Our Top Five Highlights from POI Fall Summit Dallas
This year’s POI Fall Summit in Dallas was one of the most energising industry gatherings we have ever attended. The conversation this year was not about generic AI, hype cycles or distant promises. It was about real, measurable impact driven by Vertical AI and how it is reshaping the Consumer Products industry right now.
Across every session, side conversation and customer meeting, one message was clear. Companies that remove operational waste and equip their commercial teams with AI built specifically for CPG are pulling ahead. And it was inspiring to see Aforza customers already proving what is possible with Ava, Aforza’s Vertical AI.
Below are our five standout moments from the Summit.
1. The Ava Library Stood Out
One of the strongest signals from POI this year was the overwhelming interest in the Ava Library. Leaders across Sales, Commercial Excellence and IT were asking for it, sharing the same sentiment: the industry is tired of generic AI toolkits and wants ready-to-run, outcome-driven use cases.
Throughout the event, conversations kept returning to the same point. Teams do not want to spend months configuring prompts or building bespoke workflows. They want Vertical AI that understands Consumer Products and delivers value from day one.
The demand for the Ava Library showed how far the market has shifted. Companies want practical guidance, proven playbooks and real-world scenarios they can trust. The reaction reinforced that the future of Commercial Excellence belongs to solutions that deliver instant, interpretable use cases, not frameworks that require heavy lifting.
2. Dominic’s Lightning Talk with a Real Ava Story
Dominic, Aforza’s CEO, delivered a fast, sharp and memorable Lightning Talk that cut through because it was grounded in a real story. Instead of talking about AI in abstract terms, he shared the true journey of Kobe, a young sales rep navigating his first role and discovering how Vertical AI can transform confidence, capability and day-to-day execution.
That authenticity changed the room. Leaders are fatigued by high-level AI narratives. Hearing a real human story brought immediacy to the conversation and made the impact of Vertical AI unmistakable.
The response made one thing clear. This is where the industry is heading, and Aforza is already seeing real people in real roles achieving success with Ava today.
3. Edrington’s Story Raised the Bar for Global Commercial Excellence
The Edrington session was one of the most talked-about customer presentations at the Summit. Their achievement speaks for itself. Rolling out a unified commercial excellence platform across 39 markets in 18 months is extraordinary.
The session demonstrated what happens when a business combines a clear global vision with technology that supports local execution. Their story highlighted the importance of agility, best practice and the confidence to scale quickly. It also showed how Vertical AI can support complex, global organisations while still delivering value market by market.
4. Ava & Neurolabs Workshop Showed the Power of Visual AI for Promotion Compliance
Our joint workshop with Neurolabs brought Visual AI into sharp focus with a practical, hands-on look at how image intelligence is transforming promotion compliance.
The audience saw how synthetic image recognition can detect issues instantly and how, when combined with the Photo Automation layer in Aforza Studio and intelligent guidance from Ava, teams get end-to-end value from every shelf photo.
It was a powerful reminder that Visual AI is not just about recognition. It is about turning images into actionable commercial insight.
5. Our Executive Dinner Was a Chance to Connect as a Community
The Executive Dinner brought together customers, prospects and partners for an evening of relaxed conversation after a packed day of content. What stood out was how aligned people were on the challenges facing the industry and how optimistic they felt about the road ahead.
Leaders shared experiences, swapped ideas and reflected on the sessions from the day. These moments of connection reminded us why the CPG community is so strong and why events like POI matter.
Closing Thoughts
Dallas showed that the future of commercial excellence will be driven by Vertical AI that removes unnecessary work, improves decision quality and empowers every person in the value chain. Ava was part of many of those conversations, not because it was promoted heavily, but because customers are already proving what is possible when AI is designed for Consumer Products.
POI Fall Summit 2025 was not just a great event for Aforza. It was a glimpse of what comes next for the entire industry: faster cycles, smarter execution and teams that finally get the tools they deserve.
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