24
  Making
• 2:25
  sure
• 2:25
  you're
• 2:25
  giving
• 2:26
  them
• 2:26
  the
• 2:26
  tools
• 2:26
  you're
• 2:27
  giving
• 2:27
  them
• 2:27
  the
• 2:27
  technologies
• 2:28
  and
• 2:29
  investing
• 2:29
  in
• 2:30
  their
• 2:30
  education
• 2:30
  on
• 2:30
  AI.
• 2:32
  That's
• 2:32
  a
• 2:33
  very
• 2:33
  critical
• 2:33
  ingredient
• 2:34
  for
• 2:35
  success
• 2:35
  of
• 2:35
  any
• 2:36
  AI
• 2:36
  led
• 2:37
  transformation.
• 2:37
  It's
• 2:38
  funny
• 2:38
  I'm
• 2:38
  a
• 2:38
  technologist
• 2:39
  saying
• 2:39
  this,
• 2:40
  but
• 2:40
  really,
• 2:42
  people
• 2:42
  are
• 2:42
  very
• 2:43
  important
• 2:43
  aspect
• 2:44
  of
• 2:44
  it.
• 2:44
  Well,
• 2:44
  it's
• 2:44
  a
• 2:45
  common
• 2:45
  theme
• 2:45
  we've
• 2:45
  been
• 2:45
  hearing
• 2:45
  in
• 2:45
  the
• 2:46
  interviews
• 2:46
  today
• 2:46
  and
• 2:46
  even
• 2:47
  last
• 2:47
  week
• 2:47
  in
• 2:47
  terms
• 2:48
  of
• 2:48
  taking
• 2:48
  AI
• 2:49
  and
• 2:49
  adapting
• 2:49
  it
• 2:49
  to
• 2:49
  the
• 2:50
  organization.
• 2:50
  You
• 2:50
  have
• 2:50
  to
• 2:51
  think
• 2:51
  about
• 2:51
  it
• 2:51
  culturally.
• 2:51
  You
• 2:52
  have
• 2:52
  to
• 2:52
  think
• 2:52
  about
• 2:53
  what
• 2:53
  the
• 2:53
  design
• 2:53
  of
• 2:54
  that
• 2:54
  process
• 2:54
  and
• 2:55
  that
• 2:55
  workforce
• 2:55
  is
• 2:55
  going
• 2:56
  to
• 2:56
  be
• 2:56
  for
• 2:56
  the
• 2:56
  future.
• 2:57
  So.
• 2:57
  Yeah.
• 2:57
  What
• 2:58
  do
• 2:58
  you
• 2:58
  think
• 2:58
  about
• 2:58
  that?
• 2:58
  Yeah,
• 2:59
  I
• 2:59
  think
• 2:59
  what
• 3:00
  I
• 3:00
  sensed
• 3:00
  is
• 3:00
  cautious
• 3:01
  excitement.
• 3:02
  That's
• 3:03
  a
• 3:03
  good
• 3:03
  way
• 3:03
  to
• 3:03
  put
• 3:03
  it.
• 3:03
  Yep.
• 3:04
  There
• 3:04
  is
• 3:05
  a
• 3:05
  lot
• 3:05
  of
• 3:05
  excitement,
• 3:06
  a
• 3:06
  lot
• 3:06
  of
• 3:07
  potential
• 3:08
  that
• 3:08
  AI
• 3:08
  has
• 3:08
  to
• 3:09
  offer,
• 3:09
  and
• 3:09
  a
• 3:09
  lot
• 3:10
  of
• 3:10
  leaders
• 3:10
  are
• 3:10
  already
• 3:10
  experiencing
• 3:11
  it,
• 3:11
  not,
• 3:12
  not
• 3:12
  just
• 3:12
  in
• 3:13
  their
• 3:13
  enterprises,
• 3:13
  but
• 3:14
  themselves
• 3:15
  as
• 3:15
  consumers.
• 3:16
  So
• 3:16
  I
• 3:16
  see
• 3:17
  that
• 3:17
  the
• 3:17
  caution
• 3:18
  is
• 3:18
  coming
• 3:18
  from
• 3:18
  the
• 3:18
  fact
• 3:19
  that
• 3:19
  there
• 3:19
  is
• 3:19
  also
• 3:19
  a
• 3:20
  lot
• 3:20
  of
• 3:20
  hype.
• 3:21
  And
• 3:21
  the
• 3:21
  onus
• 3:22
  is
• 3:22
  upon
• 3:22
  sometimes
• 3:23
  upon
• 3:23
  these
• 3:23
  leaders
• 3:24
  to
• 3:24
  filter
• 3:24
  the
• 3:24
  hype
• 3:25
  from
• 3:25
  reality.
• 3:26
  And
• 3:27
  the
• 3:27
  most
• 3:28
  pragmatic
• 3:28
  way
• 3:29
  of
• 3:29
  approaching
• 3:29
  it
• 3:30
  is
• 3:30
  looking
• 3:31
  at
• 3:31
  it
• 3:31
  holistically,
• 3:32
  not
• 3:32
  as
• 3:33
  a
• 3:33
  technology
• 3:33
  initiative.
• 3:35
  Look
• 3:35
  at
• 3:35
  what
• 3:35
  is
• 3:35
  the
• 3:36
  impact
• 3:36
  on
• 3:36
  my
• 3:36
  overall
• 3:37
  strategy.
• 3:38
  What
• 3:38
  is
• 3:38
  the
• 3:38
  impact
• 3:38
  on
• 3:38
  people,
• 3:39
  process,
• 3:40
  and
• 3:40
  of
• 3:40
  course,
• 3:41
  technology?
• 3:41
  Yeah,
• 3:42
  yeah.
• 3:42
  There's
• 3:42
  going
• 3:42
  to
• 3:42
  be
• 3:42
  a
• 3:43
  lot
• 3:43
  of
• 3:43
  AI
• 3:44
  Sherpas,
• 3:44
  I
• 3:44
  think,
• 3:44
  leading
• 3:45
  a
• 3:45
  lot
• 3:45
  of
• 3:45
  organizations
• 3:46
  here
• 3:46
  in
• 3:46
  the
• 3:46
  next
• 3:46
  few
• 3:46
  years.
• 3:47
  All
• 3:47
  right,
• 3:47
  now
• 3:48
  we've
• 3:48
  been.
• 3:48
  I've
• 3:49
  been
• 3:49
  trying
• 3:49
  to
• 3:49
  put
• 3:49
  people
• 3:49
  on
• 3:50
  the
• 3:50
  spot
• 3:50
  in
• 3:50
  every
• 3:50
  interview,
• 3:51
  and
• 3:51
  I'm
• 3:51
  going
• 3:51
  to
• 3:51
  do
• 3:51
  it
• 3:51
  a
• 3:51
  little
• 3:51
  bit
• 3:52
  with
• 3:52
  you
• 3:52
  again
• 3:52
  too,
• 3:52
  because
• 3:53
  in
• 3:53
  that
• 3:53
  same
• 3:53
  talk,
• 3:53
  you
• 3:54
  said
• 3:54
  something
• 3:54
  that
• 3:54
  I'm
• 3:55
  not
• 3:55
  sure
• 3:55
  that
• 3:56
  I
• 3:56
  agree
• 3:56
  with
• 3:56
  it.
• 3:57
  So
• 3:57
  I
• 3:57
  want
• 3:57
  to
• 3:57
  give
• 3:57
  you
• 3:57
  a
• 3:58
  chance
• 3:58
  to
• 3:58
  explain
• 3:58
  yourself.
• 3:59
  And
• 3:59
  you
• 3:59
  said,
• 4:00
  reimagine
• 4:00
  the
• 4:01
  future.
• 4:01
  Don't
• 4:01
  automate
• 4:02
  redundant
• 4:03
  processes.
• 4:04
  So
• 4:05
  what
• 4:06
  am
• 4:06
  I
• 4:06
  missing
• 4:06
  in
• 4:07
  that
• 4:07
  statement?
• 4:09
  I
• 4:09
  think
• 4:09
  when
• 4:09
  it
• 4:10
  comes
• 4:10
  to
• 4:10
  AI
• 4:10
  adoption,
• 4:11
  learning
• 4:11
  is
• 4:12
  as
• 4:12
  important
• 4:12
  as
• 4:13
  unlearning.
• 4:14
  Okay.
• 4:15
  Sometimes
• 4:16
  there
• 4:16
  is
• 4:16
  a
• 4:16
  tendency
• 4:17
  to
• 4:17
  say.
• 4:18
  I
• 4:18
  got
• 4:18
  you
• 4:18
  now,
• 4:19
  all
• 4:19
  right,
• 4:19
  light.
• 4:19
  Bulb,
• 4:20
  and
• 4:21
  just
• 4:21
  take
• 4:21
  that
• 4:21
  and
• 4:21
  automate
• 4:22
  it.
• 4:23
  But
• 4:23
  let's
• 4:23
  rethink.
• 4:25
  Should
• 4:25
  we
• 4:25
  even
• 4:25
  be
• 4:26
  doing
• 4:26
  that
• 4:26
  process
• 4:26
  to
• 4:26
  begin
• 4:27
  with?
• 4:27
  Exactly.
• 4:27
  Okay.
• 4:28
  The
• 4:29
  way
• 4:29
  you
• 4:29
  navigate
• 4:30
  today
• 4:30
  and
• 4:30
  the
• 4:31
  way
• 4:31
  you
• 4:31
  navigated
• 4:32
  30
• 4:32
  years
• 4:32
  back
• 4:32
  from
• 4:33
  point
• 4:33
  A
• 4:33
  to
• 4:33
  point
• 4:33
  B
• 4:34
  is
• 4:34
  very
• 4:34
  different.
• 4:34
  Why
• 4:35
  should
• 4:35
  it
• 4:35
  be
• 4:35
  any
• 4:35
  different
• 4:36
  for
• 4:36
  enterprise?
• 4:36
  Right.
• 4:37
  AI
• 4:37
  adoption.
• 4:38
  Right.
• 4:38
  So
• 4:38
  it's
• 4:39
  an
• 4:39
  opportunity
• 4:40
  to
• 4:40
  rethink.
• 4:41
  That's
• 4:41
  a
• 4:41
  great
• 4:41
  piece
• 4:42
  of
• 4:42
  advice
• 4:42
  even
• 4:42
  for
• 4:42
  my
• 4:42
  own
• 4:43
  life,
• 4:43
  my
• 4:43
  friend.
• 4:44
  Like,
• 4:44
  you
• 4:44
  know,
• 4:44
  rethink
• 4:45
  about
• 4:45
  it.
• 4:45
  Don't
• 4:45
  just
• 4:45
  keep
• 4:45
  doing
• 4:45
  the
• 4:46
  same
• 4:46
  things
• 4:46
  over
• 4:46
  and
• 4:46
  over.
• 4:47
  You
• 4:47
  know,
• 4:47
  try
• 4:48
  to
• 4:48
  think
• 4:48
  of
• 4:48
  a
• 4:48
  new
• 4:49
  way
• 4:49
  to
• 4:49
  do
• 4:49
  whatever
• 4:50
  the
• 4:50
  goal
• 4:50
  is
• 4:50
  that
• 4:50
  you
• 4:50
  want
• 4:51
  to
• 4:51
  accomplish.
• 4:51
  Actually,
• 4:51
  unlearning
• 4:52
  is
• 4:52
  the
• 4:52
  hard
• 4:52
  part.
• 4:53
  Right.
• 4:53
  You
• 4:53
  know,
• 4:54
  learning
• 4:54
  is
• 4:54
  easy
• 4:55
  for
• 4:55
  me.
• 4:55
  Right.
• 4:56
  Well,
• 4:56
  so
• 4:58
  that's
• 4:58
  the
• 4:58
  reason
• 4:59
  why
• 4:59
  I
• 4:59
  made
• 4:59
  that.
• 4:59
  That's
• 4:59
  great.
• 5:00
  Oh,
• 5:00
  God.
• 5:00
  That's.
• 5:00
  That
• 5:01
  question.
• 5:01
  That's
• 5:01
  good.
• 5:01
  Good
• 5:01
  answer,
• 5:02
  too,
• 5:02
  man.
• 5:02
  Wow.
• 5:03
  We
• 5:03
  are
• 5:03
  fortunate
• 5:04
  to
• 5:04
  work
• 5:04
  with
• 5:04
  a
• 5:05
  lot
• 5:05
  of
• 5:05
  leading
• 5:05
  companies
• 5:06
  and
• 5:06
  seeing
• 5:07
  these
• 5:07
  patterns
• 5:07
  of
• 5:08
  really
• 5:08
  successful
• 5:09
  adoption
• 5:09
  of
• 5:09
  AI,
• 5:10
  that's
• 5:11
  what
• 5:11
  gives
• 5:11
  us
• 5:11
  reason
• 5:11
  to
• 5:12
  believe
• 5:12
  and
• 5:12
  reason
• 5:13
  to
• 5:13
  continue
• 5:14
  our
• 5:14
  mission
• 5:15
  of.
• 5:15
  Helping
• 5:15
  companies
• 5:16
  be
• 5:16
  careful
• 5:17
  out
• 5:17
  there.