How Does Cognitive Computing Impact the CPG Industry?

Tareq Ali
4 min readSep 15, 2020

Cognitive Computing is one of the hottest topics these days, trending on various business platforms and becoming a highly discussed subject in most business meetings. With the capability to transform the CPG industry, Cognitive Computing deserves a valuable place in your company’s technology regimen. Before we move ahead, let’s have a look at how important Cognitive Computing is in the CPG industry.

IBM Institute for Business Value Reports:
• 91% of CPG executives having an idea of the potential of Cognitive Computing opine that it will play a crucial role for their organization.
• 94% intend to invest in Cognitive Computing solutions.

Are We Bound to See the Increasing Use of Cognitive Computing in the CPG Sector Shortly?

As technology outspread is reaching every nook and corner of the CPG sector, its effects are visible through increased customer expectations. Delivering a delightful customer experience has become a necessity for current-age retailers. The CPG companies that want to lead among their peers must utilize the powers of technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Cognitive Computing to obtain valuable insights.

Having access to a pool of customer information, the CPG companies can deliver a more personalized user experience. To ensure that decision-makers have customer information at the tip of their finger, the CPG sector is keen on adopting technology that enables key executives to reap maximum benefits out of available data. Cognitive Computing is one such technology companies can rely on.

Is Cognitive Computing Already at Work in the CPG Industry?
Not to be surprised, Cognitive Computing technology with a spectrum of advantages has already gained popularity among retailers and serving as a key enabler for executives working in the retail domain. Here are a few examples where we can observe the existence and the rising hold of cognitive technology.

Personalized Recommendations
Cognitive technology empowers the CPG sector to make personalized recommendations based on a customer’s purchase history, buying patterns, time and period when a customer usually makes purchases, and other relative factors. Cognitive technology utilizes the existing powers of Artificial Intelligence to dive deep into the information of customer bases.

Demand Forecasting
Poor management of demand and supply results in adverse effects on the business's bottom line and customer satisfaction. High demand and low supply can disappoint customers while causing a severe loss of potential as well as existing customers. On the other hand, low demand and high supply can lead to a need for selling products at throwaway prices. Fortunately, the implementation of Cognitive Computing in the CPG industry can help retailers better forecast demands and manage stocks accordingly.

Product Pricing
An accurate evaluation of product prices is a challenging task for CPG companies as the market is subject to constant fluctuations. In addition, the competitor’s strategies also affect the price optimization process. Price optimization tools powered by cognitive technology enable CPG enterprises to make informed and efficient decisions to combat competition and sell their products at a profitable price.

In-Depth Analysis of Customer Data
Cognitive technology offers retailers the ability to identify hidden patterns in customer data. The CPG executives can leverage insights that tell the life events of customers, their choices, and other crucial information. This makes retailers capable of delivering better services, personalized recommendations, enhanced communication, and ease of shopping to their customers.

Advanced Analytics
It is among the top goals of every retailer to discover in advance what products their customer base will buy in the future. This information allows retailers to maximize their margins by determining the highest value that a customer is willing to pay. It, furthermore, enables them to enhance customer service. Advanced Analytics techniques offer the CPG companies predictions on customer’s buying choices. When combined with Advanced Analytics, Cognitive Computing connects retailers with their customer base more deeply and firmly.

Conversational Assistants
Conversational assistance through software bots is gaining popularity and a valuable place among customers. The CPG sector is implementing this technology to provide customers with a timely resolution to their queries. Digital devices with language detection, voice recognition, and intent recognition features allow consumers to place orders and receive products within a short time in the comfort of their homes.

Increased Efficiency
Cognitive Technology-based solutions enable CPG to conduct complex business tasks more efficiently. With Cognitive Computing in the CPG industry, retailers can identify and respond to customer queries efficiently. Furthermore, the implementation of Cognitive Computing in e-commerce models can ensure improved customer experience for online shoppers.

What Happens When Cognitive Computing Meets the CPG Industry?
Cognitive Computing solutions use Artificial Intelligence and a combination of on-premise as well as on-cloud data to gain insights into the customer base. As of today, the CPG industry needs to include more disparate sources of data to know their customers better. With highly advanced technology to examine data and abundant data to process, CPG can radically evolve to fulfill customer expectations.

Key Takeaways

Cognitive technology is revolutionizing the CPG industry across the world. The potential and capabilities of Cognitive Computing in the CPG industry will continue to increase in the future. 91% of the key executives working in the CPG sector show their faith in Cognitive Computing for the growth of their organization. 94% of strategy makers are willing to invest in Cognitive Computing services. Cognitive Computing meets various use cases of the CPG industry, such as price optimization, demand forecasting, conversational assistance, increasing efficiency, and improving customer experience.

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Tareq Ali

Tareq Ali is enriching the web through storytelling where most of his stories revolve around humans and things influenced by fashion, fitness, and technology.