2026 Vendor Panorama Explores AI in Consumer Goods Planning
News related to:Promotion Optimization Institute (POI) · 3 min read
NEW YORK, Sept. 28, 2026 /CourierPR/ -- The Promotion Optimization Institute (POI) has released its 2026 Vendor Panorama, a comprehensive guide to the technologies, capabilities, and solution providers shaping how consumer goods manufacturers and retailers plan, price, promote, and execute. The report, now in its eleventh year, evaluates 20 leading solution providers and awards Best-in-Class Category Distinctions across 35 functional areas spanning Holistic Enterprise Planning™, Revenue Growth Management (RGM), Trade Promotion Management (TPMx), Retail Execution, Integrated Business Planning (IBP), data management, advanced analytics, plus Generative and Agentic AI.
The environment has changed, and decision speed has to change with it. Consumer goods organizations are managing more economic pressure, commercial complexity, channel fragmentation, and interdependent decisions than ever. The next era of commercial transformation is about decision velocity: making better decisions faster, connecting them across functions, and acting while there is still time to influence the outcome. This is the core message of the 2026 Vendor Panorama, which is now in its eleventh year and serves as the industry's leading independent guide to the technologies, capabilities, and solution providers shaping how consumer goods manufacturers and retailers plan, price, promote, and execute.
The report highlights the importance of decision velocity in the current environment. Sixty-one percent of manufacturers struggle to execute promotions as planned, and 75 percent are constrained in their Retail Execution capabilities. Eighty-one percent rely on manual or semi-manual compliance processes, and only 62 percent have adopted Generative AI. Fifty-two percent of organizations report that their headquarters teams lack the pricing and trade-allocation tooling they need, and 88 percent believe eCommerce activation will be essential within the next 12 to 24 months.
The 2026 Vendor Panorama expands coverage of the commercial transformation ecosystem, including Commercial Transformation Partners and Data & AI Partners. Commercial Transformation Partners include Systems Integrators, Business Transformation Consultants, and Managed Services Providers, while Data & AI Partners span Data Management, Data Governance, AI Enablement, and Information Management. The report also features new sections on the capabilities and emerging trends in Enterprise Planning, Revenue Growth Management, Trade Promotion Management, Retail Execution, data, analytics, and Generative and Agentic AI.
The 2026 Vendor Panorama is built for leaders pursuing a single version of the truth across their organization. By benchmarking vendor capabilities side by side against a consistent standard, it takes the burden out of capability investigation and helps manufacturers identify the solutions best suited to their business, accelerate decisions, and focus resources on profitable growth. The report also provides independent decision-support intelligence, helping organizations understand what is possible, what is proven, and which capabilities align with their specific business challenges.
The 2026 Vendor Panorama evaluates solutions across a broad capability set, including predictive and prescriptive analytics powered by AI and machine learning, advanced imaging (IR/AR), guided selling, playbooks and customer presentations, coaching and training, internal and external collaboration, Retail Activity Optimization (RAO), retail merchandising, omnichannel engagement across eCommerce, B2B, DTC, and tele-virtual, foodservice, headquarters planning, supply chain connectivity, desktop and mobile user experience, and global deployment.
The report is built around a practitioner's lens on vendor selection and implementation, with a focus on the capabilities and emerging trends in Enterprise Planning, Revenue Growth Management, Trade Promotion Management, Retail Execution, data, analytics, and Generative and Agentic AI. The 2026 Vendor Panorama also includes Best-in-Class Category Distinctions across 37 functional areas, where solution providers demonstrate exceptional capability across Enterprise Planning, Revenue Growth Management, Trade Promotion Management, Retail Execution, data, analytics, AI, and other critical Consumer Goods capabilities.
The report is a valuable resource for consumer goods manufacturers and retailers seeking to improve their decision velocity, efficiency, execution, and achieve profitable growth. The 2026 Vendor Panorama is a comprehensive guide to the technologies, capabilities, and solution providers shaping how consumer goods manufacturers and retailers plan, price, promote, and execute. It highlights the importance of decision velocity in the current environment and provides independent decision-support intelligence, helping organizations understand what is possible, what is proven, and which capabilities align with their specific business challenges.