Bazooka's CIO deploys AI across operations while transitioning from ChatGPT to Claude

Sankar Karuppasamy, CIO at gum maker Bazooka (separated from Topps through a $700 million sale to Apax Partners in 2023), is rolling out AI and machine learning across demand forecasting, marketing, packaging, supply chain, and manufacturing—and moving the company away from OpenAI's ChatGPT in favor of Anthropic's Claude.

Using Anaplan software with machine learning, Bazooka has increased forecasting accuracy to 90% from 60%, helping the company map manufacturing plans more precisely given the seasonality of candy sales around holidays. Priority use cases also include faster recipe development, pulling consumer insights from social media, and automating tariff analysis for imported products.

Karuppasamy is piloting agentic AI (autonomous AI that performs work with minimal human intervention) in the supply chain, focusing on freight management and tariff analysis. He emphasizes building a data-ready platform and governance guardrails before deploying agentic workflows, while pursuing measurable business outcomes.