P&G Launching Supply Chain Platform for Retail Partners, Dives Into Digital Innovation and Data Strategies
P&G is continuing to invest in digital transformation, focusing specifically on the supply chain, retail execution, and environmental sustainability.
Perhaps the most notable initiative thus far, however, is its efforts toward launching a collaborative supply chain strategy. This July, the company is moving forward with a supply chain services platform for retail partners across North America.
“It will enable us to better serve our joint consumers while streamlining the end-to-end supply chain, aiming to create a sustainable and expanding competitive advantage,” said Jon Moeller, P&G’s president and CEO, at the Consumer Analyst Group of New York (CAGNY) investors conference last week.
The news follows several previously announced Supply Chain 3.0 initiatives, expected to culminate in productivity savings of up to $1.5 billion per year — some of which be re-invested to expand capacity.
More About Supply Chain 3.0
The company's Supply Chain 3.0 strategy includes heavy investments across its digital capabilities to drive productivity and cost effectiveness — with a significant focus on automation within P&G’s distribution centers and supply warehouses.
Part of this includes finding new ways to identify and develop new raw materials. The company is tapping proprietary algorithms, virtual reality tools, and artificial intelligence in order to digitally design molecules and create formulas, plugging in real-time data related to costs and raw material availability. Moeller reported this has shortened P&G’s product development time frame from years to mere months.
P&G Tech Pilots in the Works
- Paper/Family Care: Using machine learning and data storage platforms to improve energy use
- Diapers: Reducing manufacturing downtime, minimizing scrap, and lowering expenses related to maintenance
- Paper Towels: Using tech to predict finished sheet lengths to deliver more accurate products to consumers.
Additionally, the company’s focus on retail execution digitization includes further developments on data investments to improve shelf-set recommendations for retail partners, requiring fewer resources and resulting in more accurate predictions.
“On the virtual shelf, we have digital tools that tell our teams exactly where to show up and search, which words to bid on, how much to invest in a campaign, and when to run it,” said Moeller. “These digital technologies drive superior retail execution and provide us with a competitive advantage versus anything else in the marketplace today.”
Within its supply chain initiatives, the company is also focusing on environmental sustainability, leveraging technology like digital watermarks embedded within packaging (invisible to the human eye) that is detectable by recyclers to increase the accuracy of plastic sorting and automate processes.
The ultimate goal of these areas of focus, said Moeller, is “a more empowered, agile, and accountable organization” with seamless support and a reduction in redundancy.
P&G’s David Dittman spoke on implementing a data-focused, consumer-centric strategy at last year’s Analytics Unite. Stay up to date on all things data and analytics by registering for this year’s event. Register here.
