Easter 2024 hopped in early this year, and as a result sales expectations were muted. The Alloy.ai team, Joel and Logan, discuss the commercial and consumer-behavior dynamics at play during holidays like easter, and what they mean for consumer brands. In this episode we discuss:

• How narrow buying windows impact consumer brands replenishment efforts
• The tough decision of whether to produce holiday-specific SKUs
• What Easter sales might say about the broader economy.

Unlock the secrets landing and growing coveted shelf space at Walmart. Bill Sinacore, VP of National Accounts at PlayMonster joins Shelf Life to share advice gleaned over his 30+ year career at industrys giants like LEGO and LeapFrog.

In this episode you'll learn:

• What Walmart buyers really care about
• Tactics to get your product on the shelf and to show your buyers with data that Walmart customers will be interested in your product
• The key metrics that matter today
• Using Amazon as a proving ground to test your product before bringing it to Walmart
• The twists and turns of product innovation in the toy industry

Join us as Bill shares guidance on everything from product development, optimal pricing, and retail relationships, with a specific emphasis on Walmart.

We sat down with Matt Bergum, the Country Business Director for Canada at Bosch Power Tools, to dive into the state of ecommerce in 2024. We shed light on the distinctions between ecommerce and brick-and-mortar product launches, the balancing act that comes with a hybrid retail approach, the complex task of managing expansive product portfolios across various online platforms (and the resulting strain on margins), and the transformation of the power tools industry in the face of e-commerce. Expect to gain an insider's look into how Bosch is aiming to grow market share in an increasingly digital market.

This week's special bonus episode dives into the  into Black Friday, consumer spending, and the state of the economy. Our guest, Joel Beal, CEO of Alloy.ai and economist, provides a unique perspective on the early numbers and what they mean for the larger economy. We delve into:

• The preliminary numbers that are emerging post-Black Friday, attempting to decode consumer behavior and market trends
• The possibility of deflation
• How sales are breaking down in terms of in-store vs. ecommerce

Tune in to this episode of Shelf Life, and get a comprehensive understanding of current economic trends, their impact on consumer spending, and their potential implications for the future.

In this episode we get in-depth on the topic of data-driven decision making with Eric Richardson, Manager of Forecasting and Data Analytics at leading board game company USAopoly. As a data expert, Eric shares how consumer brands can harness data without extensive resources, how to bring and present data to retail buyers to influence replenishment and how to recognize and utilize sudden surges in consumer demand. 

This episode explores:

• Specific ways to use and present sales, supply chain and forecasting data in conversations with retail buyers
• How to spot consumer trends in the data and respond quickly
• Ways AI might change the supply chain space
• How USAOpoly and the board game industry is thinking about manufacturing in China vs. domestically

Throughout our conversation, Eric emphasizes, not just the importance of data, but also the art of presenting it in a way that is easily understandable to all stakeholders — both inside and outside of the company.

You won't want to miss Eric's advice and perspective on using in data analytics in the consumer goods industry.

We sit down with world-renowned supply chain guru, Professor David Simchi-Levi. This MIT professor and head of the MIT Data Science Lab, shares his insights on supply chain digitization and delivering on the promise of increased forecast accuracy while reducing risks. It's a transformative discussion on how you, with a moderate financial investment, can swiftly digitize your supply chain while reaping the rewards. Our discussion touches on:

• How a unified view of demand and segmentation can allow you to craft bespoke supply chain strategies for different products, channels, and markets. 
• The fusion of analytics, data, and algorithms with intuition, experience, and domain knowledge. 
• The pioneering work done by the MIT Data Science Lab on supply chain resiliency and how giants like Ford Motor Company leveraged this technology. 

We're not just talking theories. We dive straight into how supply chain management can be optimized using smart S&OP and smart execution. Learn We share real-life examples of how a consumer-packaged goods manufacturing company used data sources to predict retail orders, making concepts easy to grasp and apply in your own businesses.

In this discussion we reference:

• Harvard Business Review article by David Simchi-Levi, A Simpler Way to Modernize Your Supply Chain
• The MIT Data Science Lab

Peek behind the curtain of one of the beauty industry's most successful companies. Vitaly Simonian, the Vice President of Finance at Dr Dennis Gross Skincare, takes us on a journey through a business that's quadrupled in size and expanded into 16 markets. 
We talk about :

• Navigating shifting consumer trends
• The role education plays in marketing 
• How to effectively venture into fresh business verticals in an uncertain economic climate

We get down to the nuts and bolts of successful retail partnerships, tackling the company's collaboration with the beauty giant, Sephora. Vitaly opens up about the trials and tribulations of breaking into the device market, shedding light on the supply chain challenges they faced, and triumphantly overcame. The episode offers a treasure trove of insights and strategies that have propelled Dr Dennis Gross Skincare to the top of their industry.

How has the consumer goods industry changed over the last 30 years? Why are we dealing struggling with the same obstacles that have challenged us for decades. In the first episode of Shelf Life, our guest, John Buckley, Consumer Products Industry Advisor at SAP, uses his deep expertise and consumer products experience to answer some of these questions. From Maytag and Kraft-Heinz to Tyson, John's rich experience sheds light on some of the biggest issues facing consumer brands today:

• How do you plan for supply chain disruptions?
• How can you make sure your products are on the shelf when and where the consumer wants to buy them?
• Who really "owns" the consumer — the brand or the retailer?
• How is ecommerce transforming retail?

On every episode of Shelf Life we tackle the most pressing retail, ecommerce, sales and supply chain questions of our time with the help of experienced leaders across the consumer goods industry. 

Visit us at Alloy.ai/podcast to learn more.