From Spreadsheets to Smart Systems: A Practical Implementation Roadmap After watching trade spend climb while promotional ROI stagnated, many CPG category managers are ready to move beyond Excel-based planning. But knowing you need AI and actually implementing it successfully are two different challenges. This guide walks through the practical steps to deploy AI-powered trade promotion optimization, based on real implementations across consumer packaged goods companies. The promise of AI-Powered Trade Promotion is compelling: better forecast accuracy, optimized promotional mechanics, and measurable improvements in trade spend efficiency. But getting there requires a structured approach that addresses technology, data, process, and people simultaneously. Skip any of these elements, and your implementation will struggle. Step 1: Audit Your Current Data Infrastructure Before evaluating any AI platform, map your existing data landscape.…