ForceForward is a video interview series from ForceBrands that highlights what businesses and teams look like tomorrow. 
 

According to Shastri Mahadeo, the traditional supply chain planning process is outdated. It’s manual and siloed. The lack of real-time data links across departments contribute to low forecast accuracy, low business performance, and untapped opportunity.

Enter Unioncrate, an AI-powered Integrated Business Planning (IBP) platform that delivers unmatched forecast accuracy, collaborative visibility, and actionable intelligence — enabling CPG brands to plan and execute agile supply chain strategies at the click of a button. As Founder and CEO, Mahadeo is helping growth brands leverage technology to solve today’s biggest supply chain management problems.

We caught up with him to learn more.

Check out some highlights below:

On Leveraging Technology and AI
“You have to be able to implement solutions and tools that will look at the business holistically, and I think the forgotten industry and the forgotten problem that even growth brands I think should focus on is planning. If they understand where their demand is going to come from for their specific products, when are customers going to want those products, then they know where the opportunities are. That helps them to optimize capital but you can only do that if you look at the business very, very holistically. You need technology to do that. AI now is here. It’s not going anywhere.”

On COVID-19’s Effect On the Supply Chain
“The pandemic really enhanced problems that were already there; the need for automating the process, the need for streamlining collaboration between departments, and I think it actually showed more of a need to be able to plan better as much as you could plan because obviously COVID was not predictable.

On Bringing the Business Together
“Where we are now in 2021, I think brands need to think about adopting technology that helps them to streamline and bring the business together.”

Watch the full episode here.