Nestle: Driving Innovation through AI and other Disruptive Tech

Nestle uses AI to drive customer experience and business intelligence

Nestle, a multi-conglomerate that has been leading the Food and Beverage industry for more than 150 years now, has made its mark in the digital space. The giant has been leveraging disruptive technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning, advanced data analytics, blockchain, augmented reality, and many more to enhance business prospects and provide a better customer experience. Nestle's digital transformation journey can be traced back to 2018.

Recently, Nestle expanded its AI efforts by introducing a new tool known as 'Cookie Coach'. Nestle USA launched this virtual bot to provide answers to queries regarding their Toll House chocolate chip cookie recipe. This AI-powered coach, Ruth is a multimodal virtual assistant that uses autonomous animation. Nestle has been successfully steering its digital journey through different methods. Let us look at some of the efforts made by Nestle to integrate modern technology into its services.

Data-Driven Business

Nestle has fostered AI and data analytics to develop data-driven business strategies. According to reports, Nestle has an adept framework that makes the data accessible, interoperable, and democratized. Nestle developed a centralized data warehouse with Microsoft Power BI and Azure to develop a reliable data analytics and business intelligence platform with good quality, scalable data.

Powered by powerful data models and algorithms, Nestle leverages the power of data to deliver the best intelligent insights. According to Forbes, Nestle USA and Enterra Solutions partnered to leverage AI tools to enhance business decisions. This collaboration is to gain advanced sales and marketing insights by automating the decision-making process. By gathering a wide array of data, Nestle is integrating advanced data analytics, machine learning, and AI to establish a link between the suppliers and consumers. Real-time data analytics has a huge role to play in business growth these days. Nestle understood this possibility at an early stage.

Boosting Consumer Engagement

Nestle has always tried to maintain a connection with its customers. With the advent of disruptive technologies, it became easier to achieve this goal. Nestle's data intelligence strategy analyses and understands consumer needs, behaviors, and trends. By utilizing technologies like NLP, conversational AI, voice assistants, and machine learning, the brand has managed to establish a one-on-one relationship with its consumers. It has also enhanced personalized customer engagement through intelligent chatbots, digital nutrition advice, apps, etc. The company uses AI for providing personalized health and wellness solutions, custom recipes, answer queries, and more.

Data analytics and consumer insights enable Nestle to identify different consumer preferences and design products accordingly. Nestle organized a digital campaign called, Kitkat Chocolatory eCommerce Experience, which aimed to analyze the personalized taste choices of their customers. Nestle has been prioritizing interactive marketing experiences and engaging with its audience, by leveraging the power of modern technology.

Nestle announced that it was leveraging SAS analytics to enhance accurate demand planning and forecasting, and minimizing inventory overstocks and supply chain errors. The company utilizes the capabilities of predictive analytics and robotics for factory automation, supply chain traceability. Nestle increased the scope of Transport Hub technologies to cover 50% of its Global Logistics Network in 2020. Additionally, the brand also extended the AI-powered network optimization tools to evaluate product sourcing and delivery process. Nestle is also inching towards sustainable packaging, plant-based food production, and carbon-emission reduction as a gesture towards the climate risk.

Other Techs

Amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, Nestle enhanced its Augmented Reality solutions to remotely connect with the production team, R&D sites, and suppliers. According to reports, the company used smart glasses, 360-degree cameras, and 3D software to assist complex projects in worldwide branches of Nestle. Another innovation is its investment in blockchain technology to establish transparency in its supply chain. Reports suggest that Nestle collaborated with OpenSC to pilot open blockchain technology. It will help the brand to enable supply chain tracking, immutable real-time transactions, and better visibility into the supply structure.