AI and the Aisle: How Finance Teams in Retail, FMCG, and Distribution Stay Ahead

Finance in FMCG, retail, and distribution has never been harder.

Thousands of SKUs. Hundreds of retail and online outlets. Layers of distributors and middlemen shaping the data before it reaches finance. Geopolitical shocks that rewrite the forecast every quarter. And now AI — promising salvation to some teams and creating new blind spots for others.

Finance leaders today face a difficult reality:

• Channel data they didn’t generate and can’t always verify
• Forecast horizons that seem shorter every year
• Increasing pressure to move faster with less certainty
• AI claims that often sound more impressive than the results they deliver

So what is actually working?

In this 40-minute panel, finance leaders from Walmart Canada and Mlinar Group will share what they’re seeing inside their organisations, where AI is creating real value, and how leading teams are adapting their planning processes for a more uncertain future.

What you’ll learn:

• Where AI is genuinely moving the needle in finance — and where it’s expensive theatre
• How leading teams handle channel data they didn’t generate and can’t fully verify
• What credible forecasting looks like when long-range planning is becoming harder
• Cross-industry perspectives from retail, FMCG, distribution, and pharma
• Practical ideas you can apply in your next planning cycle