On September 16, 2019, Salesforce announced two new industry-specific cloud-based CRM solutions:

• Manufacturing Cloud, which delivers a new level of business visibility and collaboration between the sales and operations organizations of a manufacturing company.
• Consumer Goods Cloud, which enables consumer goods companies to drive revenue growth and maximize ROI through improved retail execution capabilities.

Consumer Goods Cloud

This platform enables consumer goods companies to drive revenue growth and maximize ROI through improved retail execution capabilities. Consumer Goods Cloud enables reps to use AI to optimize key tasks, drive higher revenues through better promotion execution and order management, and to elevate the in-store experience for the end consumer.   The platforms help field reps to:

• Improve visit planning, including accessing a list of prioritized and assigned store visits for the day with required and suggested activities, with in-app map functionality to intelligently manage routing, as well as analyzing the health of the business across stores while surfacing new opportunities.
• Optimize visit execution, including accessing customizable templates based on store or segment types to help ensure specific store needs are met every time, from inventory and planogram checks to return order processing and surveys, all from a mobile device.
• Harness Einstein AI to optimize compliance and product placement. Einstein Vision for Consumer Goods Cloud enables inventory, planogram and merchandising compliance checks. Reps can take a picture of a shelf and immediately see if it is organized correctly without having to manually count and input data.
• Easily capture orders and data, including capturing orders during a store visit, collecting important data such as product, quantity and pricing, all using a mobile device.

Partners include Accenture and PwC. Availability is as follows:

• Consumer Goods Cloud will be generally available on October 15, 2019.
• Einstein Analytics for Consumer Goods will be generally available in February 2020.

Implications for Retail The Consumer Goods Cloud broadens Salesforce’s product offerings in retail and consumer goods by providing specific functionality to improve retail execution and enhance field reps’ visits to retail stores, leveraging its Einstein AI technology. Manufacturing Cloud This platform brings sales and operations teams together with a unified view of market and customer demand to more accurately forecast, plan and drive performance. The platform’s key features include:

• Sales Agreements to manufacturers to unify the run-rate business with data housed in ERP and order management systems with contract terms so operations and account teams have a 360-degree view of the customer.
• Account-Based Forecasting, which gives manufacturers a complete view of the current business and future opportunities, enabling sales, finance and operations teams to develop more accurate forecasts while breaking down internal silos.

Companies collaborating with Salesforce in pilot testing include Kawasaki Motors USA Engines Division, Hitachi Chemical, CF Industries, Mipox, GELITA and others. Partners include Accenture, Acumen Solutions, Deloitte and Rootstock. The platform also includes manufacturing-specific functions within Einstein Analytics, such as Community Cloud and Mulesoft Anypoint Platform. The Consumer Goods Cloud product is expected to be generally available in October 2019.