Enterprises are refining their approach to identifying the most suitable AI use cases and showcasing the associated business value. At Kraft Heinz, the success of an initiative is assessed through a combination of quantitative and qualitative evaluations, as stated by Pat Nestor, the head of decision intelligence products and platforms at the food and beverage company.
Nestor emphasized the importance of tying use cases to broader business objectives, such as increasing sales and cutting costs, to create a solid business case. The company also measures qualitative aspects like impacts on net promoter score and adoption levels to provide a comprehensive feedback loop for continuous improvement.
With a growing focus on AI at the C-suite level and increased budgets to support these efforts, technology leaders are under pressure to select scalable and beneficial use cases while ensuring post-deployment success tracking. The failure rates of AI projects have increased this year, with many businesses struggling to demonstrate the business value of generative AI.
Successful enterprises attribute their achievements to aligning use cases with strategic goals, prioritizing projects, and considering available resources and timelines. Kraft Heinz views AI as a critical ingredient to enhance larger programs rather than a standalone solution, according to Nestor.
Before making significant AI investments, Kraft Heinz rigorously tests use cases, establishes success criteria, and creates mock-ups to ensure a well-rounded business case. Nestor highlighted the importance of expecting and learning from failure as part of the innovation process.
Kraft Heinz recently restructured its technology governance, consolidating data, digital, and IT under a global technology umbrella led by the global CIO, Corrado Azzarita. Nestor now heads the decision intelligence products and platforms team, managing platforms and products within the data to AI value chain organization.
The company leverages strategic technology partnerships with Microsoft and Snowflake to drive efficiencies and productivity improvements. Nestor discussed the development of KHAI, an internal AI engine democratizing access to generative AI while maintaining security measures. The platform is used for document analysis, optimization of procedures, and automation of tasks across various workflows.
Kraft Heinz is exploring AI applications in its supply chain, such as optimizing pickle production processes. Nestor emphasized the quantitative and qualitative value that each AI pursuit brings to the company.