167 RETAIL & CG support pricing and trade strategy, and nearly half of sales teams are continuing to replan promotions from previous years. “This disconnect between strategy and execution underscores the need for transformation,” says Zhou. “To thrive, leaders must reimagine RGM as a dynamic, intelligent and agentic capability.” In a 2023 Microsoft blog post, Zhou and her fellow executives said the idea that generative AI could give more employees access to RGM tools and insights was a “bold prediction”. Not only has that prediction now come true, but a new contender has also emerged to change the game for the CPG industry: agentic AI. “Agentic AI introduces a new paradigm; systems that not only analyse and recommend, but also act autonomously,” says Zhou. “These agents are contextual, continuous and adaptive, which in RGM can facilitate realtime scenario planning, pricing agility and promotion orchestration. Agentic AI bridges the gap between strategy and field execution, moving beyond dashboards to decisioning.” In its 2025 Work Trend Index, Microsoft introduced the concept of the ‘Frontier Firm’; an organisation that rapidly absorbs and applies new technologies, flattens decision hierarchies and scales insights across the enterprise. According to Zhou, agentic AI is “at the cornerstone of this transformation” and is enabling firms to shift from reactive to regenerative operating models. “AI is already embedded into many RGM functions, but in a siloed way and for specific purposes such as merging data sets Photo: iStock/Thai Liang Lim
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