Pepsi Co’s Phillips examines six big trends shaping the future of CPG and retail at CSCMP EDGE

At the CSCMP EDGE Conference in National Harbor, Maryland this week, John Phillips, SVP, Customer Supply Chain & Go-To-Market at PepsiCo, kicked off the event with a keynote focused on how six major trends are transforming the CPG and retail industries.

Phillips explored how artificial intelligence and automation are reshaping everything from creative production to store security. “Any discussion about change right now is going to have to have AI as a component,” he told attendees, noting that success will depend on good data and a willingness to bring everyone along for the ride.

1. AI Is Changing Everything

Phillips began by grounding the audience in the rapid evolution of AI, from simple rules-based systems to machine learning, generative models, and now agentic AI capable of making decisions on its own.

He noted that most companies are still figuring out how to use AI effectively. While many workers already utilize tools like ChatGPT, few have formal training, and even fewer operate within clear company policies. Phillips warned that 95% of AI projects fail to deliver ROI, often because data is poor or scattered across silos. His takeaway: the organizations that will win are those that start with clean, secure, and accessible data foundations.

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