Scotts Miracle-Gro is expanding its partnership with software company Kinaxis to optimize the fertilizer brand's supply chain planning operations, according to a June press release.
The broader push aims to unify planning, decision making, and execution into a single artificial intelligence-assisted platform, per the release. The company expects the move to improve responsiveness, performance and resilience.
The technology replaces manual workflows with limited standardization across business units, according to the release. Prior to the platform, it was difficult for the company to respond quickly during peak demand periods.
“To deliver high-quality, dependable products when and where consumers expect them, we needed a supply chain platform that is dynamic, reliable and responsive,” David Huskisson, SVP of supply chain and transformation at Scotts Miracle-Gro, said in the release.
Scotts Miracle-Gro decided to scale the existing partnership due to Kinaxis’ ability to model weather shifts, material constraints and production trade-offs in real time, according to the release. Those capabilities can help Scotts Miracle-Gro respond faster to sudden spikes in demand triggered by an early spring, while also reducing the risk of stockouts.
Scotts Miracle-Gro is focused on leveraging technology, especially AI, to strengthen operations, CEO Nate Baxter said during a June 3 presentation at the 46th annual William Blair Growth Stock Conference. The company has created an AI center that built 40 use cases across its operations, including the supply chain.
The company has been using AI and machine learning to improve inventory management through more accurate demand forecasting, Baxter told Supply Chain Dive last year. Besides Kinaxis, Scotts Miracle-Gro has also been developing in-house tools, he added. The efforts followed an unsustainable buildup of inventory after the COVID-19 pandemic.
"With a fairly small budget, we've hired some real experts," Baxter said. "They are now embedded in our businesses."
An ERP transition is also underway to prepare the company’s data for tools like AI, Baxter said. In April, he told investors that Scotts Miracle-Gro is implementing SAP S/4HANA as its ERP system.
