Why actionable insights are revolutionizing inventory management for leading CPG brands. 

Consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands constantly focus on optimizing inventory management. The importance of creating agile inventory management approaches has only increased as inflation-weary consumers put pressure on brands to control costs. In 2025, many brands are struggling to find effective approaches that enable them to achieve lower out-of-stock (OOS) with lower inventory, while staying resilient and reducing costs.  

Data is the foundation of healthy inventory management and is critical to developing a central plan that demand planning, procurement, manufacturing, and logistics can all operate from. While some brands are just beginning to invest in modern technology to gain visibility into the data and insights needed to develop more agile inventory management strategies, others are already leveraging the latest data and AI to improve their demand planning and enable faster reactions to marketplace changes. Regardless of their stage of sophistication, CPG brands not only need technology to build more agile supply chains, but also people and processes. With the combination of these three critical elements, real-time insights are revolutionizing inventory management for leading brands, helping them to reduce waste as well as boosting agility and efficiency.   

Leveraging the latest data 

The biggest challenge CPG brands face in creating more agile inventory management strategies is leveraging the latest data across the organization. Brands often

struggle with sharing information throughout their internal organization to ensure that teams are aligned on a single source of truth. When teams across sales and operations do not leverage the same data, organizations risk OOS or excess inventory from misaligned plans.  

For example, if a company’s marketing team does not have visibility into inventory, they risk running a promotion on an out-of-stock product, wasting advertising dollars and frustrating consumers. This is particularly true during peak seasons when internal teams need to communicate far enough in advance to ensure that available inventory supports sales and marketing plans. Retail partners must also be aware of brands’ inventory to support their in-store promotions.  

Data sharing and collaboration ensure that retail partners and CPG brands make decisions based on the same information and communicate across teams to get products on shelves when and where they’re needed. When organizations establish clear processes for data sharing and utilization, they can create a framework that guides or even automates decision-making based on the latest insights so that when inventory levels fluctuate or sales trends shift, all teams know how to respond.  

Managing supply chain stage gates 

Once data is accessible throughout the organization, teams from procurement, manufacturing, warehousing, distribution, advertising, and marketing departments can effectively communicate to make informed decisions and optimize inventory and sales. 

Data-forward CPG brands are leveraging data to build detailed plans based on different stage gates in the supply chain. New product launches are one area where organizations must align on plans. Knowing timelines for sourcing raw materials, manufacturing, and transportation means sales and supply chain teams can determine appropriate safety stock levels at each stage of the process to capture sales upside while minimizing overstocked inventory and costly reallocation of products.  

Another approach that is gaining traction with CPG brands is using data to inform Collaborative Planning, Forecasting, and Replenishment (CPFR). Through CPFR, brands not only adjust their plans internally, but also work collaboratively with retailers to align marketing and inventory strategies and allocate their products to specific store locations. Using the latest data, brands can work with retailers to continuously adjust their plans based on how inventory is actually selling, versus using a static number to ensure that sufficient (but not excessive) inventory is available to support sales.  

Are zero waste supply chains a reality? 

Real-time data availability also helps brands to build more sustainable supply chains by reducing spoilage and waste. Particularly for the food industry, it’s critical to ensure that excess inventory is not delivered to avoid waste. By leveraging the latest data and insights, brands can proactively adjust inventory levels or recommend shifting inventory to other locations to prevent spoilage.  

For example, Chosen Foods was able to leverage real-time data and insights on their Distribution Center (DC) inventory to support rapid growth while achieving near-zero food waste. Through detailed visibility into DC inventory down to the SKU level and by monitoring their spoilage risk dashboard, calculated by weeks on hand and weeks to expiration, Chosen Foods can quickly determine if they need to run promotions or redistribute products before they go to waste.  

The future of inventory management 

Real-time data is the foundation of the inventory management strategies CPG brands are employing to drive more agile and cost-effective supply chains. Through improved collaboration across people, processes, and technology, leading brands can make faster, more efficient supply chain decisions to reduce negative impacts on their retail partners and consumers. 

By Barry Bradley
www.gocrisp.com 

Barry Bradley is the Head of Supply Chain at Crisp, helping retailers and brands maximize partnerships and drive efficiency through data collaboration. He has focused his career on end-to-end supply chain problem solving, process improvement, and transformation across brands like Target, Chewy, and General Mills.