Linnworks CMO Hilary Smith on the manual work hiding inside "automated" operations

Hilary Smith, CMO at Linnworks, argues that most ecommerce brands believe their operations are already automated — and that the manual work quietly grows as they scale. She and Greg Kihlström get into where it hides and what it costs. AI's most consequential move in retail is happening in the back office, not the front end. After years of chatbots and personalization, the investment is shifting into inventory, fulfillment, and order management — where being wrong is expensive and visible. Peak season is a volume-and-velocity problem, not a basket-size problem. Smith on which parts of the traditional peak playbook break first when order throughput climbs, and how a tech freeze changes what a brand can realistically fix in-season. A stockout is a brand moment. Operational failures are where customers decide what a company is actually like — which puts a CMO on the hook for outcomes they don't directly own. **About Hilary Smith** Hilary Smith is Chief Marketing Officer at Linnworks. She brings 12+ years of experience driving growth through data-informed strategy across supply chain, ecommerce and FinTech. Hilary thrives at the intersection of brand, product and demand, translating complex customer and commercial data into campaigns that drive revenue, sharpen positioning and move the business forward. Her leadership style is grounded in empathy, curiosity and a deep understanding of how customers discover, convert and keep coming back. Hilary Smith on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hilarypaigesmith/ ---------- Resources ---------- Linnworks: https://www.linworks.com The Agile Brand podcast is brought to you by TEKsystems. Learn more here: https://aglbrnd.co/r/2868abd8085a9703 The hardest part of martech right now is telling which tools are actually earning their keep. That's the question running through the MarTech Summit Boston agenda on October 27. We're attending MarTech Summit Boston on October 27 as a media partner. If you want to join, the code AGILE15 saves you 15%. https://aglbrnd.co/r/c70c250b8d52dff3 We’re proud to be a media partner for #MAICON26 - Oct. 13-15! Learn how AI can power your marketing and business and help you grow smarter. Use code AGILE150 to save! https://aglbrnd.co/r/7fe458ced0f04658 Need to evaluate martech, AI, or CX platforms and don't know where to start? The Agile Brand Guide List is now in beta. We're building the most useful, free-to-use, and up-to-date way to assess what truly matters when evaluating platforms. See more here: https://aglbrnd.co/r/f76be3a33cc491bb Reach your customers with Reddit. Spend $500 in ad spend, get $500 back in ad credit! Learn more: https://aglbrnd.co/r/491818c79fb1873f Chaser is the only Slack-native project management platform that helps teams turn messages into tracked tasks, automate follow-ups, and maintain team-wide visibility, without adopting another tool. Now integrated with Claude and other GenAI tools. Learn more at trychaser.com and use code AGILEBRAND for a 3-month free trial (normal trial is 14 days). Start building your own apps with Replit and get $20 off. Learn more: https://aglbrnd.co/r/93531742a7625a20 Enjoyed the show? Tell us more and give us a rating so others can find the show: https://aglbrnd.co/r/faaed112fc9887f3 Connect with Greg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregkihlstrom Don't miss a thing: get the latest episodes, sign up for our newsletter, and check out Martechipedia, the wiki for marketing technology: https://aglbrnd.co/r/35ded3ccfb6716ba The Agile Brand is produced by Missing Link—a Latina-owned strategy-driven, creatively fueled production co-op. From ideation to creation, they craft human connections through intelligent, engaging and informative content: https://aglbrnd.co/r/f1782ab12211f765 * * * Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.