AI powered growth strategy at a leading UK retailer
the challenge
Our client, a major UK retailer, recognised the need to accelerate growth and defend market share in an increasingly competitive environment. To achieve this, they wanted to strengthen their organisational capabilities by building the AI maturity and adoption required to scale rapidly without adding cost or complexity.
Their goal was clear: create the foundations for sustainable growth while staying sharply focused on customer value.
the results
By redesigning how work gets done and strategically adopting automation and AI, the client was able to significantly reduce the effort, resources, and cost required to run day-to-day operations.
This delivered an estimated 15–20% uplift in productivity across core operational teams, freeing valuable capacity to reinvest in customer-facing activities.
This enabled teams to spend more time connecting with customers; improving experience, deepening loyalty, and strengthening brand impact. The organisation emerged more efficient, more future-ready, and aligned around what matters most.
the process
We began by reframing their strategy; clarifying where to play and how to win. This provided the foundation for defining a sharper, more coherent target operating model and the capabilities needed to deliver it. With strategic clarity in place, the organisation could focus on the activities most critical to growth.
We benchmarked each of their core capabilities, assessing current performance, maturity, and their use of technology. This included an evaluation of their automation and AI adoption, applying our AI future methodology. The analysis revealed clear opportunities to apply technology to either “get fit” by removing friction and reducing effort or “go faster” by accelerating performance and unlocking new sources of value.
Finally, we developed a pragmatic roadmap to strengthen capabilities without requiring additional investment. Implementation began with “get fit” AI initiatives focused on automating routine tasks to release capacity within teams. As capacity was unlocked, the organisation shifted into the “go faster” phase, redirecting that freed-up time and energy into customer-focused improvements that drive experience, loyalty, and growth.