Navigating the Present: How Industrious Producers Can Utilize Information to Dominate Despite Instability
In a rapidly changing manufacturing landscape, where challenges such as tariffs, trade policy shifts, labor shortages, and rising costs are the new norm, it's crucial for manufacturers to adapt and thrive. The webinar, hosted by West Monroe and Databricks on July 31, 2025, aimed to provide strategies for leveraging automation, AI, and machine learning to improve inventory planning and operational efficiency.
The webinar was sponsored by West Monroe and Databricks, with key speakers including Randal Kenworthy, a Senior Partner in the Consumer and Industrial Products space at West Monroe, and Doug MacWilliams, the Databricks discipline practice lead and a Certified MVP Databricks Champion at West Monroe. Shiv Trisal, responsible for worldwide adoption of Databricks in the manufacturing, transportation & energy sectors, also contributed to the discussion.
Randal Kenworthy, an MBA graduate from Yale University, is passionate about applying IoT strategies to enhance product engineering, smart buildings, and supply chains. He partners with clients to drive agility, innovation, and operational efficiency in the face of rapid industry change. Randal joined West Monroe in 2022, bringing with him a wealth of experience as the previous leader of Cognizant's IoT and Engineering practice.
Doug MacWilliams, a Director of Technology at West Monroe, has a proven track record in building modern data platforms and reducing operational costs. He is responsible for the Databricks discipline practice at West Monroe. Shiv Trisal, holding a Bachelor's degree in Electronics Engineering and a Master's in Business Administration from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, has a proven track record of leading diverse teams and delivering game-changing data & AI-led innovation.
The webinar discussed three key strategies for building agile and resilient manufacturing operations:
- Smarter Inventory Planning Using Data and AI: West Monroe’s approach involves using advanced analytics and AI to move beyond traditional inventory optimization to targeting lost sales and unmet market opportunities. By incorporating third-party vehicle data, they identify penetration gaps by ZIP code and vehicle type to discover untapped demand, enabling a proactive inventory strategy rather than a reactive one.
- Empowering Business Users with Low-Code AI Tools: West Monroe emphasized democratizing AI and analytics capabilities through low-code platforms and natural language interfaces. This enables inventory analysts and planners—not just data scientists—to build and use models that improve planning agility and responsiveness.
- Integration of Real-Time Data Pipelines: While this point was more broadly referenced in related data management discussions, the combination of tools like Apache Flink, Apache NiFi, and Kafka to build real-time data pipelines is indicative of the approach needed for resilient operations that can respond quickly to changing conditions.
These strategies collectively help manufacturers reduce dead inventory significantly, improve inventory turns, increase gross margins, and capture more market share by using AI-powered insights and automation to make operations more agile and resilient in volatile markets.
The webinar is now available on demand for those who missed it. Already registered users can log in to access the recording. For more information about West Monroe and Databricks, visit their respective websites. Manufacturers should invest strategically to build flexible supply chains, enhance productivity, and drive innovation in today's volatile manufacturing landscape.
The webinar, sponsored by West Monroe and Databricks, offered strategies for manufacturers to adapt in the volatile business landscape, focusing on building agile and resilient operations. These strategies include smarter inventory planning using data and AI, empowering business users with low-code AI tools, and integration of real-time data pipelines, all aimed at reducing dead inventory, improving inventory turns, increasing gross margins, and capturing more market share.
Randal Kenworthy, a key speaker at the event, emphasizes applying IoT strategies to improve product engineering, smart buildings, and supply chains within the finance and business sectors. His goal is to drive agility, innovation, and operational efficiency for clients in the face of industry change.
