The AI in Business Podcast The Future of AI Agents in Consumer Goods Operations - with Padma Hari of Nestlé Purina
9 snips
Oct 8, 2025 Padma Hari, Chief Digital Officer at Nestlé Purina, has over 20 years of experience in digital strategy. In this discussion, she shares insights on how COVID transformed consumer goods demand and the essential shift toward synchronized planning. Padma emphasizes redesigning processes before technology implementation and the need to harmonize goals across functions to reduce operational friction. She advocates for the use of agentic AI as a force multiplier, enabling better decision support by synthesizing diverse data sources. Practical takeaways for leaders are also highlighted.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
COVID Forced Consumer-Level Data Focus
- COVID exposed structural planning weaknesses across CPG supply chains and accelerated the need for consumer-level data.
- First-party and retailer data became critical to understand consumption and restore resilience.
Design Process First, Then Add Technology
- Design the end-to-end process and align people before investing in technology.
- Run mock sessions to build the muscle for new decision workflows before full implementation.
Use Simple Mock Sessions To Test Plans
- Execute mock integrated-business-planning sessions using simple dashboards and real-time inputs.
- Use these sessions to reveal missed opportunities and teach teams to think systemically.