Unilever boosts Walmart Mexico on-shelf availability above 98% with proprietary AI supply chain model

Unilever, a global CPG manufacturer, set out to improve on-shelf availability (OSA) at Walmart Mexico, one of its largest retail customers. The biggest challenge was connecting data across Unilever and Walmart Mexico to establish a single, collaborative supply chain.

Unilever addressed this by building a proprietary AI model as part of what it terms 'One Supply Chain.' The model integrates point-of-sale data, inventory management feeds, and demand forecasts from both Unilever and Walmart Mexico in real time. By generating forecasts at day-and-store granularity, the system enables more rapid replenishment. Promotional planning and execution are also synchronized within the model. Unilever first piloted the solution in its nutrition category in 2022, validating performance before expanding the rollout across all in-store Walmart Mexico products.

The Walmart Mexico pilot achieved on-shelf availability rates exceeding 98%. In less than a year, strong category growth was recorded alongside a reduction in inventory levels. Additional reported improvements include:

• In-stock and fill rates improved
• Forecast accuracy improved
• The Unilever–Walmart Mexico relationship became a collaborative, data-sharing supply chain partnership

Based on these results, Unilever is now extending the model to key global customers, smaller retailers, and digital commerce channels.

• Real-time, bidirectional data sharing between CPG manufacturer and retailer is the foundational prerequisite — AI cannot compensate for upstream data gaps or siloed systems.
• Day/store granularity is the minimum resolution needed to generate actionable replenishment signals; aggregated forecasts obscure local demand patterns.
• A single-category pilot limits integration risk and builds internal confidence before committing to a full product-range rollout.
• Synchronizing promotional planning within the supply chain model is critical — unplanned demand spikes from promotions are a leading cause of preventable stockouts.
• High OSA and lower inventory are not inherent trade-offs; a well-calibrated AI model can deliver both simultaneously.