Utilising AI to redefine the future of customer connectivity

Utilising AI to redefine the future of customer connectivity

• Unilever's new AI-powered customer connectivity model for collaborative planning, forecasting and replenishment is capable of running more than 13 billion computations per day
• Centred on serving customers, the initial pilot with Walmart in Mexico has increased product availability at point of sale to 98%
• The model is now being rolled out across 30 key customers globally, starting in the UK and US with further expansion planned

Customer connectivity is a priority for Unilever. It sits at the heart of how we work with our customers, across all sectors, from general and modern trade to digital commerce. Ensuring an easy and continuous supply of our products, as they are required, is a big part of that equation.

That's why, working with some of our key modern trade partners, we have developed an advanced AI-driven customer connectivity model that is helping to deliver a truly integrated end-to-end supply chain, and driving growth for all parties.

Leveraging AI to transform our customer supply chain

Our model was created as a way of transforming and scaling up how we work collaboratively with our customers, revolutionising our planning, forecasting and replenishment processes to deliver an optimised supply chain across Unilever and for our customers.

Joint business planning with customers is not new, but the amount and depth of data that can now be shared is unprecedented. Working in real time, our model integrates forecast and actual sales data between Unilever and the customer, synchronising the moment the consumer purchases one of our products to the source of material. By removing the traditional barriers between supply chains and increasing visibility of data, the model creates a seamless ecosystem, joining one supply chain to the other.

This improved forecasting accuracy makes the entire supply chain more efficient, strengthening our resilience and agility across the increasingly volatile supply ecosystem. Distribution centre and store inventory has been further optimised with fewer trucks on the road - delivering precisely the required amount of stock, meaning fewer trips and with the right products being delivered at the right times.

Finally, it frees up employees to focus their energies elsewhere. We estimate enabling entire planning chain teams to avoid manual and ad hoc forecasting changes could reduce human effort by 30%.

"Technology advancements are creating opportunities for people to experiment more," says Juan Carlos Parada, Global Head of Customer Operations.

He continued, "We've been on a path to not just 'do' digital but rather 'be' digital. We're moving into an environment where meaningful portions of the work are getting done by machines, guided by people. It's a mindset shift that is leading to some real breakthrough thinking."

And for the consumer, this means their product of choice will be available on the shelf when they want it.

Working with Walmart to pilot better planning

The project initially launched as a pilot in 2022. Working in partnership with Walmart Mexico, one of our biggest customers, we trialled the system across our nutrition category before rolling it out across all our products in-store.

The results have been significant.

Customer connectivity is part of our mission for operational excellence

Our aim with the model was to create an industry-first, end-to-end value chain that is so interconnected it's hard to tell where our supply chain ends and where the customers' begins. The pilot helped us to prove what was possible and the system has been expanded across our categories and is now being rolled out globally, with an ambition to bring 30 key customers, equal to 15%+ of Unilever's global modern trade turnover, on board in the next 18 months.

Our efforts are being acknowledged externally too. Unilever was recently recognised as Supplier #1 by Walmart, Mexico. The project was also a finalist for the Gartner Power of the Profession Supply Chain Awards 2024 in the 'Customer or Patient Innovation of the Year' category.

"Guiding every decision is our North Star of being Supplier #1 to our customers. Our approach, which leverages technology, AI and strategic partnerships, has led to a breakthrough in customer connectivity, as we create full operational integration with customers as 'One Supply Chain'.

"I continue to be incredibly proud of the leading-edge digital and AI models my team is delivering, and my hope is that we can be a thought leader in driving the next operational model for our industry."

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