SymphonyAI Launches Next-Generation CINDE Merchandising Agents, Bringing Agentic AI Into Core Merchandising Decisions, Powered by Microsoft Foundry and Azure

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NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan 13, 2026--

SymphonyAI, a global leader in Vertical AI product platforms, today announced the launch of the next generation of CINDE Merchandising Agents, introducing a new class of Merchandising Agents that embed agentic AI directly into weekly, promotional, launch, and reset workflows.

Purpose-built for merchants, the CINDE Merchandising Agents bring autonomous, role-based intelligence to the decisions that drive in-store merchandising margin:

• The Merchant Planner – weekly sales insights and margin opportunities
• The Promo Coach – causal drivers and optimization of promotional effectiveness
• The Launch Analyst – early signals for new item success and correction
• The Reset Advisor – post-reset impact and next-step recommendations

SymphonyAI uses Microsoft Foundry to build action-oriented, context-aware agents that continuously analyze performance, explain causal drivers, and recommend prioritized actions across every stage of merchandising.

Across retail merchandising workflows, margin-impacting signals often emerge several days before action is taken, driven by the manual interpretation and cross-tool analysis required to understand performance shifts. Even in organizations with advanced BI and planning systems, this delay compounds margin loss across weekly sales reviews, promotions, new item evaluations, and post-reset performance.

CINDE Merchandising Agents close that gap by delivering real-time decision-making that aligns to the merchandising lifecycle. Instead of waiting days for analysts to assemble and interpret data, the agents surface emerging issues, identify the true drivers behind them, and recommend the next best action—automatically.

Unlike traditional planning or BI tools, SymphonyAI’s agents are among the first to deliver autonomous, merchandising-specific intelligence throughout the full in-store cycle. Retailers gain the ability to identify what’s changing, understand why, and take the most profitable action earlier and more consistently—protecting and growing margin week after week.

This dynamic plays out quickly on the ground. When a regional grocer saw a decline in dairy performance, internal reporting pointed to competitive pricing pressure. The Merchant Planner agent surfaced the real driver within hours: a subset of stores had moved Greek yogurt off eye level during a planogram change, directly impacting sales. The agent recommended restoring placement in those stores, enabling the retailer to recover margin the following week instead of losing another cycle.

Executive Perspectives

“With CINDE Merchandising Agents, retailers are no longer reacting to what happened last week—they’re making profitable decisions while the week is still unfolding,” said Manish Choudhary,President of Retail, SymphonyAI. “This is next-generation merchandising intelligence. Retailers don’t want AI pilots; they want measurable ROI. These agents work exactly the way merchants work—weekly, promo-driven, launch-driven, and reset-driven—and they help teams catch margin impacts earlier, act faster, and drive consistent execution across every store.”

“Merchandising is where retail margin is won or lost week by week and store by store,” said Kumar Abhimanyu, SVP of Strategic Partnerships, SymphonyA I. “With CINDE Merchandising Agents built on Microsoft Foundry, we’re bringing Agentic AI directly into the real decisions merchants make every week. Instead of waiting days to understand what happened, teams can see what’s changing, understand why, and act immediately. That’s what delivering a true Return on Intelligence looks like—turning insight into profitable action faster and more consistently across the entire merchandising cycle.”

“Retailers are looking for AI that delivers a true return on intelligence—systems that move beyond pilots and act as real margin multipliers,” said Keith Mercier, Vice President, Worldwide Retail and Consumer Goods Industries, Microsoft Corp. “SymphonyAI’s merchandising agents, built on Microsoft Foundry AI, bring that vision to life. By aligning intelligence to the rhythm of weekly retail decisions, they help merchants identify margin opportunities earlier and turn insight into profitable action.”

Retailers attending NRF 2026 can experience CINDE Merchandising Agents firsthand at the SymphonyAI booth #1915 and in the Microsoft “Return on Intelligence” Showcase.

About SymphonyAI

SymphonyAI delivers Vertical AI platforms that help enterprises solve their most complex, high-value challenges — from stopping financial crime to improving store performance and boosting manufacturing efficiency. Trusted by more than 2,000 enterprise customers worldwide, including 200 of the top financial institutions, the top 25 CPG companies, and many of the world’s largest grocers and industrial manufacturers, SymphonyAI provides domain-trained applications and pre-built agents that are ready to work on day one. Learn more at https://www.symphonyai.com/.

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CONTACT: Media Contact

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KEYWORD: UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA CALIFORNIA NEW YORK

INDUSTRY KEYWORD: SOFTWARE SUPERMARKET ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE DATA MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGY ONLINE RETAIL RETAIL DEPARTMENT STORES

SOURCE: SymphonyAI

Copyright Business Wire 2026.

PUB: 01/13/2026 03:43 PM/DISC: 01/13/2026 03:43 PM

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260113958339/en