Retail moves fast, and customer preferences change constantly. To stay ahead, brands need to quickly respond to new trends and ever-evolving customer demands.

We worked with a global consumer packaged goods company who has a small but agile team. Achieving a competitive advantage and sustainable growth hinged on three critical challenges:

• Market responsiveness: Quickly adapting to changing market trends and customer demands, and being able to demonstrate product-market fit
• Customer understanding: Having deep insight into their diverse customer base, spanning multiple international markets
• Personalisation at scale: Delivering a tailored experience to their existing customer base, within their current team size.

The brand needed a meaningful way to adopt AI – one that would help their teams serve customers better in a complex, fast-moving market.

Human-centred AI strategy

Rather than treating AI as a simple cost-cutting tool, the brand worked with CEC to create a strategic approach that puts people at the centre. The strategy focused on AI solutions that deliver both customer value and operational efficiency.

Start with human insight

Our process started with thorough qualitative and quantitative research into what staff and customers need. We looked beyond technical possibilities, and focused on identifying business problems tied to real pain points and the needs of the staff and customers.

Focus on high-value opportunities

The discovery process resulted in a roadmap of seven AI capabilities. The main goal was to enhance team capabilities and the customer experience, helping customers find products that match their needs.

By involving internal teams from the start, we ensured the solutions would be practical and trusted, building confidence across the organisation.

To prove the value of this approach and build momentum, the company chose to test one capability through a practical tool: a customer and market insights generator.

This tool solved a critical problem – scattered market knowledge. It brought together customer and market intelligence in one place, presenting it through a familiar platform that staff already used daily.

The tool enabled service teams to personalise customer experiences based on a deeper understanding of preferences and emerging trends, within their existing workflow.

The successful pilot proved the company's human-centred AI strategy worked.

It confirmed that AI delivers the most value when it acts as a “force multiplier” that:

• Handles routine tasks and scales repetitive work
• Enhances customer experience and personalisation
• Frees up staff to focus on what matters most, such as building customer relationships

This project created a solid foundation for company-wide rollout, with early adopters becoming champions of the tool across the organisation.

By focusing on one well-designed solution, the company demonstrated that a strategic, human-centred approach to AI is the key to sustainable competitive advantage and lasting business results.