Managing complexity BPCH brands face a unique challenge: consumer desire for personalised, niche products is creating unprecedented portfolio complexity. Namrata identifies supply chain organisations as key enablers in tackling this challenge.
“ Consumers’ dreams and wishes are multiplying. This is creating tremendous complexity in portfolios. Supply chain organisations can play a pivotal role in enabling these portfolios to be commercialised to address the niche segments.”
Namrata Shah
Partner and Head of Americas Kearney PERLab
The solution lies in sophisticated back-end architecture.“ Now, they can do this by creating smart complexity in the back of the house, by building the right chassis and the right platforms to make sure that we are meeting the timelines from an innovation perspective and also achieving the target margins,” Namrata explains.
The AI revolution Technology is set to accelerate product innovation dramatically, predicts Namrata:“ We first see that the use of agentic AI will not only be able to cut the time and cost of innovation by half, but significantly improve the ROI of these innovations, a lot of which tend to fail today.”
For BPCH companies with notoriously high innovation failure rates, this represents a competitive imperative. Leading organisations are already deploying AI across the innovation pipeline, from consumer insights to design concepts and ingredient recommendations. Ultimately, product-centric transformation recognises a fundamental truth, as Namrata articulates:“ We believe product companies live and die on the strength of their portfolios and their products.”
For BPCH brands, this means obsessing over tangible product attributes – texture, efficacy, scent, sustainability – that consumers experience daily.
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