New HFS Research Report in Partnership with Cognizant Unveils How the '15% Club' is Reaping Real Business Value from AI

Core Insights - Only 15% of consumer goods companies successfully scale AI, referred to as the "15% Club," which achieves significant ROI through governance, agile funding, and business-driven AI initiatives across various functions [1][2][3] Group 1: AI Adoption and Impact - The report highlights that the "15% Club" firms are moving beyond AI experimentation to enterprise-wide impact, demonstrating effective AI adoption strategies [2][4] - AI initiatives within the "15% Club" are making measurable impacts in marketing, supply chain, product innovation, and customer service [3][4] - The study emphasizes that organizations fail with AI not due to technology issues, but because they do not adapt their operations around it [3][4] Group 2: Key Characteristics of the 15% Club - Firms in the "15% Club" exhibit strong AI governance, C-suite sponsorship, and cross-functional alignment, often embedding AI into broader transformation programs [7] - 60% of AI spending occurs outside the central IT budget, driven by business units such as marketing, supply chain, and R&D [7] - These companies utilize dedicated AI budgets and agile investment models, including innovation funds and outcome-based funding milestones [7] Group 3: Areas of AI Application - In marketing, generative AI tools are enhancing content creation and personalization, with one firm producing marketing videos in 90 languages, reducing production time by 50% and increasing campaign reach by 25% [8] - AI is improving demand forecasting accuracy and inventory optimization in supply chain management [8] - In product innovation, generative AI is guiding new product development with speed and precision [8] - AI is also being applied in sales for trade promotion optimization and pricing strategy, as well as in customer service to enhance customer experiences [8] Group 4: Future Directions - Leaders are laying the groundwork for agentic AI, which involves autonomous systems capable of executing multi-step processes with minimal human oversight [6][7] - The organizations that succeed with AI are those treating it as a strategic capability rather than a side project [9]