April is Earth Month, so let’s talk sustainability. Businesses across the world are increasingly recognizing sustainability as a critical element of their operations. From reducing environmental impact to improved margin expansion, organizations everywhere have embraced sustainable practices but how can they make sure these measures pay off? This blog outlines five ways in which CPG companies may maximize the advantages yielded by sustainability and how Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven demand forecasting and optimization models can help them realize those benefits—including increased margin.

Join Nicholas Wegman, Ph.D., Senior Director of Artificial Intelligence and Alex Barnes, Senior Director of Product Management, in a three-part series that demystifies the science behind Artificial Intelligence (AI) and reveals how it can increase your margin. Taking an insightful journey into its history and present-day market trends, they will discuss why AI may—or may not—represent an ideal solution for every business.

As we continue transitioning toward a post-pandemic economy, mid-tier fashion stands out as one retail sector that is irrevocably changed. 

It's clear now that fashion retail will never return to a pre-COVID sales mix dominated by in-store purchases, nor are we ever going to see the levels of online sales that occurred during the height of the lockdowns. There remains a considerable segment of consumers that will always prefer the tactile experience of visiting their favorite stores to browse through racks and try on items before purchase. While other customers—particularly millennials and Gen Z—avoid the local mall in favor of purchasing clothes online via websites and mobile apps.

Five months ago, feels like five years, back in late 2019, I wrote, "CPG companies' online channel is rapidly growing … with sales expected to double in five years." My, how things have changed. In less than one month, there were 35% more e-commerce CPG buyers, Amazon could no longer meet its 2-day prime shipping promise, and I am still waiting for the desk that I ordered two months ago.  

The panic buying and consumer demand shifts ravaged demand forecasts, leaving most CPG companies reverting to manual intervention to fix their stock issues. While unavoidable in the beginning, this event highlights the shortcomings of many forecasting methodologies: a basic assumption that demand is steady and slowly changes. Consumption sensing takes a new approach by creating a "conversation with the consumer" to predict consumer demand and identify shifts for near, mid, and long term forecasting and planning.