AI’s Place in the Future of the Food and Beverage Industry’s Supply Chain and Manufacturing Operations — A Conversation with Jeremy Tancredi and Randal Kenworthy of West Monroe

At the 2024 edition of the North American Food Manufacturing Summit series we sat down with Jeremy Tancredi and Randal Kenworthy of West Monroe to explore how data and AI are reshaping the food and beverage industry, especially in regards to supply chain and manufacturing operations. What should food manufacturers know about harnessing data for greater efficiency and performance improvements? What are the real-world examples and use cases already available that illustrate successful data-driven transformations? For companies that are still preparing themselves to embrace AI, what are the big questions they need to ask about themselves and their operations? What will getting started look like, and what are the risks of being behind the curve? For all this and more, give this episode a listen! -- Jeremy Tancredi Partner West Monroe Jeremy Tancredi is a partner at West Monroe specializing in supply chain issues, trends, challenges, and opportunities. Randal Kenworthy Senior Partner, Consumer and Industrial Products West Monroe Rapid changes in technology, competition, and the workforce require a keen focus on becoming ever more agile, innovative, and efficient. That’s where Randal comes in. For one Fortune 50 company, he defined a new product segment and streamlined the R&D process by 30% – enabling the company to bring a new offering to market four months faster than it typically could. For another Fortune 20 company, he developed the market strategy for the smart buildings market supporting the transition to XaaS commercial model. His expertise in internet of things (IoT) strategies – particularly product engineering, smart building, Industry 4.0, sustainability, and smart products – has led to many trusted advisor relationships. He has also optimized clients’ corporate IT, finance, and supply chain functions. Randal joined West Monroe in 2022 from Cognizant. As vice president and global strategy lead for the IoT and Engineering practice, he helped the practice become the highest performing group and grow the firm’s reputation as an industry leader. Previously, Randal founded and built strategy and digital transformation practices at multiple companies.  These advisory practices have focused on helping manufacturing clients transform their product strategy, operations, supply chain, and sales via digital transformation. He earned a bachelor’s degree in information systems and human resources management from the Honors Program at Boston College and an MBA in strategy and finance from Yale University. -- West Monroe West Monroe’s Manufacturing practice partners with consumer and industrial product manufacturers throughout their initiatives, from strategy to execution. Specializing in Industry 4.0, supply chain resilience, and workforce transformation, we drive success in today’s dynamic manufacturing landscape, partnering with over 400 clients including Tropicana, Jacuzzi Brands, Nutrien, Skechers, Berlin Packaging, Babcock & Wilcox and many more to create last impact with their businesses.