In the face of economic uncertainty, shifting consumer habits, and inventory reductions by retail partners, The Clorox Company is leaning into digital transformation — particularly its enterprise resource planning (ERP) system and ecommerce capabilities — to maintain supply chain agility and deliver steady performance.
Speaking at the Deutsche Bank dbAccess Global Consumer Conference earlier in June, Clorox chair and CEO Linda Rendle described how technology investments are helping the consumer goods maker navigate slowing category growth, unexpected shifts in consumer spending, and ongoing retailer destocking.
“We’ve put programs in place to reduce excess inventory over time, with better processes and better technology coming in,” Rendle said. “That includes smarter retail inventory planning and our own internal systems that ensure we meet consumer needs without overloading the supply chain.”
How Clorox is leaning into ecommerce
While Rendle did not specify platform names, industry sources indicate Clorox has invested heavily in modernizing its ERP stack in recent years. It has prioritized SAP S/4HANA and digital supply chain tools to better align manufacturing, inventory, and retail demand signals. These ERP upgrades have been critical as consumer shopping behavior becomes increasingly volatile in the wake of tariff-related economic concerns.
The volatility has shown sharp shifts in the category performance.
“We saw a 4-point swing in category demand in Q3 — from growth to flat — largely due to consumers reallocating their wallets toward electronics and big-ticket items,” Rendle noted.
Despite these changes, Clorox has maintained margin strength. The company attributes that feat to operational discipline and its ability to flex digital and physical logistics in real-time.
In addition to ERP, Clorox is also leveraging ecommerce to stay close to the consumer. While brick-and-mortar remains dominant in many household categories, Clorox has expanded its direct-to-consumer (DTC) capabilities and partnerships with major online retailers. These channels have become vital for tracking shifts in demand. They also have been vital to testing new product-pack architecture such as trial sizes and value bundles tailored for inflation-conscious shoppers.
“Even in a time of value seeking, we can capture many of those consumers through having the right size, price pack architecture,” Rendle said.
Clorox’s digital transformation push
The digital push comes at a time when many retailers are tightening inventory positions. Some of this is strategic, Rendle said, a part of post-COVID optimization efforts enabled by better analytics and inventory forecasting systems. But short-term pressures, such as limited warehouse space, are also driving more reactive reductions.
“We treat this as noise,” she said. “As long as we meet consumer needs and avoid out-of-stocks, we view structural inventory improvements as a positive.”
Newly appointed CFO Luc Bellet echoed that view. He noted that digital investments have positioned the company to maintain long-term competitiveness, even as near-term category growth remains subdued estimated between flat and -2% through May.
Rendle said Clorox expects pantry bleed-through to stabilize by late summer, with category growth returning to 3%–5% longer term.
Until then, she said Clorox will rely on a mix of digital forecasting, agile supply chain tools, and ecommerce insights to remain resilient.
“Our categories are essentials, and consumers still seek better experiences and innovation,” Rendle said. “The key is to stay close to the consumer — digitally and physically — and ensure we’re delivering value, not just product.”
At a glance: Clorox’s digital strategy highlights
- ERP Modernization. Investment in smarter forecasting, inventory, and manufacturing systems to handle demand volatility.
- Ecommerce Expansion. Leveraging DTC and online retail partners to track consumer behavior and optimize product mix.
- Supply Chain Flexibility. Using digital tools to adapt quickly to retail destocking and prevent out-of-stock.
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