New Salesforce Capabilities Bring Unified Data, Relevant AI Insights to Consumer Goods Planning and Execution

Salesforce today 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 optimize retail planning and execution. And, 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; 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 Salesforce Data Cloud, which unifies and harmonizes structured and unstructured data, and deeply integrating Einstein AI, customers will be able to tap into new solutions to strengthen channel partner relationships. Solutions 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.
  • For example, a company selling soft drinks in Latin America can use Data Cloud for Consumer Goods to unify loyalty data and syndicated consumer data (like Circana or Nielsen market research). With this information, they can identify which citrus-flavored sodas are particularly popular among local consumers in a certain region of Mexico, and which convenience stores tend to request replenishment of the product. The company can then recommend a higher monthly purchase order or more frequent replenishment of that specific soda for each store in that region. 

• 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 inquiries with a personalized touch while encouraging upsell and cross-sell opportunities aligned with account needs.
  • For example, a service agent from a household consumer goods company interacting for the first time with a large retailer can use Einstein Copilot Account Summarization to get up to speed on the last interactions, orders placed, customer satisfaction scores — all the way down to specific promotion point-of-sale location for the retailer — in just seconds. The summary helps to accurately address the retailer’s questions about a recent order while suggesting an additional product to upsell during resolution. 

• 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.
  • For example, the field rep of a snacks company triggers an out-of-stock (OOS) notification for an account after seeing that one of its highest-performing frozen goods is out of stock in a large retail store. The sales manager sees the OOS notification in the Consumer Goods Cloud Einstein 1 for Sales dashboard and immediately notifies the direct store delivery team to prioritize a replenishment visit. The store is restocked and incremental sales captured because all teams are working with the same real-time data and connected systems within Consumer Good Cloud.

The Salesforce perspective: “Consumer goods companies are laser focused on profitable growth. 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.” – Rob Garf, VP and GM of Retail and Consumer Goods

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.

– Rob Garf, VP and GM of Retail and Consumer Goods

Reaction to the news: “At Mars Snacking, we are on an ambitious journey to rewire and almost double the size of our business by 2030 — and we see digital and data as an increasing multiplier of value across our global business units. Consumer Goods Cloud and Trade Promotion Management will enable us to improve our business processes, data availability, and user experience in critical growth-enabling areas.” – Bartek Kononiuk, Global Head of Product – Trade Promotion Management, Mars Global 

Availability: 

• Data Cloud for Consumer Goods will be generally available this summer.
• Einstein Copilot Account Summarization for Service will be generally available within Consumer Goods Cloud this fall. 
• Consumer Goods Cloud Einstein 1 for Sales will be generally available this summer.

Go deeper:

• Learn more by reading the Consumer Goods Guide to Profitable Growth
• Learn more about Consumer Goods Cloud
• Download a copy of the Consumer Goods Insights here

Any unreleased services or features referenced here are not currently available and may not be delivered on time or at all. Customers should make their purchase decisions based upon features that are currently available.