Hershey applies AI across its supply chain operations

Host A: Welcome back to AI Catchup Weekly, I'm your host, and today we're talking chocolate — but not in the way you might hope.

Host B: Sadly no free samples, but honestly, what Hershey's is doing with AI across its supply chain is pretty sweet in its own right.

Host A: So at their recent Investor Day, Hershey laid out a pretty ambitious strategy — they're planning to weave AI into basically every stage of their operations, from how they source ingredients all the way through to getting products onto store shelves.

Host B: And when they say every stage, they really mean it — we're talking sourcing analytics, plant automation, fulfilment systems, even better connectivity between workers on the floor. That's a wide net.

Host A: Right, and the phrase they keep coming back to is "AI-enabled decision-making." The idea being that instead of just collecting data, the systems are actually helping the business act on that data faster and with fewer mistakes.

Host B: Which sounds simple, but that gap between having data and actually doing something useful with it in real time — that's historically been where a lot of companies get stuck, isn't it?

Host A: Exactly, and for a food company like Hershey, the stakes are pretty concrete. You've got ingredients like cocoa and sugar that are constantly swinging in price based on weather, trade flows, supply disruptions — and you still have to keep the factories running and the shelves stocked.

Host B: So even shaving a little time off a sourcing decision or catching a demand shift a week earlier could translate into real money saved, or at least losses avoided.

Host A: Their CEO Kirk Tanner was pretty bullish about it too — he said, and I'm quoting here, "The strategy is clear. The team is ready. The next chapter of growth and leading performance starts now." Very punchy Investor Day energy.

Host B: Classic Investor Day energy! But beyond the corporate enthusiasm, what I find genuinely interesting is that this isn't Hershey running a small AI pilot in one department — they're positioning it as embedded infrastructure across the whole operation.

Host A: And that's actually the bigger trend worth watching. Companies are moving away from narrow AI experiments and toward treating AI as a core part of how physical businesses run day to day — not just a tech layer on top.

Host B: So Hershey becomes a bit of a case study for any company dealing in physical goods — food, logistics, manufacturing — that's trying to figure out how to make this stuff actually work in the real world.

Host A: Exactly. The technology might be running quietly in the background, but its fingerprints are going to be all over how these businesses operate going forward.

Host B: And maybe, just maybe, it'll mean your favorite chocolate bar is actually in stock when you want it. Truly the highest use of artificial intelligence.

Host A: The dream. Alright, that's a wrap on today's episode of AI Catchup Weekly — thanks so much for tuning in.

Host B: Stay curious, stay informed, and we'll see you next week.