Vertical AI in Consumer Goods with Mike Price
In this episode, we explore the transformative potential of Vertical AI in retail execution and field technology. While horizontal AI provides generalised efficiencies, Vertical AI empowers consumer goods and retail companies to achieve breakthroughs by addressing domain-specific challenges. Joining us is Mike Price, a seasoned expert in Retail Execution Management with extensive experience at CPG leaders like Unilever, P&G, and Britvic. Mike brings deep insights into how AI-driven photo automation is revolutionising retail execution, turning unstructured data into actionable insights, and ensuring trade investments yield a positive ROI. Together with Aforza’s Studio Marketplace, Vertical AI is enabling organisations to harness “One Snap to Business Impact,” paving the way for smarter decisions and operational excellence.
Mike provides an engaging overview of his journey, sharing how his background in retail execution and field technology shaped his vision for solving on-the-ground challenges in retail stores. From understanding the key obstacles retailers face to ensuring trade investments deliver measurable ROI, Mike’s experience and thought leadership offer invaluable insights into the future of AI-driven photo automation.
Kicking off with his personal story, Mike recounts the inspiration behind his career in Retail Execution Management, highlighting how his work with global CPG leaders informed his approach to addressing industry challenges. He shares his perspective on the critical advancements in retail execution technology, emphasising the transformative role of Vertical AI in turning everyday store photos into actionable business insights.
Throughout the discussion, Mike dives into the key challenges facing retail execution today, particularly the difficulty in understanding what’s happening on the ground in retail stores. He explains how these challenges impact the ability of companies to evaluate trade investment performance, emphasising the persistent gap between photo availability and utilisation. Despite the abundance of field-generated photos, many organisations still struggle to turn this data into actionable insights — a gap that Vertical AI and photo automation are uniquely positioned to address.
One of the highlights of the conversation is a deep dive into the Aforza Studio Marketplace. Mike explores how this innovative platform connects image recognition vendors, CRM platforms, and AI technologies to enable photo automation at scale. He explains how this ecosystem empowers sales reps and field users to seamlessly capture store photos and receive actionable insights, driving smarter decisions, improved retail execution, and enhanced trade promotion ROI.
Mike also shares his thoughts on how Vertical AI is uniquely suited to tackle the complexities of retail execution compared to broader AI solutions. By focusing on domain-specific challenges, Vertical AI delivers targeted solutions that unlock new opportunities for retail execution and photo automation. From accelerating decision-making to improving in-store execution, Vertical AI is driving meaningful value for consumer goods and retail companies.
As the episode concludes, Mike looks to the future of retail execution technology and Vertical AI. He envisions continued advancements in AI-driven photo automation and a growing role for marketplaces like Aforza Studio in enabling collaboration and innovation across the ecosystem. With tailored solutions addressing the nuances of the retail and consumer goods industries, Vertical AI is set to drive transformative change in operations and decision-making.
Thank you, Mike, for sharing your expertise and insights into how AI and photo automation are redefining retail execution. Stay tuned for more conversations on the power of tailored AI solutions and their role in shaping the future of various industries. Remember — innovation lies in addressing the nuances of every industry through targeted, actionable solutions!
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