Engagement status · updated as it runs

In production,
and still running.

Where the work actually is, updated as it runs. This is where the measured result lands at day 90, whichever way it goes. Nothing on this page is modelled.

Last updated 2026-08-01 (2 days ago). Updated at least every 30 days until the pilot closes.
The partner

Enterprise grocery, nine-figure revenue.

AI strategy, change management and orchestration. Reporting layer on live POS, ERP and inventory.

Not named, deliberately. We do not publish the operator, their store count or their revenue. Those three together name them, and we did not ask for permission to. A logo or a headline number used without it tells you exactly how we would treat your data. What we will do instead is arrange a reference call while you are still evaluating.

Progress

Against the same four dates we publish everywhere else.

2 of 4 complete. These are the beats from the canonical timeline, not a separate schedule invented for this page.

  1. 48 hours First insight cards Complete

    Read-only connection to POS, ERP and inventory. First cards on their own data inside two business days.

  2. Week 2 Findings ranked by dollars Complete

    Shrink, fill-rate and assortment findings ranked by recoverable dollars, each with the SQL under it. The partner confirmed which ones their operators already knew, which is the only useful test of a first read.

  3. Week 6 First gated write In progress

    Policy set and agent charters under review in the partner's own repository. Write scope stays closed until they merge it.

  4. Day 90 The number, either way Not started

    Measured KPI delta against the metric agreed before kickoff. Published here whichever way it goes.

Scope

Facts about the engagement, not results from it.

Deployment Full estate, not a subset
Environment Live systems, not a sandbox
Playbooks in the pilot Shrink, fill rate, assortment
Systems read POS, ERP, inventory
Write access Closed until the policy PR merges
Close criteria Agreed in writing before kickoff
Result

There is no result yet.

The pilot has not reached day 90. We are not going to fill this section with a projection, because the projection is on the board page clearly labelled as modelled, and mixing the two is how a number nobody measured ends up in a deck.

What we will publish here at close, committed now
  • The KPI delta against the pre-agreed baseline, whichever direction it went
  • Win rate per playbook, including the playbooks that did not close
  • Where a KPI moved for reasons other than Ward, stated as such
  • Whether the partner renewed, and if not, why

Written down in advance so the shape of the report cannot be chosen after the numbers are known. If the KPIs do not move, that is what this page will say.

Being early is a reason to check our work, not to take it on faith.

Every number Ward reports is one click from the SQL that produced it, and the pilot has close criteria agreed in writing. You can run the same test on your own data.