Marzetti is focusing on expanding AI adoption following a major ERP overhaul, according to CIO Liam Durbin. The previous project laid the foundation for further modernization and innovation at the Ohio-based food company.
“We are absolutely locked and loaded for AI,” Durbin told CIO Dive. “We have all of our data ready to go. We’re building out use cases. We just had one project go live and we’ve built a nice, healthy queue of three or four coming up right behind it.”
During the ERP project, the IT organization was solely focused on the implementation. Now, they are integrating AI into their workflows and deploying it across various departments like finance and HR.
Marzetti took a cautious approach to AI adoption, ensuring that the necessary groundwork was in place before moving forward. Durbin emphasized the importance of a solid data environment for successful AI projects.
This year, Marzetti has been working on enhancing AI literacy across the organization in preparation for upcoming projects. Durbin initiated a prompt-of-the-week activity to familiarize employees with interacting with large language models and circulating acceptable use policies.
After forming an AI council and identifying AI champions, the prompt exercise was discontinued. However, occasional prompt lessons will still be sent out as a refresher.
Marzetti is planning to introduce ChatGPT to all knowledge workers in the next six months as a vital workplace tool. Durbin sees this generative AI assistant as essential as Microsoft 365 and is ensuring secure access and implementing guardrails.
“We’re in good shape,” Durbin said. “We’re not trying to impress anybody. We’re just moving along at our good pace – and our internal stakeholders and the board are happy.”
Lessons learned from an ERP overhaul
Prior to delving into AI, Marzetti underwent a complex ERP migration to SAP S/4HANA. ERP updates can be challenging, with many initiatives failing to meet initial expectations, as per Gartner.
Despite the hurdles faced during the migration project, Marzetti managed to navigate through with alignment from decision-makers and employees, creating a conducive environment for progress.
Challenges such as project delays due to the pandemic and operational adjustments post-implementation were encountered. However, Marzetti was able to overcome these obstacles by establishing a change management center of excellence and prioritizing backlog.
“The COE is the business-facing product organization that now reports to me,” Durbin explained. “I can now own the whole piece of satisfying the business needs – from the voice of the customer all the way through to the technology implementation.”