Kellanova CTO Details ‘Leap’ Into AI: Clinics, Pilots, and Guardrails
Kellanova is implementing artificial intelligence as part of its pursuit to use technology as a catalyst for inclusion, innovation, and business success.
CTO Ramesh Kollepara recently shared the company’s AI roadmap and ongoing progress during the Leap 2024 tech conference.
Workforce Education
At the top of the priority list is equipping its workforce with the tools and resources needed to forge an enterprise-wide understanding of this technology and potential use cases. As part of this, the company recently launched “Kuriosity Clinics” which give associates across all titles and functions the ability to explore generative AI with Microsoft Copilot for the web.
“We have had an exceptional response,” said Kollepara. “Nearly 6,000 people have attended the optional clinics, with lively interaction and many creative ideas. You never know, our next new snack may be inspired by AI!”
Additionally, the company has been providing upskilling opportunities across technical, soft, and industry-specific skills through its Year of Development Always (YODA) education program so teams are up to date on programming languages, data science, machine learning algorithms, emotional intelligence tactics, and AI ethics and governance.
CTO Ramesh Kollepara Says...
At the core of each AI-powered strategy are the following best practices:
“Start with a business-backed problem: AI should serve as a means to an end rather than the sole objective. Convert a business problem into a data problem. We translate our business challenge into a clear brief that the design and deployment team can understand and get excited about.”
An AI-Focused Strategy
Ongoing AI pilots have already provided optimizations across the Kellanova supply chain, including in e-commerce search and through improved assortment and a reduction in out-of-stocks.
Kollepara emphasized that AI isn’t the answer to all problems, however. It requires guardrails, along with a test-and-learn approach with a high failure acceptance.
“Only about 15% of AI projects succeed initially, and that's ok,” he said. “We can learn from failures and AI can unlock growth opportunities with the right approach.”
The AI framework at Kellanova includes a varied skill set among talent, a cross-functional advisory council to develop risk governance for AI uses, and a strong tech stack at the foundation with clean data standards.
“Maintaining clean data and a standardized taxonomy is critical for accurate and meaningful data analysis,” said Kollepara.
“As we leap into the future, we continue to reimagine the way we do every aspect of business with the help of AI, and we look forward to bringing you along on our journey,” said Kollepara.
