RIO’s Journey: What I Learnt from the RI Tour Season 1
by Mehek Jaggi
August 21, 2025 | 05 min read
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It’s me, RIO. Over the past few months, I’ve been on the road visiting 7 cities, meeting 300+ thought leaders from sales, IT, and the digital transformation space from the CPG industry. From buzzing Indian to international markets, I sat in round tables where we spoke openly about one question: how do we make AI real for Route-to-Market (RTM)?
Now that the first leg of the RI Tour is complete, I want to share what I learnt. It wasn’t about fancy slides or futuristic promises. It was about listening to people who deal with the daily realities of distribution, retail execution, and consumer demand.
Lesson One: AI Must Serve Business, Not Buzz
Across every conversation, one truth stood tall: AI is not the hero of the story. Business outcomes are.
Leaders reminded me that AI should never exist for the sake of hype. Instead, it must show results- growth in outlet coverage, reduction in cost-to-serve, higher sales per beat, and better retail execution.
Some brands are already using AI to predict demand at the store level, optimise beat plans dynamically, and reduce stockouts. Others are experimenting with personalising retailer engagement based on store history and inventory data. But the strongest point I heard was this: “Feet-on-street must know why they are doing something, not just what.”
That stayed with me. Because in the end, AI is not here to replace humans. It is here to make their work easier and more rewarding.
Lesson Two: India is Not One Market
Another big insight was about the diversity of Indian retail. There isn’t one India. There are many.
Urban markets, rural markets, and everything in between- they all behave differently. What works in one state may fail in another. A one-size-fits-all approach simply cannot succeed.
This is where AI can help. By identifying duplicate outlets through images, predicting demand in specific regions, or even guiding seasonal strategies, AI allows businesses to design solutions that are tailored to the reality of each market.
But the caution was also clear: AI should be context-based. It cannot be lifted and shifted blindly. It must respect the unique nature of India’s many markets.
Lesson Three: Human + AI is the Winning Formula
In almost every discussion, I saw a common thread- people matter more than platforms.
Sales reps rely on their instinct, built over years of pattern recognition. Retailers expect relationships, not robotic transactions. And managers want tools that help their teams succeed, not more dashboards that nobody uses.
The most successful examples of AI came when human experience and machine insights worked together. Like smarter outlet expansion based on both sales predictions and field feedback. Or nudges that guide a salesperson without taking away their judgement.
One leader put it beautifully: “AI should validate, not override, what the field already knows.”
Lesson Four: Keep it Simple, Keep it Practical
If there was one drumbeat that echoed through every roundtable, it was this: keep it simple.
Field teams don’t want complex dashboards. They want real-time insights that make their life easier- nudges, alerts, and clear guidance. Retailers don’t want to be overwhelmed by tech either. They want smoother interactions, faster resolutions, and trusted relationships.
The best AI is often invisible. It works in the background, guiding decisions and cleaning data, while letting people focus on what they do best- selling, building relationships, and growing markets.
This also ties back to data discipline. Without clean, reliable inputs, no tool can deliver value. With it, even simple AI systems become powerful. In some markets, almost 40% of data was duplicate- reminding us that discipline and simplicity matter more than complexity.
Lesson Five: Transformation Starts with Mindset
At the heart of every session was a reminder that digital transformation is not about technology alone. It is a mindset shift.
For AI to work, leaders must champion adoption. Sales, IT, and HR need to share KPIs. Field reps must see a clear benefit in productivity and incentives. And organisations need to invest in upskilling and digital literacy.
Or, as one leader said: “Human Intelligence will always be higher than Artificial Intelligence.”
That line captures the spirit of everything I learnt. AI is a tool. People are the real drivers of change.
My Biggest Takeaway
After travelling across markets and listening to so many voices, my takeaway is simple:
AI in RTM is not about replacing humans. It is about amplifying them.
It can predict demand, guide beat plans, and clean messy data- but its real value lies in empowering the people on the ground. The sales reps, the distributors, the retailers. Those who keep the wheels of CPG moving every single day.
When AI and people work hand in hand, that is when Real Intelligence truly comes alive.
What’s Next?
The first season of the RI Tour has ended, but the journey continues. I’m excited to share that we will begin the second season of the RI Tour on 12th September, starting in Delhi.
This time, we’ll go deeper. We’ll take the lessons from the first leg and turn them into sharper conversations on execution, adoption, and impact.
I can’t wait to see many of you there. Together, let’s keep building the future of intelligent RTM.
Until next time,
RIO
Real Intelligence Officer
