At our recent CCi OpEx Summit, we heard from senior leaders at The Clorox Company, FrieslandCampina, a leading alcoholic beverage company, as well as our own CTO, Ryan Estes, on the topic of ‘Accelerating OpEx through Digitization’. Ryan kicked off the session by defining what we mean by digitization. He explained that the terms digital and digitization are often used interchangeably but they are two distinct processes. Digital is moving analog data into digital format, whereas digitization is when we connect that data with useful services. A typical everyday example of digitization would be a WhatsApp message that can now be read on my smartwatch. All our panelists began by outlining where their organization is currently on the digital journey and sharing some of the insights they have learned so far.
Khari Wilder, The Clorox Company
The Clorox Company has been investing significantly in digitization and is currently exploring AI tools to bring in information and start assessing it. Khari’s key takeaway from his experience is that a continuous improvement methodology is the best way to deliver ROI on any digital investment. He explained that if you don’t have a robust daily management system, you’ll struggle to successfully implement new digital technologies and deliver the expected ROI.
Multinational alcoholic beverage company
A huge amount of work is happening across the organization to digitize its supply chain, and it has invested in a digital team focused on connecting people, processes and data. For them it’s about getting back to basics. In the past they have piloted various systems, but the big learning was that whatever is adopted needs to be what the sites and the end users need.
The organization is investing heavily in both cyber security and network connectivity to ensure access to real-time data of its machinery and equipment. It is also investing in understanding where losses are happening and the payback from reducing its losses – which is where TRACC comes in.
Another focus area is adopting digital solutions that help embed best practice such as Zaptic. Machine and equipment operators now have iPads that show what checks need to be done, helping to drive team accountability for their lines.
Hanneke van Middelaar, FrieslandCampina
Hanneke discussed how FrieslandCampina is transforming its supply chain, transitioning from siloed functions, with multiple, duplicative systems and limited connectivity of data sources to a dynamic and connected supply chain. The end goal is to have real-time data flowing from different sources and end-to-end visibility to allow leaders to make quick, fact-based decisions, and help employees solve real-time problems on the shop floor.
FrieslandCampina started with the end goal in mind and used a digital maturity model to breakdown the journey into concrete steps to progress from the current state to the end goal. To make sure they could demonstrate impact on business performance quickly they executed smaller projects first and used the maturity model as a guiding principle to ensure they reach the end goal.
Ryan Estes, CCi
At CCi we’re investing in connecting clients with their data, an example of that is enhanced reporting to improve assessment, calculation, and best practice maturity reporting, and improving how we share that data with clients, through data APIs so they can export and analyze their data. We’re also working to help our clients understand their top performers vs bottom performers by site and by practice area, so they know where to focus improvements efforts.
Ryan’s advice to those on their digital journey was to get the processes right, before automating them and be really targeted about what you’re trying to fix and improve. You can hear more detailed guidance on this from Ryan in his recent OpEx Insights video.
Next, the floor was opened to questions from the audience.
How do you measure the ROI on digital solutions?
Khari at Clorox agreed that while ROI is important, being on top of new technologies is a necessity if you want to stay at the front of the market and not get left behind.
Hanneke at Friesland explained that demonstrating the value was very important for FrieslandCampina. They really had to prove that this would save the business money in the long term but noted that it’s the insights from the data that will deliver savings, not the data itself.
Do you need a digital lead at the site level?
The alcoholic beverage company representative explained that in the last 6-12 months they have brought in digital leads at the site level due to the number of digital projects being executed, and that they are adding huge value in terms of providing focus on what to fully implement as a priority.
Khari at Clorox agreed they also have digital leads at the site level in order to ensure digitalization is adopted at the sites.
Digitization is imperative
Khari pointed out that the people they’re hiring today grew up with iPhones, they’re used to using digital equipment in their daily lives, so if you want to hire and retain the best talent for the future, digitization is a must. Given the vast range of digital solutions available, it’s important to first understand what you need to fix, pilot your potential solution and ensure you are using continuous improvement methodology to test and learn during this phase, before rolling out to the wider business.
To learn more about how CCi can support your organization successfully implement new digital technologies, contact us today.