AIM10X Global Event 2021, a free on-demand virtual event was recently hosted by our partner, o9 Solutions, from April 19-21. o9 Solutions is a cloud-based business management platform that offers AI/ML-powered collaborative planning solutions to enterprises. The event convened leaders in business planning, innovation, analytics, and digital transformation and provided a common platform to an extensive global network of 3000 aspiring innovators to meet, connect, and learn. It was one of the biggest virtual gatherings to date. The event featured sessions by leaders from Fortune 500 companies, including Henkel, Nestle, Bayer, Schaeffler, Avon, and discussion panels run by experts across the industries. The event attendees also got access to webinars, podcasts, and networking opportunities with peers.  The event offered virtual booths to organizations, where they could showcase their expertise and organize sessions for the audience, helping them leverage technologies such as AI and machine learning. Many executives from retail, manufacturing, and technology companies shared their knowledge, experience, expertise, and latest insights via virtual booths, keynotes, and discussion sessions. GSPANN’s Virtual Booth GSPANN held a private virtual booth within the AIM10x Global event. This digital space gave attendees a chance to directly interact with GSPANN’s subject-matter experts (SMEs) and gain first-hand access to our decades-worth knowledge and experience related to integrated business and technology solutions that deliver superior customer experiences. Let’s check out some of the most talked-about topics from the AIM10X Global Event: Supply Chain Management: Industry experts conducted series of webinars focusing on managing the supply chain resilience through supplier risk management strategies, COVID rebound strategy to build an agile supply chain for Retail and Consumer companies, and shared insights to make supply chains intelligent by using machine learning for forecasting. Henkel, a German chemical and goods company, shared how they achieved a competitive edge by creating an end-to-end digital twin of a mass supply chain that’s agile and data-driven. AI and ML send the demand to the supply network and replenish to replicate needs. They also boast of codes that consumers can scan to learn everything about the product life cycle. Integrated Business Planning (IBP): Executives from Samsung, Lenovo, and Braun demonstrated tactical strategies to move away from a siloed planning mindset to creating a cross-functional, enterprise-level, and holistic environment of connected communities. A series of webinars addressed the importance of IBP in a world of uncertainty and how the existing IBP processes need to be augmented (the next-gen IBP) to provide faster, real-time, more frequent, and deeper analytics, conducting more scenario planning to develop an efficient enterprise playbook ahead of time. Companies like AB InBev, which is the world’s largest brewing company, are planning to recruit a whole demand-planning organization for their FMCG brand in the APAC region to stay ahead with their IBP planning. Digital Brain: For those who are not aware of it, Digital Brain is a technology platform that brings together core planning processes such as revenue, supply chain, and financial decisions into an integrated business planning process. It uses Enterprise Knowledge Graph (EKG) – The Digital Model of Market and Operations Data and Knowledge – to convert data into analytics and algorithms to predict business-critical areas like predicting demands, aligning demands and supply, allocating commercial spending through the right opportunities, and more. One of the Digital Brain-focused webinars was conducted by the Co-founder and CEO of o9 Solutions, Chakri Gottemukkala, who emphasized on building coherent planning and decision-making capabilities to make Digital Brain the most valuable platform for enterprises. Revenue Management, Planning, and Decision-Making: A series of webinars were conducted by CPG (Consumer Packaged Goods) industry experts, discussing ways to manage revenue planning and demand planning by sensing, analyzing, and shaping commercial activities to optimize organizations’ commercial potential in the age of digital and AI. The experts also discussed some big questions that every company in every industry is interested in, “How do we get to grow again (in terms of revenue), by using the sea of data with more agility so that it feeds the capabilities that can talk back in a consumer-centric way?” The ‘People whom you should connect with’ section of the event caught attention of the attendees, where they were recommended people with similar interests to interact with. The list included CEOs, SVPs, Marketing Leads, Managing Directors, and more, with whom the attendees could connect either via e-meet or chat. These suggestions were generated via AI based on the details that the attendees entered while registering for the event. The attendees got a chance to connect with the industry experts in smaller groups via breakout rooms. The breakout rooms were sessions split off from the main event, that allowed the participants to meet the SMEs in smaller groups to deep dive into various business, operational, and functional capabilities. After this successful year, we all look forward to collaborating with the global industry experts, innovators, and visionary leaders in the next year. GSPANN’s Partnership with o9 Solutions GSPANN has partnered with o9 Solutions to help global enterprises create efficiencies within their integrated business planning and operations capabilities. This collaboration is aimed at leveraging our clients’ digital journey to enhance customer experiences by cultivating deeper, meaningful connections, ultimately increasing the brand’s reputation and profitability.