INSIGHTS
UK Retailers Lose Millions
Patchworks Retail Integration Report suggests that UK retailers lose millions a year to broken integrations, and six in ten retailers say poor system connectivity drains revenue. The costs are high: one in ten UK retailers are losing over £1 million annually and sadly 31% experience direct revenue losses during busy trading periods such as Black Friday. The study, commissioned by commerce integration platform Patchworks and conducted by OnePoll, surveyed 200 senior retail decision makers and almost half (48%) of retailers lose more than £50,000 each year due to integration failures, and over a third (39%) of retail teams spend more time firefighting integration issues than optimising sales. Only 27% of retailers describe themselves as fully connected and scalable.
Jim Herbert, CEO of Patchworks stated, “Many retailers are still held back by fragmented systems, siloed operations and legacy processes that drain resources and slow growth. CTO’s in particular are locked into repeated ‘build’ cycles that fail to deliver the scalable connectivity they need to optimise operational performance and accommodate future services.” According to the report, frequent order errors and poor customer experience are the top warning signs of broken integration, flagged by a quarter (23%) and a fifth (20%) of retailers respectively. Point of Sale (34%), CRM (32%) and ecommerce platforms (27%) are seen as the hardest systems to connect, often leaving teams to manually bridge gaps and troubleshoot problems that drain time and resources. n
Jim Herbert CEO
wearepatchworks.com
Lenovo IDC: Agentic AI to double workforce productivity by 2027
Lenovo commissioned research by IDC, which produced the white paper “ Realizing ROI from Agentic AI ” published in August 2025. According to IDC, enterprises are already realizing nearly US$4 in return for every US$1 invested in generative AI, and by 2027 agentic AI is expected to double workforce productivity worldwide, marking a turning point where enterprises are shifting from piloting AI to embedding intelligent automation across their workforces. “Agentic AI is more than a technology shift, it’s a workforce shift,” said Rakshit Ghura, VP and General Manager of Digital Workplace Solutions, Lenovo. “With agentic AI anchoring our broader AI- Enabled Workforce portfolio, we’re helping organizations turn industry projections into real outcomes, unlocking higher productivity, strengthening protection, and
delivering measurable ROI faster than ever.” “At Lenovo, we see services as the bridge between the promise of AI and real customer outcomes,” said John
August 2025 | White Paper, sponsored by Lenovo
Stamer, VP and General Manager of Global Product Services and
Realizing ROI from Agentic AI
Sustainability Services, Lenovo. “That’s why we’ve built solutions that simplify deployment, improve operational efficiencies, and give every employee the right tools and support to succeed.” Security and trust remain at the foundation of Lenovo’s AI-Enabled Workforce. According to Lenovo’s latest Work Reborn Series report, Reinforcing the Modern Workplace , more than 60% of IT leaders said AI agents present new threats they are not ready to manage. In addition, 90% admitted they lack full confidence in defending against AI- powered attacks. n
David Schubmehl Research Vice President, AI and Automation, IDC
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