Last week, the Wall Street Journal published an article titled “Large Language Models Get All the Hype, but Small Models Do the Real Work.”
It captured something we see every day at Taiga: in the convenience industry, AI has not yet transformed businesses at scale. There is plenty of flash — much like a self-driving, flying concept car unveiled at an auto show — impressive in theory, but not built, tested, or ready for real-world performance.
Meanwhile, the operators making real progress are not waiting for the prototype to become reality. They are following a clear strategic path that starts with investing in data-driven infrastructure. This allows them to leverage smaller, purpose-built models that deliver measurable results today. Meanwhile, their business is ready to adopt the next generation of AI when it becomes available.
Step 1: Build the Data Foundation
AI is like a high-performance engine — but it’s useless without premium fuel. That fuel is data. Clean, connected, high-quality data determines whether AI performs or sputters.
At Taiga, we’ve built a SaaS platform purpose-built for convenience retail that connects to the most widely used systems in the industry out of the box. It aggregates, cleans, and standardizes data across operations — creating the foundation for smarter, faster decisions today and the flexibility to adopt advanced AI tools tomorrow.
Because without the right fuel system, even the most advanced AI won’t leave the garage.
Step 2: Use Proven Technology That Delivers Results Today
Just as the WSJ article described, smaller, targeted models are where the real work is getting done today. Taiga customers are using these purpose-built tools every day to identify problems, improve margins, and strengthen operations. Examples Include:
Exposing Price Book Inconsistencies
Small mismatches between systems can ripple through operations — breaking reconciliation and hiding errors. Taiga continuously scans for inconsistencies and flags them automatically, ensuring data integrity can be maintained today and setting the stage for accurate AI performance tomorrow.
Identifying Margin Erosion
The Loss Leaders Report automatically compares cost to sales price, surfacing outliers instantly.
“The Loss Leaders Report is AWESOME. It’s helping me find issues that would have been very difficult to find before!”
— Michele Fluharty, Secretary/Treasurer, Smith Oil
Detecting Operational Issues Automatically
Taiga’s anomaly detection models use machine learning to spot irregularities across operational data — from low coffee sales to fuel price outliers — alerting the right person in real time instead of days later.
Each of these models is proven, practical, and already driving measurable impact for Taiga customers — no concept, no waiting, no hype.
Step 3: Keep the Ecosystem Open for What’s Next
Forward-thinking operators are making flexibility a strategic priority. They know the next breakthrough won’t come from a single vendor — it will emerge from the collective innovation happening across the market. Startups, new AI models, and evolving technologies are advancing faster than any single vendor can keep up with, and these tools are only as powerful as the data that fuels them.
That is why Taiga customers invest in our open platform which is purpose-built for connection. They know they will have the flexibility to integrate new technologies as they emerge and connect directly to clean, consistent data.
Because the real path to an AI-enabled future isn’t defined by a handful of vendors — it’s powered by the collective innovation shaping the market. It’s an open highway that lets operators accelerate on their own terms, wherever innovation leads next.
Ready for the Road Ahead
Some vendors are showing off the concept cars of AI — sleek, futuristic platforms that promise to do it all someday. But forward-thinking operators know they can’t wait for that prototype to move into production. They need a solution that performs today — one that’s efficient, intelligent, and built on the right fuel system.
That’s exactly what Taiga delivers:
a connected data foundation, proven models that solve real problems now, and an open platform ready for whatever innovations come next.
Because while others are still designing concept cars, Taiga’s customers are already on the road — driving measurable results today.