The six critical pillars of successful RGM
Revenue Growth Management (RGM) is undergoing a fundamental transformation, driven by artificial intelligence and advanced analytics capabilities.
To assess the latest tactics in the CPG landscape, we asked industry leaders at the POI Spring Summit in Chicago—from Opella, Nutrabolt, and The Clorox Company—for insights on how AI is enabling organizations to unlock value through six critical areas: data harmonization, analytics, planning, forecasting, organizational alignment, and roadmap building.
1. The foundation: Data harmonization and trust building
The journey begins with data – data is the foundation upon which all RGM initiatives are built. Mike Milanowski, Former Global Head of RGM at The Clorox Company, emphasized the industry-wide struggle with data consistency: “We struggle as an industry with data, even though there’s plenty of it out there. Some of that is pure consistency, whether it’s consistency between Nielsen and Circana, or whether it is our sell-out data.”
The traditional approach to data management has been labor-intensive and time-consuming. However, AI is changing this paradigm dramatically.
“Most people [have] struggled with this time over time. We had large teams trying to do that,” Milanowski noted. “We recently did a project [to harmonize and orchestrate] our data, which would have taken months, if not a year, previously. The Clorox team was able to do that very efficiently in a matter of weeks because of AI and machine learning.”
Mike Milanowski, Former Head of RGM at The Clorox Company
Joel Handler, Vice President and Head of Revenue Growth Management at Opella, brought a finance perspective to the discussion. He highlighted the critical decision point many organizations face: “With where AI is headed: it’s a build vs. buy decision.”
For companies like Nutrabolt, operating in the complex three-tier distribution system, data challenges are particularly acute. Jack Harnedy, Vice President of Revenue Growth Management at Nutrabolt, explained their situation:
“We’re doing things in Tableau, some people are doing it in Power BI, some people are doing it in Excel. We were all over the place. We had a need to get out of this tangled web of apps and dashboards with disparate data all over the place.”
Jack Harnedy, Vice President of Revenue Growth Management at Nutrabolt
Expert Takeaway: Investment in automation for data handling and orchestration is an important foundation to any EPX initiative.
2. Analytics: Unlocking insights and challenging biases
Moving beyond data collection, the RGM experts emphasized the importance of delivering actionable insights. Handler described RGM as “a strategic financial lever, a series of initiatives, [which] could be 15 to 20 initiatives over a year that are going to make a huge financial impact on the organization, even in the millions.”
Milanowski highlighted a crucial benefit of AI-driven analytics: its ability to challenge organizational biases. “If we just take the data and the insights and we put a beautiful slide up, it’s simply going to validate what everybody believes, then nothing actually changes. We don’t push forward.” He emphasized that AI provides objective analysis:
“When we ask [AI] a question, it’s not looking for a raise, it’s not looking to get a promotion, it’s just looking to answer the question.”
Mike Milanowski, Former Head of RGM at The Clorox Company
The growth potential in AI adoption is substantial. Handler shared compelling statistics: “AI adoption and efficiencies are going to grow at around 27% between 2023 and 2027. AI was saving about $166 billion in enterprise spending in 2023. That’s going to balloon to about $423 billion.”
This investment reflects AI’s position as a top C-suite priority, with Handler noting: “The ones that adopt [advanced AI tools] quicker will ultimately grab that competitive advantage.”
Expert Takeaway: Analytics need to not only provide a post-event view, but be able to prescribe strategies that allow teams to scale coverage of major initiatives or “bets.” AI is important to scale these analytics, create more data trust, and challenge pre-existing biases.
3. Planning: From manual processes to always-on optimization
Traditional planning processes are notoriously time-consuming and quickly become obsolete. The planning process can take months, and once it’s done, it’s very hard to go back and change it in response to industry shifts. Optimizing plans that take a lot of time to create can be extremely difficult. AI-powered RGM allows for more flexibility and industry adaptability.
The vision for AI-enabled planning is transformative. “How do we get to a point where we have always-on 18-month plans that we come into and say, here’s what you need to change now to make sure you’re enacting this pricing change or promotional change in the next 6 months,” Harnedy from Nutrabolt explained.
Handler emphasized the integration aspect:
“It’s about how you integrate those RGM levers into the planning process at what points while also making sure that the data is readily available for the decision-maker at the point of the decision.”
Joel Handler, Vice President of Revenue Growth Management at Opella
Expert Takeaway: The creation, flexibility, and integration of promotional plans into execution systems like TPM is an important part of overall productivity and transformation.
4. Forecasting: Building credibility through accuracy
The forecasting capabilities enabled by AI represent a significant advancement over traditional methods. Handler shared a compelling case study:
“We did a bit of a study… where we compared [our] sales [team] versus machines. We questioned, ‘What did the sales individual say and what did the machines say?’ It was just to prove a point because the sales team ultimately didn’t believe that the machines forecast [was accurate or valuable]. Nine times out of ten, the AI was winning.”
Joel Handler, Vice President of Revenue Growth Management at Opella
This accuracy improvement has broader implications for supply chain optimization and distributor relationships. Harnedy noted the importance of credible forecasting for “communicating with our distributor partners and having them believe our plan. We could say with confidence, ‘this is what we’re going to go deliver and this is when we will do these things.’”
Expert Takeaway: Predictability and trustworthiness of analytics are the keys to a successful change initiative. Credibility of insights leads to buy-in on the execution and deepening of distributor relationships, driving value for the business.
5. Aligning KPIs, data, and conversations: Enabling unified and faster decisions
Achieving alignment on KPIs, data, and core concepts across the EPX and finance process is fundamental for effective RGM implementation. When everyone in the organization is guided by the same set of metrics and data sources, decision-making becomes more unified and efficient.
Milanowski illustrated this shift: “Conversations become smarter and more targeted because everybody is looking, literally, at the same graph or same page. It’s no longer the conversation, ‘I’m bringing this pile of Excel into the meeting and we’re going to get into a squabble over whose data says what.’” By consolidating disparate data sources, organizations can create a single source of truth that eliminates confusion and misalignment.
Handler highlighted the advantages of this approach: “The efficiency and measurement from AI, that’s [our] version of the truth. Then, [the AI tool] shows how [the insights] got there. AI allows us to stop arguing over whose baseline is right and actually get to work.” With everyone within the organization referencing the same KPIs and data, teams can focus on action and outcomes rather than debating the validity of information.
Expert Takeaway: Establishing alignment on KPIs and data creates a single source of truth, enabling faster, more confident decision-making across teams. Unified goals and metrics are essential for driving effective RGM and organizational performance.
6. Building a capability roadmap: Evolving from function to mindset
Successful integrated capabilities follow a well-defined roadmap of change management, tailored to the needs of an individual company
Achieving RGM transformation is most effective when organizations follow a clear, step-by-step capability roadmap anchored in proven change management practices. Partnering with an experienced provider is key — vendors can bring a plethora of industry expertise, best practices, and hands-on support to guide each stage of the journey. Rather than requiring disruptive, organization-wide shifts, the most successful journeys are those that evolve naturally as new capabilities are embedded and scaled over time.
Harnedy captured the essence of this evolution: “RGM is certainly a function, but until you turn it into a mindset across the organization all the way up to senior leadership, it goes nowhere.” Organizations can make this transition smoothly by building on their current strengths and introducing new capabilities in a logical, manageable sequence. The strategy for driving adoption should include identifying key stakeholders: “You have to find the believers. You must find the naysayers. Then, you have to find the loudest naysayer and you’ve got to convert that person.”
Handler explained how a systematic approach accelerates this progress: “Our team has done a series of finance one-on-ones just to upskill the commercial organization on basics of the PNL. We’ve started to weave in RGM levers, but [we’re really focused on] transforming the organization from [thinking], ‘hey, RGM is a series of five individuals trying to drive better P&L decisions to a mindset across the entire company.”
Milanowski emphasized that transformation is about steady progress:
“It really never has to be disruptive to the organization. People will resist change. They think they have to revolutionize themselves as opposed to evolving what they’re doing and learning.”
Mike Milanowski, Former Head of RGM at The Clorox Company
With a practical roadmap and the right expert guidance, organizations can advance their RGM maturity at a pace that fits their needs—without unnecessary disruption.
Expert Takeaway: A structured capability roadmap, supported by an expert partner, empowers organizations to build and integrate RGM capabilities step by step. This approach ensures seamless progress and organization-wide alignment, making true transformation practical and achievable.
The path forward
The RGM experts’ insights make it clear that successful RGM transformation goes beyond simply implementing new technology. It requires a holistic, organization-wide approach—one that blends advanced AI capabilities with structured change management, transparent communication, and a focus on building trust and alignment at every level of the organization. This approach coupled with an evolutionary mindset — rather than rapidly revolutionary — sets the stage for long-term, sustainable success.
As organizations move forward on this journey, the focus should remain on simplicity, data accuracy, and empowering teams to make better, faster decisions. The priority is about price and volume margin, and considering margin versus product. If organizations can bring those things together successfully, they can drive long-term, profitable, sustained growth.
Ultimately, the future of RGM is not just about access to better tools—it’s about creating an environment where data-driven decision making is embedded in the culture, insights routinely challenge assumptions, and every team member is empowered to think like a general manager. With the right partner and a clear roadmap, organizations can confidently navigate transformation, unlock new value, and achieve sustained, profitable growth with real-time, AI-powered technology at their fingertips.