Defining and delivering a successful digital transformation

Having researched, delivered, shared insights, learned, co-created and been a part of digital transformation(s) for well over a decade it still remains one of the most challenging aspects for leaders and teams. Having combed both academic and Management articles over the past few years it was intriguing to see that there was everything from 3 key stages, 5 Tips, 10 Rules to 11 key steps, and every number in between as “success factors” to a digital transformation. What was interesting is that they all aligned with the following;

Governance:

• Ensuring alignment with business goals and strategy + why are you doing this and what competitive advantage will it deliver? Further, what will the “end state” look like.
• (Positive and active) Executive sponsorship
• Clarity of Scope: what will change, stay the same or be removed.
• Clear, simple and regular communication to avoid FOMO (Fear of missing Out).
• Clear set of deliverables by group/stakeholder, e.g. data analytics for supply chain, reporting metrics for sustainability to meet legislative requirements, etc.

Objectives & Measurement:

• A clear business case that sets out the fiscal and non-fiscal benefits of the transformation
• A clear methodology as to how and who will measure and audit the benefits.
• What new opportunities, services, modelling, scenario planning, options, self-service options, et al will the transformation deliver and for who?
• How benefits will be communicated and by who
• Ensure measurement captures adoption not compliance.

People:

• Team composition/Diversity of skills; IT infrastructure, Digital, IT Architecture, Programme Management, Subject Matter Expertise, change Management, applied Behavioural Science, Stakeholders, end users, etc.
• Representation from your supply chain (early on)
• Phasing & Sequencing of the Total Resource Construct to meet each phase of the transformation.
• Creating the right culture for success
• Ensure everyone is clear about where they will “land” post transformation, even the project resources to avoid back end turbulence.
• Listen to everyone, nobody has all the answers…

Change & Transformation Management:

• Be realistic about your strengths and weaknesses and resolve them…
• Have a realistic and credible plan from the outset to set yourself up for success
• Ensure those that are external to the organisation can assimilate the culture of your organisation.
• Provide opportunities to upskill, understand the transformation for themselves.
• Ensure there is a motivational aspect for the individual not just the organisation.
• Don’t create and “us and them” between teams and activities, ensure inclusivity and collaboration.
• ?Ensure there is company wide alignment not forgetting those that are indirectly impacted by the transformation.
• Ensure you have agility and resilience as there is no such thing as a perfect plan!
• Humans will naturally resist change, especially when the new order is not clear or unfamiliar. Therefore, have a plan to both identify and address where and how this might occur from silent dissent to active destructive challenge.
• Behavioural science has a lot to offer to support transformational activity, so don’t be afraid to adopt it and use it…

Underpinning essentials:

A.?????Clear technology “as is” and roadmap beyond the transformation in front of you (including those systems that need to be retired/replaced)

B.?????Assessment of the organisation’s digital maturity and capability (before commencement)

C.??????Avoid scope creep and have effective change control

D.?????Effective and integrated risk management that considers the whole organisation not just the transformation itself.

E.??????Actively “switch off” the old technologies once you have harvested all the data/insights from them.

F.??????Clear plan to address cyber security issues. This is key given that circa 70% of attacks are though connections within the supply chain.

From an academic standpoint we can see that Finding an exact definition for the term digital transformation (DT) has been a subject of research during recent years:

Riasanow et al. (2019) define DT as the "organizational transformation (OT) process of using and combining digital technologies in new ways to radically transform an organization".

Henriette et al. (2015) refers to DT as to a business model, which is driven by the changes, caused by the adoption of digital technologies in all societal aspects. They claim that DT is usually implemented by digitization, or "ability to turn existing products or services into digital variants".

Lastly, Gassmann et al. (2013) and Nwankpa and Roumani (2016) understand DT as a radical change of the business landscape due to emerging digital technologies such as analytics, big data, cloud environments, social media, and mobile platforms. These technologies are adopted across the companies in pursuit of competitive business strategies (Nwankpa and Roumani 2016).

Therefore, we can see even defining digital transformation let alone success is challenging. The infographic below form extensive research by Ghobakhloo & Iranmanesh (2021) concludes with the 11 variables you see below, all of which I have covered above.

In summary the above are the main points to cover in any situation or organsiational context and will always be a complex endeavour requiring the utmost levels of collaboration. Further, a digital transformation is not an end point but a stage in a journey.

In a few weeks’ time there will be a great forum to listen, learn and share at Ivalua now in Paris (and virtually) on 29th and 30th March. For me this represents a great forum, above many others, as the agenda and focus is on sharing experiences of those who have been part of many and diverse digital transformations. I will be there in person so hope to meet up with many familiar and of course new faces in this strategic space for procurement and supply chain professionals.

To register follow this link: https://lnkd.in/evTrxASx

#digitaltransformation #procurement #supplychian #ivlaua #collaboration

Please feel free to comment and share as always?: ?

Bernadette Fitton Aurélie Lucas Jane Longfellow Arnaud Malardé Felicity McGrath Stefan Meller Renaud Rebitz Janel Longfellow Franck Lheureux Alex Saric Doug Boodrie George Dimitriadis MCIPS Chee Yew Wong Jyoti Mishra Gary Graham Brett Murray FCIPS Rebecca Simpson Tracey Fogg (MCIPS) Joanna Freitag MCIPS Louise Atkinson Jane Liang Rob Douglas Charlotte Valeur Andrew Collopy Sandy Duncan Hannah Jarvis FCIPS Mark Osmer CDir, MSc, FCIPS. Jon Arnott Valentine de Fouchier Harkaran Gill Jon W. Hansen Kelly Barner Arnaud Lafontaine Astrid Bosten Britta Gammelgaard Biju Chudasama Chris Cliffe FCIPS (Chartered) MIoD Wael Safwat, FCIPS ExDip Annette Johnson-Poensgen Andrew Spencer FCIPS Rachael Legg FCIPS / MEng Hons / EMBA Robert Bonnar Frederick Magana, FCIPS Chartered Francois Maurage Stephen Day FCIPS Karl Rogers MSc Daniel Sanchez Bordes Stewart Ogilvie Saurabh SRIVASTAVA Eve Abensour Romain Rousseau Adam Loummou Mat Langley Jean-Marc Eklou Jorge F. Guedes, Ph.D.

References:

?Gassmann, O., Frankenberger, K. and Csik, M., 2013. The St. Gallen business model navigator.

Ghobakhloo, M. and Iranmanesh, M., 2021. Digital transformation success under Industry 4.0: A strategic guideline for manufacturing SMEs. Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, 32(8), pp.1533-1556.

Henriette, E., Feki, M. and Boughzala, I., 2015. The shape of digital transformation: a systematic literature review.

Nwankpa, J.K. and Roumani, Y., 2016. IT capability and digital transformation: A firm performance perspective.

Riasanow, T., Setzke, D.S., B?hm, M. and Krcmar, H., 2019. Clarifying the notion of digital transformation: A transdisciplinary review of literature.?Journal of Competences, Strategy & Management,?10(1), pp.5-31.