About
Colgate-Palmolive Central America relied on manual store audits to measure on-shelf execution, product presence, and compliance across major supermarket chains. This process was slow, inconsistent, and difficult to scale. Ciancoders developed an AI-powered Shelf Intelligence System capable of automatically identifying, classifying, and measuring Colgate SKUs from images taken by field merchandisers.
Challenge, approach, and impact
Manual and Inconsistent Shelf Audits
Colgate-Palmolive relied on manual store audits across Central America to measure on-shelf execution, SKU presence, and planogram compliance. The process was slow, inaccurate, and varied significantly between countries. The client needed an automated, scalable solution capable of recognizing dozens of SKUs under different lighting, angles, and shelf conditions.
Need for Real-Time Retail KPIs
Trade marketing teams lacked real-time visibility into Share of Shelf, facings, product availability, and category distribution. Reports took days to collect and consolidate, making execution decisions reactive instead of proactive. The challenge was to generate accurate KPIs instantly from standard shelf photos.
Integration With Existing Field App
Colgate’s merchandisers already used a mobile field application, so the new AI system needed to integrate seamlessly via APIs. The challenge was ensuring low latency, high accuracy, and a smooth user experience without changing the existing workflow.
How we built
Testimonials
Denis Villeda, AI Engineer @ undefined
“Working with Dennis and Team for this project has been one of the greatest accelerators in my career. His ability to combine deep technical expertise with strategic clarity makes every project smarter and more scalable. He pushes the team to think bigger, move faster, and solve problems the right way. Dennis doesn’t just lead—he elevates everyone around him“
Team structure
Client team
Jesus B
Product Owner
The client stakeholders at Colgate-Palmolive Central America were working closely with the team at Ciancoders
Agency team
AI Engineers
Production
Senior Backend Developer
Production
