This article was written by

Follow

Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of DLTR either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Seeking Alpha’s Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.

That change matters because many companies do not really struggle with a lack of procurement activity. They struggle with a lack of consistency. One team adds suppliers one way, another routes approvals differently, and a third keeps critical exceptions in private messages. By the time leadership wants better reporting, it discovers that the problem is not the dashboard. The problem is that the underlying rules were never clear enough to produce clean data in the first place. Deloitte’s survey makes a related point in a broader way: better enterprise performance is linked not to technology alone but to the combination of technology and talent capabilities, and humans still need to remain “in the loop” if digital investment is going to work. That is a useful reminder because it cuts against the fantasy that software can settle governance questions on its own.

This is where Precoro becomes worth closer examination. External coverage places the company in a fairly specific part of the market. In Forbes Advisor’s 2024 review of supply chain management software, Precoro was identified as the option “best for approval workflow,” with the review highlighting threshold-based approvals, mobile authorization and strong report customization. The same review also noted limits: inventory features needed work, and users reported weak invoice integration. Capterra’s 2025 procurement shortlist places Precoro alongside products such as Procurify, Tipalti and SAP S/4HANA Cloud, giving it an overall score of 79 out of 100, a ratings score of 50 out of 50 and entry-level pricing from $499 a month. Taken together, those sources suggest that Precoro is not best understood as a giant all-purpose enterprise suite. It is better understood as a platform focused on centralized purchasing control, with its strongest identity sitting around approvals, structure and workflow discipline.

That positioning is important because approval logic is often where procurement automation becomes real. Many companies can live with messy intake for a surprisingly long time. The strain appears when they start growing, add layers of management, spread spending across more teams and need faster decisions without losing control. Precoro’s approval workflow documentation is revealing here. It does not begin with efficiency language. It begins with three steps: decide what rules should affect approvals, configure the steps and assign the people responsible. It lists departments, projects, locations and thresholds as common variables, and it includes direct-manager approval and over-budget approval as explicit workflow options. That does not prove that Precoro is unique. But it does show that the product is built around a practical view of procurement: if the rules are unclear, the system will not magically make them clear.

The same pattern appears in how the product treats forms and fields. Precoro’s documentation says companies can create custom forms for purchase orders, purchase requisitions, invoices, expenses, service orders and suppliers. Fields can be made mandatory, tied to approval logic and linked through dependencies so that one choice controls what appears next. There is also an important restriction: if a custom document field is involved in approval, it cannot simply be hidden through dependencies. That sounds like a detail only an implementer would care about, but it says something larger about the product’s logic. A field is not just a box on a screen. It can determine what information is required, who is accountable for entering it and whether a document can keep moving. In that sense, procurement automation starts to look less like digitized administration and more like process rules made visible.

Supplier control tells a similar story. In its July 2024 product updates, Precoro introduced supplier approval dependencies tied to custom supplier fields. In its multi-entity documentation, the company explains that suppliers can be assigned to legal entities, custom-field options can depend on legal entities and tax lists can be filtered automatically based on the legal entity chosen in a document. A separate legal-entity guide adds that all legal entities inside Precoro use the same currency, processes and approval flows. None of this is made for headline features. But it is exactly the kind of detail that matters once a company has more than one entity, more than one approval layer or more than one tax context to manage. At that point, procurement is no longer just about getting a request approved. It becomes a question of who can buy, from whom, under which entity and according to which internal logic.

Even the company’s vacation coverage feature says something about how it approaches workflow. Precoro’s Vacation Mode lets users assign backup approvers and substitute users so that approvals and document handling continue during absences. The distinction matters: a backup approver can approve or reject documents, while a substitute user is there to manage documents in statuses such as Matching, Pending and In Revision. It is a small feature, but it reflects an important operational truth. Many workflow systems seem disciplined until a key manager is away and the queue stops moving. A product that makes room for exception handling is often a product that has been shaped by real process friction rather than by a neat diagram of the “normal” path.

This is also where the limits of Precoro help define the company more clearly. Forbes Advisor did not present it as a deep inventory tool, and Capterra places it in a crowded market of procurement and spend software rather than among the largest enterprise platforms. That is not necessarily a weakness. For many mid-sized companies, the bigger problem is not replacing an entire supply chain stack. It is stopping approvals, supplier setup, entity-level controls and reporting inputs from drifting apart as the business gets more complex. In that context, a platform with a clearer main focus may be more useful than one that tries to do everything. External reviews suggest that Precoro’s main strength lies in approval logic and structured purchasing control, and the product documentation broadly supports that reading.

The broader lesson is that procurement automation is becoming a test of management quality as much as software quality. HBR’s reporting suggests companies want to move quickly, especially with AI in view. Deloitte’s survey suggests that digital investment pays off best when paired with the skills and decision discipline needed to use it properly. Against that backdrop, Precoro is interesting not because it promises a dramatic reinvention of procurement, but because it reflects a more practical reality in this category. The software can route decisions, enforce fields, assign substitutes and structure approvals. What it cannot do is decide what the rules should be. That still belongs to management. The companies that benefit most from procurement automation are likely to be the ones that understand that difference early.

What makes Precoro worth in-depth coverage, then, is not simply that it is another tool in a crowded market. It is that the company offers a useful lens on where procurement software is heading. The category is moving away from the old promise of “less paperwork” and toward a more practical task: turning internal policy into repeatable behavior across teams, entities and exceptions. External reviewers seem to recognize one part of that in Precoro’s approval strengths. The company’s own documentation fills in the rest by showing how much of the product is built around rule-setting, dependencies and continuity in roles and approvals. Looked at that way, Precoro is less a story about automation replacing judgment than about software exposing how much judgment needed to be defined clearly all along.

By Jennifer Nash

March’s Producer Price Index (PPI) data offered a significant reprieve for inflation watchers, as wholesale price growth came in broadly softer than expected.

Final demand increased by just 0.5% for the month, well below the anticipated

Rachel Reeves has pledged to slash electricity bills by up to a quarter for more than 10,000 British manufacturers, in a move Whitehall hopes will shore up the country’s battered industrial base and blunt criticism that ministers have been slow to tackle the highest energy costs in the developed world.

Speaking from Washington, where she is attending the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund, the Chancellor confirmed on Thursday that the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (BICS) will be widened by 40 per cent, bringing an additional 3,000 firms under its umbrella. The scheme, first trailed in last year’s Modern Industrial Strategy, will exempt qualifying businesses from the indirect costs of three legacy green levies: the Renewables Obligation, Feed-in Tariffs and the Capacity Market.

Treasury officials put the value of the relief at roughly £35 to £40 per megawatt hour, or up to £600 million a year once the scheme takes effect in April 2027. Crucially, ministers insist that neither households nor businesses outside the scheme will see their bills rise as a consequence, with the cost being met through a mixture of changes within the energy system and Exchequer funding. Full details are to be set out in next year’s Budget.

In a concession to firms that have been lobbying hard for immediate relief, the Chancellor has also agreed to a one-off backdated payment in 2027, replicating the support manufacturers would have received had BICS been operational from April 2026. Exemptions on the Renewables Obligation and Feed-in Tariff levies will kick in from April 2027, with Capacity Market exemptions following that October.

Eligibility will run the length of the industrial spectrum, from sprawling steelworks and automotive plants to smaller recyclers, plastics producers, metal fabricators and pharmaceutical manufacturers. Aerospace companies, nuclear fuel processors and makers of cooling and ventilation equipment are also expected to qualify. Relief will be calculated site by site, based on the proportion of electricity used to manufacture eligible goods. Sites where less than 25 per cent of power is used for qualifying production will receive nothing; those between 25 and 50 per cent will get a half exemption, and any site above 50 per cent will benefit in full. Notably, the scheme draws no distinction between large corporates and SMEs, a point likely to be welcomed by smaller firms in the supply chain who have often found themselves shut out of previous industrial aid programmes.

Ms Reeves said the measure was part of the Government’s broader push to deliver “stability, keeping costs down, and boosting competitiveness” at a time when the Middle East crisis is once again rattling global energy markets. “This Government has the right plan for the economy: backing British industry, cutting electricity costs, and building a stronger, more resilient future,” she said, adding that the announcement would help manufacturers “compete, win and create good jobs across the country”.

The Business Secretary, Peter Kyle, framed the move as a response to the number one complaint he hears on factory visits. “When global instability puts businesses under pressure we’ll always do what’s needed to support them,” he said. “By extending the reach of BICS by 40 per cent, we’re acting decisively to tackle the number one issue that businesses face head-on.”

Business lobbies offered a qualified welcome. Rain Newton-Smith, chief executive of the CBI, said the Chancellor had shown she was “listening to firms grappling with volatility in global energy markets”, though she stressed that BICS should be viewed as “an important step” rather than “job done”. Lasting reform, she argued, would require stripping policy costs from electricity bills altogether, scaling up energy efficiency support and accelerating the rollout of renewables.

Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, described the final design of BICS as “a major win” for the car industry, saying it sent “a clear and immediate signal that we are open for business and a prime destination for investment”. Shevaun Haviland, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, welcomed the backdating in particular, which the BCC had lobbied for.

Not everyone was satisfied, however. Stephen Phipson, chief executive of Make UK, delivered the sharpest riposte, warning that relief coming in 2027 was cold comfort to manufacturers renegotiating their contracts now. “Manufacturers are staring down the barrel of huge increases in their energy bills this month,” he said. “Many simply can’t wait until 2027 for relief.” The UK still labours under the highest industrial electricity costs in the developed world, he noted, and failing to act immediately risked “substantial job losses and further deindustrialisation of a sector vital for our national security and resilience”, a sector that supports 2.6 million skilled jobs.

Thursday’s announcement follows the £420 million boost delivered on 1 April through the British Industry Supercharger, which lifted the discount on electricity network charges for around 500 of the most energy-intensive firms from 60 to 90 per cent. Together with BICS, ministers argue the two schemes represent the most significant intervention in industrial energy pricing in a generation.

A second consultation on the regulatory changes needed to bring the scheme to life closes on 14 May, with legislation expected on the statute book by the autumn. A full review of BICS is pencilled in for 2030. The full list of eligible SIC and HS codes is due to be published on gov.uk later today.

Whether the package is enough to arrest the slow erosion of Britain’s industrial base, or whether, as Make UK fears, it simply arrives too late for firms already on the brink, will now become the defining question of the Chancellor’s industrial policy in the run-up to the Budget.

Amy Ingham

Amy is a newly qualified journalist specialising in business journalism at Business Matters with responsibility for news content for what is now the UK’s largest print and online source of current business news.

NEW YORK — Allbirds Inc. shares skyrocketed more than 400 percent in morning trading Wednesday after the once-trendy sustainable footwear company announced a stunning pivot from making eco-friendly sneakers to building AI compute infrastructure, complete with a $50 million financing deal and plans to rebrand as NewBird AI.

At around midday on April 15, 2026, BIRD stock had surged as high as $13 or more from Tuesday’s close near $2.49, representing gains exceeding 400 percent in some intraday peaks before settling around 300 to 350 percent higher on massive volume that shattered recent averages. The company’s market capitalization, which had dwindled to roughly $21 million earlier in the week, ballooned dramatically on the news, though it remained far below the $4 billion valuation the brand commanded shortly after its 2021 initial public offering.

The dramatic move comes just weeks after Allbirds struck a deal to sell its core footwear brand, intellectual property and related assets to American Exchange Group for $39 million — a fire-sale price that underscored the depths of its struggles in the competitive sneaker market. That transaction, expected to close in the second quarter, left the public company shell intact and free to pursue an entirely new direction.

In a statement released Wednesday, Allbirds said it executed a definitive agreement with an institutional investor for a $50 million convertible financing facility. The funding, anticipated to close in the second quarter subject to stockholder approval, will enable the company to acquire high-performance GPU assets and launch operations in AI compute infrastructure. Its long-term vision is to become a fully integrated GPU-as-a-Service (GPUaaS) and AI-native cloud solutions provider, targeting customers seeking dedicated, reliable access to computing power that spot markets and hyperscalers sometimes struggle to deliver consistently.

Executives framed the pivot as a strategic evolution following the asset sale. With the Allbirds footwear brand transferring to new ownership, the remaining public entity will rebrand as NewBird AI to better reflect its new focus. The announcement also referenced plans for a special dividend to shareholders of record around mid-May, with distribution targeted for the third quarter.

Wall Street reacted with a mix of astonishment and opportunistic enthusiasm. The surge echoed past meme-stock frenzies and dot-com era pivots where struggling companies rebranded around hot technologies to capture investor imagination. Analysts noted the move carries significant execution risk — the company has no prior experience in data centers, GPU procurement or cloud services — yet the AI infrastructure boom has rewarded even tangential plays with massive valuation resets.

Some observers drew parallels to other distressed names that attempted tech makeovers, cautioning that converting a sneaker company into a credible GPUaaS provider will require rapid hiring of specialized talent, partnerships with chip suppliers and heavy capital expenditure beyond the initial $50 million. NVIDIA’s dominance in the GPU space and intense competition from established cloud providers add layers of challenge.

Still, the timing aligns with surging demand for AI compute. Enterprises and developers face bottlenecks in securing reliable GPU capacity for training and inference workloads. A niche player offering dedicated long-term leases could appeal to mid-sized customers unwilling or unable to commit to hyperscaler contracts. Allbirds/NewBird AI indicated it will initially focus on acquiring hardware for leasing arrangements rather than building massive data centers from scratch.

The company’s history makes the pivot especially striking. Founded in 2016 by Tim Brown, a former professional soccer player, and Joey Zwillinger, an industrial engineer, Allbirds gained cult status with its comfortable, sustainable wool sneakers. The Tree Runner and Wool Runner models became favorites among Silicon Valley executives, celebrities and environmentally conscious consumers. The company went public in November 2021 at a valuation exceeding $4 billion, fueled by direct-to-consumer hype and a narrative blending comfort, sustainability and style.

Growth proved unsustainable. Allbirds expanded aggressively into apparel, new shoe lines and physical retail stores, but faced intensifying competition from brands like On Running, Hoka and traditional giants. Inventory issues, shifting consumer preferences away from its core aesthetic and broader economic pressures on discretionary spending led to declining sales and mounting losses. Revenue growth stalled, margins compressed and the stock lost more than 99 percent of its peak value.

By early 2026 the company had closed most stores, streamlined operations and explored strategic alternatives. The March 30 announcement of the $39 million asset sale to American Exchange Group — whose portfolio includes Ed Hardy and Aerosoles — marked what many viewed as the effective end of Allbirds as an independent footwear powerhouse. Net proceeds were slated for distribution to shareholders after liabilities.

Wednesday’s pivot injected fresh life into the ticker. Trading volume exploded to tens of millions of shares, far above the typical low-six-figure daily averages of recent months. Social media lit up with a blend of memes, skepticism and FOMO-driven commentary. Some users joked about trading their old Allbirds sneakers for GPU access, while others questioned whether a shoe company could realistically compete in the cutthroat AI hardware leasing space.

For long-term shareholders who endured the brutal decline, the surge offered a rare lifeline. Those who held through the 99 percent wipeout saw dramatic paper gains, though profit-taking and volatility remained high. Short interest, which had built up amid the prolonged downtrend, likely contributed to the squeeze as covering accelerated on the positive news.

Analysts remain divided on sustainability. Bullish voices argue the public company structure provides a ready vehicle for AI exposure with minimal legacy baggage post-asset sale. The convertible facility offers non-dilutive initial capital, and a successful GPUaaS model could tap into multi-billion-dollar demand. Skeptics highlight the steep learning curve, potential dilution upon conversion of the facility, and the risk that the announcement represents more hype than substance in a market flooded with AI-related claims.

Next steps include stockholder approval at a special meeting anticipated for May 18. The company must also navigate regulatory filings, secure GPU supply amid global shortages and demonstrate early traction with customers. Execution milestones in the coming quarters will determine whether the pivot delivers lasting value or fades as another short-lived rebrand story.

Broader market context amplified the reaction. AI infrastructure stocks have commanded premium valuations throughout 2026 as hyperscalers and enterprises pour capital into data centers. Even peripheral or unexpected entrants have occasionally enjoyed sharp rallies when tied to GPUs or cloud computing.

Allbirds’ move fits a pattern of shell or distressed companies attempting to ride the AI wave. Whether NewBird AI can build credible operations remains an open question. The initial $50 million provides runway to acquire hardware and begin leasing, but scaling to compete with larger players will require additional capital and expertise.

For retail investors, the episode serves as a reminder of market irrationality and the power of narrative. A company famous for comfortable wool shoes is now promising AI cloud solutions, and the ticker responded accordingly. Long-term success will depend on delivery rather than announcement.

As trading continued Wednesday, attention turned to whether gains would hold or give back some of the explosive move. Profit-taking appeared in waves, yet buying interest persisted on the AI pivot narrative. The stock’s 52-week range, once anchored near $2, now reflected intraday extremes from under $3 to over $20 in some reports.

Allbirds built its original brand on innovation, sustainability and comfort. Its new chapter bets on a different kind of innovation — technological infrastructure for the AI era. Investors will watch closely as the company transitions from selling sneakers to renting computing power. The golden arches of wool may be gone, but the quest for growth has taken a decidedly high-tech turn.

Whether NewBird AI soars like the best AI infrastructure names or stumbles like many speculative pivots will unfold in the months ahead. For now, the market has delivered a resounding initial verdict: in 2026, even a fading sneaker stock can fly when it whispers the magic letters A and I.

Without such measures, younger children from richer families, whose parents are more likely to be able to help them understand how to use AI tools, will gain an advantage creating a “digital divide”, warns Prof Linnéa Stenliden, at Linköping University’s Department of Behavioral Sciences.