In anticipation of the Presidential Memorandum on Tariffs, many of our Advantexe clients have been focused on understanding the tariffs' impacts on their business from a business acumen learning perspective.

Over the past few weeks, we have launched a “tariff wobbler” portfolio into our business simulations so leaders can prepare and learn what to do in the “real world.” A tariff wobbler is a curveball we throw at participants to see how they react. These tariff wobblers include raw material shortages, escalating COGS, lower-quality vendor options, and opportunities to expand domestic manufacturing capabilities.

The workshops have been interesting, and although we’ve only delivered the wobblers to a small number of industries (semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, and automotive), we have some rich learnings to share.

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Last week, I posted an article on our blog called Beyond the Hype: How AI Enhances Learning in Business Simulations. The post focused on how Advantexe uses real AI tools and machine learning to enhance learning in business simulations. In the post, I discussed how our digital business simulations are using AI to analyze data for results and provide valuable customer feedback in bite-sized formats like AI-generated tweets to improve the learning experience. This week at a program, I saw something both scary and, to be transparent, ingenious. Participants took screenshots of their simulation results, decisions, and competitive data and fed them into ChatGPT to analyze outcomes and strategize their next moves.

Is this a brilliant move by the team for learning, or is this hurting the learning experience by taking a shortcut and diminishing the learner’s ability to think critically and learn through exploration? I thought about this for a while, and the answer isn’t so cut and dry. In this post, I'm going to look at three key aspects of how AI was used in this manner and review the positives and negatives of AI-assisted learning when using business simulations.

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I guess I’m stating the obvious when I say, “Artificial Intelligence (AI) is everywhere.” From content creation to customer service, AI is transforming almost all industries. For those of us who work in Corporate Talent Development, AI is reshaping how employees learn and how learning professionals create and deliver content.

But with all the buzz, the real question remains: How can AI be used to make learning more effective? How can AI be leveraged to do more than create efficiencies by using ChatGPT to help with ideas, writing, and putting together PowerPoint slides?

At Advantexe, we have been focusing on practical applications of AI to enhance our business simulations and accelerate learning at scale. With the growing need for asynchronous learning and reduced training times, AI helps deliver impactful learning experiences in shorter sessions. More than ever, our clients are asking, “What can you do in an hour or two?” AI is now enabling us to provide meaningful, high-impact learning in condensed formats. Rather than using AI for AI’s sake, we have been working on integrating it into our digital business simulations to provide learners with deeper insights, real-time feedback, and a more immersive experience. Here are two ways we are currently leveraging AI:

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Over the past few weeks, I have been working on an increasingly large number of Business Acumen training projects involving Supply Chain teams and the success they bring to their companies.

During this time, I’ve had the opportunity to conduct research and interview subject matter experts in the pharmaceuticals, consumer products, semiconductors, automotive, and industrial materials industries.

As I have been compiling the base conditions and writing the “wobblers” for the business simulations, we will use to teach the business acumen skills supply chain audiences need, I have noticed some fascinating patterns in terms of the significant trends impacting supply chain leaders and contributors. It’s my pleasure to share some of the insights with readers of this blog.

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Over the past decade, Advantexe has worked with consumer products companies around the world and has served many different categories ranging from soft drinks to fabric care.

Based on the situation of today, we feel that Consumer Products Companies (CPCs) in 2025 and beyond will need to be more agile, sustainable, and digitally savvy. Balancing innovation with operational resilience while addressing evolving consumer expectations and regulatory landscapes—will be key to thriving in a competitive and uncertain global marketplace.

This blog post has been created to share insights, observations, and ideas for training in the areas of business acumen, business leadership, and strategic business selling skills. While the specific challenges and opportunities may vary by company and market, here are ten key challenges that consumer products companies are likely to face in 2025 and beyond:

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