Target strives for better inventory management, unloading processes

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LAS VEGAS — Target is pushing to solve two of its top supply chain challenges — inventory management and trailer unloading — via technology improvements, according to Chief Supply Chain and Logistics Officer Gretchen McCarthy.

The retailer’s wide-ranging mix of inventory helps it attract shoppers, but it also can be “hard to predict, hard to forecast, hard to move,” McCarthy said during a panel at Manifest 2025 on Wednesday. This means the company must weigh what products to prioritize in a pinch and accept “that not all inventory is created equal.”

“If you don’t have the right inventory coming through your supply chain, you’re going to gum up the works faster than anything,” McCarthy said. “You’re going to have empty shelves, and you’re going to have a full supply chain.”

McCarthy said Target has the opportunity to reduce its o…