MCCORMICK & CO.: DEPLOYING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN NEW
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT CASE STUDY SOLUTION
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SYNOPSIS
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Sa
In February 2020, Jim Martin, director of Global Creative Intelligence at McCormick & Company, Inc.
(McCormick), was grappling with some challenges at his desk at the company’s headquarters in the United
States. Having been mandated to deploy Artificial Intelligence (AI) in developing new products, in
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partnership with IBM Research, he had been interfacing with over 500 product developers at the company’s
various locations worldwide. Martin faced three managerial dilemmas: How should he get the company’s
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product developers to trust the findings of AI? How could he teach and train AI to become smarter? And
how should he deal with the global−local dynamics at McCormick in launching AI-engineered products?
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So
The Case Solution Starts From page 4
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ASSIGNMENT QUESTIONS
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1. Why is McCormick deploying AI in its product development?
2. Evaluate McCormick’s roadmap with AI thus far.
3. How should McCormick get its product developers to begin to trust the findings of AI?
4. How should McCormick teach and train AI to become smarter?
5. How should McCormick deal with the global–local dynamics within it in launching AI-engineered
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products?
tio
lu
So
The Case Solution Starts From page 4
, 3
1. Why is McCormick deploying AI in its product development?
One way to discuss this issue is to examine the manner of product development that had been prevalent at
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McCormick for 130 years before the company turned to AI in 2019.
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the way of working for product developers at McCormick⎯who number over
500 and are located at the company’s twenty labs in fourteen countries across five continents⎯has not
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changed in decades. The process is not only manual and labour-intensive but also painful. As the case states,
looking for a formula that met all the requirements is often akin to searching for a needle in a haystack.
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Traditionally, the company’s product developers would begin with a seed formula and slowly build from it. The
seed formula would be derived from the company’s own databases of previous recipes. The buildup consists of
a six-step process comprising ideation, development, testing, scale-up, commercialization, and maintenance.
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The process involves adding, subtracting, and changing the ingredients and tweaking the flavours.
tio
lu
So
The Case Solution Starts From page 4
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT CASE STUDY SOLUTION
e
pl
SYNOPSIS
m
Sa
In February 2020, Jim Martin, director of Global Creative Intelligence at McCormick & Company, Inc.
(McCormick), was grappling with some challenges at his desk at the company’s headquarters in the United
States. Having been mandated to deploy Artificial Intelligence (AI) in developing new products, in
n
partnership with IBM Research, he had been interfacing with over 500 product developers at the company’s
various locations worldwide. Martin faced three managerial dilemmas: How should he get the company’s
tio
product developers to trust the findings of AI? How could he teach and train AI to become smarter? And
how should he deal with the global−local dynamics at McCormick in launching AI-engineered products?
lu
So
The Case Solution Starts From page 4
, e
pl
m
ASSIGNMENT QUESTIONS
Sa
1. Why is McCormick deploying AI in its product development?
2. Evaluate McCormick’s roadmap with AI thus far.
3. How should McCormick get its product developers to begin to trust the findings of AI?
4. How should McCormick teach and train AI to become smarter?
5. How should McCormick deal with the global–local dynamics within it in launching AI-engineered
n
products?
tio
lu
So
The Case Solution Starts From page 4
, 3
1. Why is McCormick deploying AI in its product development?
One way to discuss this issue is to examine the manner of product development that had been prevalent at
e
McCormick for 130 years before the company turned to AI in 2019.
pl
the way of working for product developers at McCormick⎯who number over
500 and are located at the company’s twenty labs in fourteen countries across five continents⎯has not
m
changed in decades. The process is not only manual and labour-intensive but also painful. As the case states,
looking for a formula that met all the requirements is often akin to searching for a needle in a haystack.
Sa
Traditionally, the company’s product developers would begin with a seed formula and slowly build from it. The
seed formula would be derived from the company’s own databases of previous recipes. The buildup consists of
a six-step process comprising ideation, development, testing, scale-up, commercialization, and maintenance.
n
The process involves adding, subtracting, and changing the ingredients and tweaking the flavours.
tio
lu
So
The Case Solution Starts From page 4
