The AI in Business Podcast CPG Data Challenges to Business Value with Agentic AI - with Jim Johnson of AnswerRocket
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Nov 5, 2025 In this engaging discussion, Jim Johnson, President of AnswerRocket, dives into the complexities of consumer packaged goods (CPG) data. He highlights how SKU and market scaling challenges complicate data analysis. Jim reveals how agentic AI can revolutionize decision-making by transforming data into actionable insights, eliminating the need for tedious dashboards. He emphasizes training AI systems like new hires and advocates for positioning AI as a helpful augmentation, ultimately enabling teams to uncover fresh revenue opportunities.
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Complexity Multiplies In CPG Operations
- CPG complexity scales multiplicatively as SKUs, factories, and markets increase, creating massive analytical challenges.
- Jim Johnson says modern CPGs face unprecedented data volume from internal and external sources that complicate optimization.
Cookie Company Example Shows Exponential Complexity
- Jim Johnson illustrates CPG growth with a cookie maker expanding SKUs, production, and markets to show multiplicative complexity.
- The simple story demonstrates how modest changes create exponential management challenges in larger firms.
Dashboards Are Check-Engine Lights
- Dashboards summarize problems but rarely prescribe specific next actions for complex issues in CPG.
- Jim Johnson argues long analyst cycle times and fragmented data leave many root causes unexplored.