Salesforce Launches Intelligent Data Solutions for Optimized Retail Execution

Salesforce has announced new data and AI solutions for Consumer Goods Cloud that make every step of the route-to-market process — from planning to execution — more efficient and intelligent. 

Data Cloud for Consumer Goods unlocks and unifies customer data and industry market research, providing account reps with deeper insights on buyer preferences to optimise retail planning and execution.

New Salesforce AI tools for consumer goods companies offer intelligent guidance and generate account summaries — empowering sales, service, and field reps to plan more efficiently and navigate customer inquiries to help drive revenue.

Why it matters: The vast majority (92%) of consumer goods leaders say growth is their top priority — and AI offers the scaling and efficiency opportunities needed to get there. According to McKinsey research, generative AI could drive $400 billion to $660 billion in value for the sector by way of increased productivity.

However, consumer goods industry marketers report using an average of 18 data sources to inform customer engagement and promotion opportunities. This not only makes planning for promotions less efficient, but it also limits the ability for data to accurately and relevantly inform the AI models companies use to scale.

What’s new: Consumer Goods Cloud, inclusive of Trade Promotion Management and Retail Execution, brings planning and execution together with the #1 AI CRM to help companies deliver profitable growth. Now, by connecting with Data Cloud, which unifies and harmonises structured and unstructured data, and deeply integrating Einstein AI, consumer goods customers will be able to tap into new solutions to strengthen channel partner relationships.

Enhancements include:

• Data Cloud for Consumer Goods allows key account managers to connect account data and industry data to create unified profiles for each customer, segment accounts, define micro segments by retail store, and create segmentation dashboards to plan precise assortments and promotions at a hyper-local level.

• Einstein Copilot Account Summarization helps increase service agent productivity in Consumer Goods Cloud by providing AI-generated account summaries directly in the service console. This removes the need to toggle between screens, knowledge articles, and history so agents can handle complex, high-volume inquiries with a personalised touch while encouraging upsell and cross-sell opportunities aligned with account needs.

• Consumer Goods Cloud Einstein 1 for Sales, a new bundle of data- and AI-powered features, provides every sales manager, field rep, merchandiser, and delivery driver with tools to drive account growth and productivity. Relevant retail execution details and recommendations are surfaced and visible inside Consumer Goods Cloud Einstein 1 for Sales, allowing reps to determine if they need to provide special product handling for perishable or fragile products, ensure quick replenishment cycles, improve product availability in rural areas, or reduce payment defaults with payment collection during product delivery.

“Consumer goods companies are laser focused on profitable growth,” says Linda Saunders, Salesforce Director of Solutions Engineering Africa. “Now, with the latest Salesforce innovations for Consumer Goods Cloud, they can unify consumer and customer data to plan promotions with precision, give every field rep the tools to increase sales and reduce downtime while onsite, and infuse trusted AI into the flow of work for every service agent to solve problems and upsell more frequently. In short, every consumer goods company can now transform into an AI Enterprise.”