Why Consumer Products Leaders Need to Deliver AI Value Fast
CIOs in Consumer Products are under more pressure than ever. New BCG research shows CEO mentions of productivity and AI have hit a five-year high, signalling one thing: boards expect AI to drive measurable business value now, not years from now.
Across the industry, CIOs are facing the same challenge. AI ambition is sky-high. AI results are much harder to come by. Most organisations are stuck in pilots, overwhelmed by toolkits or trying to build everything from scratch. Meanwhile, commercial and field teams are asking for real insights that help them sell more, plan better and execute faster.
That gap, between expectation and execution, is exactly where Vertical AI is making a difference.
Reference: BCG CEO Data Point – AI Fuels Productivity Talk
Why Vertical AI Is Becoming the Practical Choice
Generic, do-it-yourself AI platforms have dominated the conversation over the last few years. But as pressure increases, CIOs are discovering the limits of that approach. It’s slow. It’s complex. It depends heavily on scarce skills. And most importantly, it rarely gets beyond prototypes.
Vertical AI changes that.
Instead of giving companies a toolkit, Vertical AI provides ready-made, industry-specific use cases designed for the exact workflows that matter in Consumer Products. Retail execution. Key account management. Revenue growth. Trade optimisation. Claims. Planning. Shelf intelligence.
It’s AI that arrives aligned to the business, not AI that the business needs to build.
The Real Challenge Isn’t Technology: It’s Adoption
%
of AI challenges come from people & processes, not the tech stack
One of the most striking insights from BCG is that nearly 70 percent of AI challenges come from people and processes, not the tech stack. Adoption is the real barrier.
Vertical AI addresses this by embedding intelligence directly into how teams already work. Instead of creating new tasks, it removes them. Instead of extra admin, it provides guidance. Instead of more dashboards, it delivers clear next actions.
CIOs who lean into this approach are achieving impact in weeks, not years.
The Ava Use Case Library: A Fast Start for CIOs
One of the biggest blockers for CIOs is figuring out where to start. That’s why use-case libraries are becoming essential.
Ava’s Use Case Library includes hundreds of industry-specific AI use cases, mapped to real Consumer Product personas: merchandisers, reps, key account managers, revenue teams, finance and more. Each use case represents proven patterns taken from real execution across global Consumer Products companies.
For CIOs with AI mandates or board-level KPIs, this provides an instant foundation to show progress and scale value quickly. You can request your copy of the Ava Library here.
A Practical Roadmap to AI Value
In our new e-book, we walk CIOs through:
The four AI readiness profiles emerging across the industry and how to identify yours
Why CEO pressure is accelerating the need for instant-on AI
How to shift from DIY toolkits to Vertical AI for faster results
The four AI readiness profiles emerging across the industry and how to identify yours
How to turn early wins into a multi-year roadmap for enterprise-wide impact
If you’re a CIO navigating rising expectations, tight timelines and the pressure to deliver meaningful results, this guide is built for you.
Download the Full E-Book Now
With CEO attention on AI reaching record levels, CIOs are under pressure to show real impact, fast. Toolkits and do-it-yourself experimentation aren’t enough anymore.
This guide explains why the future of AI in Consumer Products is Vertical: industry-specific, proven and built around the real workflows your teams rely on.
Explore how ready-to-run use case libraries can give you instant momentum, reduce operational waste and help your organisation achieve productivity and commercial improvements sooner than you think.