And that’s a fact! The Blenheim Palace Fun Run was one of my favourite races last year. The whole event has a brilliantly relaxed, feel-good family atmosphere and, of course, the house and grounds are stunning. So when Mandy asked a few months back if she should sign...

New data from 1,000 UK and US retail leaders, revealing how warehousing is evolving from a back-office function to a strategic growth driver. New research from Brightpearl and Scanforce found only 1 in 10 retailers say their warehouse runs efficiently, despite growing...

Boxxdocks’ James Della Valle on the hidden supply chain losses quietly costing retailers millions… This week on the Retail Risk – Podcast, Paul is joined by James Della Valle, Co-Founder and CTO of asset tracking company Boxxdocks.

I’ve always found Dragon’s Den a fascinating watch. Not necessarily because I’m sat there thinking “yep, I’d love to invest £120,000 in glow-in-the-dark compostable dog socks”. It’s more the format itself. The pressure of it. The strange little microcosm of business...

More than half of UK exporters say they have been affected by shipping disruption in the Red Sea. What began as a security crisis in a contested stretch of water has since become one of the most significant tests of global supply chain resilience in recent memory....

And I have the bruises to prove it… There’s something about Yorkshire roads. Beautiful beyond words. Dangerous beyond reason. And if you’re daft enough to spend large parts of your life perched on two impossibly thin tyres wearing clothing apparently designed by...

The wonderful world of operational excellence... Tell me... is there anything more gorgeous on this planet than efficiency? There’s just something about muttering terms like ‘process optimisation’ and ‘continuous improvement’ while staring thoughtfully at shelving....

Good things really do come to those who wait… They say Guinness tastes better in Ireland. Having now tested that theory personally, I can confirm it is true. Rob and I recently travelled over to Ireland for a couple of days of meetings and partner visits. It would...

Trying to change the story... Another week, another deluge of baffling news. What a time to be alive. You simply can’t fault the consistency. With that in mind... it’s got to be worth throwing in my tuppence of (measured) positivity. Would you agree? You do agree. How...

From Morris dancing to shin kicking, it seems I still have a lot to learn… Since moving to the UK, I have come to really enjoy this time of year. The evenings are getting lighter. The weather is improving… ish. And the fields have turned from muddy brown to a luscious...

And no, I’m not just talking about the sheep… The mist hangs differently in Yorkshire at five in the morning. Not dramatic. Not theatrical. Just thick enough to make you question your eyesight and your life choices in equal measure – especially at 05:00 AM! Most...

Clue: It doesn’t involve a £450 pair of Adidas “super shoes”… The London Marathon is always a spectacle. But this year it was on a whole other level. Sebastian Sawe did something many thought we might never see in a competitive race. He broke the two-hour barrier,...

I turned 50 last month. Fifty. Some people would claim that’s the sort of thing you whisper, or at least mutter while looking pensively out of a window. Instead, I’m sat here with a coffee feeling pretty perky. Mostly I’m thinking... really? That came around pretty...

Who knew Rick Astley and Trellidor had so much in common!?! Given that title, I will not be awarding any points for guessing the subject of this week’s article. Unless perhaps if you were born after the year 2000 and have absolutely no idea who I am talking about. In...

A day of AI that definitely delivered We were out at an event last week termed an ‘AI hackathon’. Which sounds more nefarious than it is. But the world’s favourite new plaything shows no signs of slowing up. It’s everywhere. It’s everything. It’s all at once. I read...

On the 18th June, following Retail Risk – London earlier in the day, we will be celebrating the heroism of hundreds of retail front line colleagues at the Heroes of Retail Risk Awards. All of retail is invited to attend… We have a glittering black tie Awards Gala...

I've never been one for standing still – and retailers shouldn't be either... You’re only as old as you feel. Or so we’re told. I have generally subscribed to that view... even if my body has other ideas! Having recently suffered a knee injury (which I still attribute...

Sometimes the gamble is worth taking… I escaped the idyllic calm of Yorkshire this weekend. Not permanently, don’t worry, I’m not that reckless. But every now and again, even a Dales man needs noise, crowds, and a questionable number of negronis. The destination: City...

Not your average Easter weekend… I thought my days of family road trips were over. Turns out I was wrong. Over the Easter bank holiday weekend, my family and I escaped to the coast for a short break. And when I say “my family”, I mean Mandy, Riley, and Pia, plus a...

A few digital bits... and shout out to South Africa! Ok who gets excited about websites? I mean, it makes sense if you’re into branding or design. Or if you’re in the marketing game (hi, Scott). Or if UX is your jam, so to speak. But I’ve been part of a few website...

There’s a reason that some classics stand the test of time… It’s April in the Yorkshire Dales. The clocks have gone forward, and apparently it’s spring. Lambs are out in the fields, bouncing around like they’ve got no care in the world. Meanwhile I’m scraping ice off...

And not everything has to land! April Fool’s Day came and went last week... And with it – a short film courtesy of myself and Jack. Based on viewership stats I'm going to assume you haven’t seen it, so let me tell you: this video sits somewhere between a product...

Across more than 2,000 installations in retail environments, we’ve never recorded a successful angle grinder breach of a Trellidor shutter... They did it! NASA’s Artemis II crew have successfully completed their historic fly-by of the far side of the Moon. The four...

What could possibly go wrong..? I assess risk for a living. It’s what I do, every day. And if I’m honest, it doesn’t switch off. It seeps into how I see the world. Spend long enough in risk, and it becomes part of your wiring. The professional lens doesn’t stay in the...

All that energy... but where’s it going? It’s been a little while now since I got back from my holiday in Portimão. I’ve had ample time to reflect. Which basically means: my body and brain have had ample time to completely forget they’ve been on holiday at all. Now,...

From Sinatra to shoplifters… we all end up singing the same tune eventually… It’s not that often that the news makes me smile, particularly right now. But this week I read an article that bucked the trend, and I thought it was worth sharing. It was about a shop owner...

It’s been a week of progress in every direction... It’s been a really good week. The kind where things click into place, and you can feel momentum building again. One of the standout moments was a live drone demonstration and panel at Retail Risk – On The Move. Not...

From crisp crunchers to carriage colonisers, I’ve seen the full spectrum of behaviours… There was an old British Rail advert that said “let the train take the strain.” I’ve taken that quite literally. I take at least one two-hour-plus rail journey most weeks. Not...

Crime doesn’t repeat itself by accident, it repeats because the same people keep causing it... Early in my career, I remember standing in a store looking at footage of yet another theft. It was all very familiar. You reviewed the CCTV, logged the incident, circulated...

An embarrassment of sporting riches awaits… The Six Nations may be over, but let us not mourn it too deeply. I prefer to think of it as the warm-up act. Because if you’re a sports enthusiast like me, I have good news: 2026 is shaping up to be a bumper year for sport...

Because all good things must come to an end… Coming to the end of anything meaningful has a way of sharpening the senses. It makes you reflective in a way that the day-to-day rarely allows. It encourages you to look back over your time in post and contemplate not just...

We could all do with remembering that... Each week when I sit down to write these articles I think... alright then, what’s new? And then I think... oh god. ‘New stuff’ is ‘news’, isn’t it? News has a pretty bad rep right now, which is totally fair. Five minutes of...

"Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realise they were the big things." – Robert Brault It’s funny, isn’t it? You can do the same thing every week and barely notice it. You walk into the same meeting rooms, read the same reports, respond to the...

A product long in the pipeline, people! If I’m being totally frank, last week’s piece about inconvenience was 73% about actual inconvenience (broken laptops, AI’s tech-hogging tendencies) and 27% about the heartbreak of a lost Guinness. Well, this week I’ve been...

From dolphins and diving in Zanzibar to a spectacular rib-crunching return home… I’ve been in holiday mode. Basking in sunshine with absolutely no responsibilities. Then I got home… and promptly broke two ribs. The timing could have been worse, I suppose. Zanzibar had...

Retail crime may be evolving, but some security principles never go out of fashion… I had my first experience of “scan-as-you-shop” this week. I know what you must be thinking… yes, I am late to the party! But in my defence, this is a relatively new phenomenon for me....

A huge thank you to everyone who joined us at Retail Risk – On The Move, Coventry this week. From the packed sessions and insightful discussions to the energy across the exhibition floor, it was fantastic to see so many retailers, partners, and industry experts come...

Suddenly those 5AM runs make perfect sense… There is a well-known proverb: "Fix the roof while the sun is shining.” It’s one of those sayings that sounds so obvious you almost wonder why it needs saying at all. Yet, in practice, it’s remarkable how often we do the...

Nearly 150 retired federal and state judges have filed an amicus brief on Tuesday supporting AI company Anthropic in its lawsuit against the Trump administration for designating it a “supply chain risk,” CNN has learned. The former judges, appointed by both...

Amid a steady diet of gloomy headlines, International Women’s Day sparks a moment of reflection for our writer... I like routine. It keeps the day honest and it keeps me moving forward. Travelling commitments permitting, I’m an early riser. On a good morning – weather...

Experts are warning the UK could face fuel shortages within weeks if disruption to Middle East oil flows continues. The UK imports a large share of its fuel and has limited storage capacity and Diesel prices have already surged, raising costs for haulage,...

Join Alex Brundle, Senior Business Development Manager – Europe & CIS at Garrett speaking on high impact, low cost employee security Internal risk remains one of retail’s most persistent and costly challenges. Yet budgets are tight, margins are under pressure, and any...

Is nothing safe from Izzy and her mischievous protégé? Some people like to collect vinyl records. Others are partial to fine whiskies or vintage watches. Me? I appear to have inadvertently acquired a rather impressive odd sock collection. No joke! Izzy, our beloved...

The Guinness, the laptop, and the great AI memory grab... Oh I do wonder what I could write about this week? Anything going on in the world? No? Nothing of note? Ok that’s grand. Keep it that way please. More of the same calm, soothing global atmosphere we all know...

Join Keith Bright and John Unsworth for an update on this critical industry collaboration. Last year at Retail Risk – On The Move, the Freight Crime Partnership was launched with a clear message: freight crime is too big, too costly, and too complex for any one...

Fruit and vegetable producers have warned they may be forced to stop production and end the season early because of the rising price of energy and transportation costs amid the war in Iran.

The best leaders are judged by what they deliver, not how long they stay busy... Last week barely touched the sides. I was everywhere doing everything. But there was one conversation that stuck with me… I was up in Scotland with a big group of our regional operations...

After months of planning, we’re just days away from welcoming you to Retail Risk – On The Move, Coventry… and the excitement is building fast. Next week, the CBS Arena will bring together some of the most experienced voices in retail, supply chain, and risk, alongside...

A 400-year-old warning for a modern world… I believe it was William Shakespeare who said, “All that glitters is not gold.” I am by no means a literary expert, but I think the Bard hit the nail on the head there. In a world now dominated by AI and digital trickery,...

Newly-released research from Gallagher (AJG) and manufacturing analysis from RSM UK highlight a "protection gap" where business awareness of risk is high, but actual insurance coverage and financial resilience are lagging.