Interface - Issue 10

T E C H | T E LC O | F I N T E C H | D I G I TA L IS AT I O N | A I | M A C H I N E L E A R N I N G

Issue 10 | www.theinter face.net

MAGA ZINE

EXCLUSIVE

Rob Galbraith “ the most interesting man ian insurance�

A customer focused digital transformation Sarah Golley, VP of Digital Transformation at Virgin Media, explains how a digital transformation is nothing without the people and the customers.

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WELCOME TO ISSUE 10 OF INTERFACE MAGAZINE This month’s cover story is an exclusive interview with Sarah Golley, VP of Digital Transformation of Virgin Media, as she explains how digital transformation is nothing without the people and the customers.

“How customers want to engage with us has changed and is continuing to change at a fast pace, driven by the rapid adoption of technology. Customers of today are less likely to be brand-loyal and will leave if they don’t get what they want and need. We want our customers to find us easy to do business with, and we want them to stay,” explains Golley.

“Customers these days typically want information to be simple to find and instantly available. They want to have the option to have everything online, they want to self-serve if they have issues, they want to shop or deal with issues at a time that suits them. We are

EDITOR IN CHIEF Andrew Woods

EDITOR Dale Benton

SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER Callum Rivett

now speaking to multiple types of people, from silver surfers and baby boomers all the way down to millennials and Gen Z. We

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

need to provide solutions for everyone.”

Kevin Davies

Elsewhere, we travel to Denmark to speak to Group CPO of Danish

CREATIVE LEAD

Crown Lars Feldskou regarding procurement transformation and

Mitchell Park

catch up with Rob Galbraith dubbed ‘the most interesting man in insurance’. Plus, we assess the impact of a massive digital transformation at UnionBank and list 5 Influential Women in IT.

Enjoy the issue!

VP GLOBAL FINTECH & INSURTECH Alex Page

VP TECHNOLOGY Andy Lloyd Craig Daniels

VP PROCUREMENT Heykel Ouni Greg Churchill

PRESIDENT & CEO Kiron Chavda

ndrew Woods, Editor in chief A content@b2e-media.com

PUBLISHED BY

3

CONTENTS

8

V IRGIN MEDI A

28

ROB GALBR AI T H

40

DANISH CROW N

62

74

DIGI TAL T R ANSF OR M AT ION W I T H C J DAS, CIO OF S IMP LE T IR E

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How Virgin Media’s digital transformation means putting the customer first We speak with Sarah Golley, VP of Digital Transformation at Virgin Media, as she explains how a digital transformation is nothing without the people and the customers

8

WRI T T EN BY

D al e Bent on

PRODUCED BY

And y L l oy d

9

O

ne of the biggest impacts of the rapid and continuous evolution of the technology

landscape is that it has removed the traditional ideas surrounding customer loyalty. We live our lives through seamless and connected digital platforms, be it the smartphone or the internet, and this has created a sense of expectation.

If a customer goes through their daily lives with a digital experience that suits their every need, why should their experience and engagement with a business be any different? “How customers want to engage with us has changed and is continuing to change at a fast pace, driven by the rapid adoption of technology.

Customers of today are less likely to be brand-loyal and will leave if they don’t get

multiple types of people, from silver surf-

what they want and need. We want our

ers and baby boomers all the way down to

customers to find us easy to do business

millennials and Gen Z. We need to provide

with, and we want them to stay,” explains

solutions for everyone.”

Sarah Golley, VP of Digital Transformation of Virgin Media.

“Customers these days typically want

So, how does an organisation go about providing these solutions? For Virgin Media, the key is having technology that

information to be simple to find and

is flexible and adaptable to changing

instantly available. They want to have the

customer needs. In order to have this,

option to have everything online, they

Virgin Media embarked on a digital trans-

want to self-serve if they have issues, they

formation journey, and brought in Golley

want to shop or deal with issues at a time

to spearhead this transformation in order

that suits them. We are now speaking to

to build an IT architecture that could

10

VIRGIN MEDIA

w w w.t h e i n t e r f a c e . n e t

11

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“By flipping the narrative I have put the customer in the driving seat, not the technology” —

S A R A H GO L L E Y, V P O F D IG I TAL T R AN S F O R M AT IO N. V IRG IN M E D I A

cater to the customer demands of today

of digital transformation, without really

and those of tomorrow. As VP of Digital

thinking about why we do it and what

Transformation at Virgin Media, Golley’s

outcomes should be achieved,” she

first responsibility was to understand

says. “It’s often the case where you hear

exactly what the ‘problem’ was that the

of businesses enduring previous false

company was trying to solve. This, she

starts and missed opportunities, which is

feels, is ‘always the number one question’.

very common when any company starts

“It’s easy to dive into the excitement 14

VIRGIN MEDIA

out with a digital transformation agenda.

I spoke to other telcos running digital

victim to the excitement of digital trans-

transformation projects both within the

formation. With so many organisations

Liberty Global family and outside. I looked

the world over embarking on and cham-

at the challenges, the scars and the

pioning their own digital transformation

things that were really turning the dial in

stories, it can be easy to lose sight as to

a positive way.�

what your own transformation journey

One of the bigger challenges, and something that Golley alludes to, is falling

can and should look like. Very often we think that the key ingredient is technology, w w w.t h e i n t e r f a c e . n e t

15

but Golley is keen to stress that technology should never be in the driving seat.

“Digital transformation is about people. It’s

Sarah Golley VP of Digital Transformation Virgin Media

about customer-centricity. It’s about focusing on actual customer journeys, how

Sarah Golley is the Digital Transformation

the customer can flow between different

Vice President at Virgin Media, a key

channels, rather than technical features

brand within the Liberty Global family.

and requirements,” she says.

She has been responsible for leading a

“It’s more than automation and data.

high profile digital transformation, which

It’s also more than setting up a website

has established new ways of working to

and having an app. It’s about putting the

create a future-back approach to journey

people first. Digital transformation refers

design, driving digital adoption, challeng-

to the way we as a business are chang-

ing conventional thinking and achieving

ing, increasing focus and keeping pace

unprecedented speed of outcome deliv-

with our customers’ needs, which are

ery. Prior to this role, Sarah has led large

changing fast as a result of their rapid

transformation and delivery teams across

technology adoption.”

Europe as part of Liberty Global’s central

The ultimate goal for Virgin Media is to make it easier and seamless for customers to engage with the business. To achieve this, Golley and Virgin Media are looking at each of the customer journeys in turn with the future in mind. This will allow the business to radically change those journeys, creating fully personalised, simple and digital first experiences.

“We use customer journeys as the unit of change. Predicting the customers’ needs results in improved customer satisfaction and reduces churn,” she says. “In turn this will improve revenue and reduce costs.

It’s a win-win for the customers and so for 16

VIRGIN MEDIA

delivery team

17

Advisory | Design | Technology | Operations

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the business.”

Through the creation of these future-fo-

very heart of its plans to achieve this.

“It starts and ends with our customers,”

cused omnichannel journeys, Virgin

says Golley. “We have been improving

Media needed to adopt a different way

customer satisfaction by giving customers

of working and a new energy defined by

what they need, putting the control back

increased collaboration and fast-paced

in the hands of the customer. In parallel

change. The overall transformation jour-

we have been driving cost savings by

ney started with the aim to push Virgin

encouraging greater digital adoption.”

Media down a successful path to start

As it continues to follow its north star,

the digital journey, using intelligent-lead

Virgin Media has adopted a different

solutions and putting the customer back

way of working and champions greater

in control.

collaboration across traditional business

Virgin Media follows its very own north

divisions. Moving away from a traditional

star as a company; to grow through advo-

project-driven world, the company works

cacy, and digital transformation is at the

on removing barriers and works towards w w w. th e i n te r fa ce. n et

19

common goals in cross functional teams. “With any transformation it is important not to disrupt the BAU business, so we started in an area that will bring additional value,” says Golley. “We started by creating a customer journey factory, creating future focused customer journeys, using digital tools that support a direct or indirect interaction with the customer (web, app, messaging) underpinned and enabled by the right technology.”

As part of her role, Golley was tasked with identifying the problem and truly understanding the challenge ahead. Virgin Media is one of the biggest telecommunications companies in the UK, serving around 6mn cable customers and 3.3mn mobile customers nationwide.

Trying to implement significant change across a company of this size is no small feat, something that Golley recognises. “It’s hard to effect complex change in a big company, bringing people on board with a new way of working, a new way of doing things. I knew it was possible and needed people to come on the journey with me,” she says.

“Virgin Media did not have a digital transformation plan when I first started this role a year ago. There were digital services, such as the usual website and apps, but as a company we weren’t making it easy for customers to do business with us, and we weren’t making it easy for them to find the information they needed, which meant they were often frustrated and calling into our call centres.”

With projects taking anywhere between 9 - 12 months with fixed deliverables that were difficult and expensive to change, and a few previous attempts at digital transformation in the past, Golley needed to have a board that was engaged and fully behind her. “Successful digital 20

VIRGIN MEDIA

w w w.t h e i n t e r f a c e . n e t

21

“There is no digital transformation rulebook… each company needs to find its own path” —

S A R A H G O L L E Y, V P O F D IG I TAL T R AN S F O R M AT IO N. V IRG IN M E D I A

transformation is not restricted internally

remove any impediments, to take leader-

only to the Digital or the IT teams, it is

ship decisions when required. To enable

impacted across the whole company.

a consistent understanding and message

This is not just an agile training plan and

we talked to the Executive Committee

a new process. It’s not just a project or

about how agile will work for us. This was

programme to be delivered, it’s a change

the first step because our culture was

in company culture and the way we do

going to start changing.”

things, so it was essential to have the

Successfully navigating a digital trans-

backing of the Executive Committee (EC),”

formation is a challenging and ultimately

she says.

complex process. These challenges are

“We had sponsorship from the CEO and

often commonplace from organisation to

COO and fortnightly Steering Boards so

organisation, but it is the way in which a

we could show progress and get help to

company overcomes these hurdles that

22

VIRGIN MEDIA

proves unique. Golley can attribute the

“We empowered the cross-functional

success here to three things: a growth

teams, we left it in their hands to drive

mindset, empowerment and trust.

the future omnichannel journeys and how

“‘Let’s try it’ became my mantra,” she

they would be achieved. I prepared the

says. “When faced with differing opin-

EC and the leadership teams and told

ions I used a ‘let’s just try it’ mindset. By

them they would need to be bold and

working in an agile way we were able

trust us, and that they would need to start

to try out some ideas in small controlled

‘being comfortable with being uncomfort-

environments. If they worked then we

able’. We were trusted that we would not

would move forward. If we did not get

break the organisation, because we could

the expected results then we could

try new ideas out in a controlled way.”

correct the course and try something else,” she says.

Digital transformation is not a new phenomenon, but as Golley attests to, w w w.t h e i n t e r f a c e . n e t

23

successfully achieving a digital transfor-

will lead to people losing their jobs, as

mation is relatively new in nature. She

computers take over. This isn’t necessar-

puts this down to there being no digi-

ily true and if left unchecked people can

tal transformation rulebook, with each

be frozen in fear. The reality is that tech-

company needing to find their own path,

nology is actually increasing employee

based on what the problem is that they

productivity, increasing and speeding up

need to solve. Most notably, she feels it’s

some processes,” says Golley.

absolutely essential that while compa-

“We are nothing without people. People

nies can focus on what goes well, they

(employees and vendors) can make or

should also look closely at what doesn’t.

break a digital transformation programme.

“Every company will make their own

And people (customers) are the reason

mistakes. But we will improve the chances

we need to change.”

of success by learning from the lessons of the past and present, making sure we don’t recreate the same mistakes,” she says. “A growth mindset is always important, but as such it is even more so for digital transformations.”

That communication proves fundamental when transformation naturally lends itself to uncertainty, which can lead to stress and anxiety. When facilitating a major transformation in any business three types of employee should be considered, each with a different role and potential impact; the people within the business facilitating the transformation; the people that will not be directly involved, but will create value in a different way and the people whose jobs will be impacted by the change, either directly or indirectly.

“Some think that digital transformation 24

VIRGIN MEDIA

w w w.t h e i n t e r f a c e . n e t

25

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VIRGIN MEDIA

Those vendors play a key role in deliv-

the foundation to be set and as a busi-

ering this transformation, as Virgin Media

ness, Virgin Media now works differ-

looks to redefine its internal processes

ently, bringing together real collaboration

and ask its people to work in different

across traditional business divisions by

ways, it requires the support and guidance

removing barriers and working towards

from key strategic partners. IPSoft and NTT

common goals in cross functional teams.

Data are just two examples of where Virgin

The customer journey factory will now

Media leverages key expertise in areas

deliver an omnichannel customer expe-

that are new and complex, such as trialling

rience, driving digital adoption and allow

AI-driven digital conversations and deliver-

Virgin Media to look at the future jour-

ing on the promise of agility.

neys, which will continue to evolve.

Ultimately for Virgin Media, this digital

Golley says that this new way of working

transformation is focused on the custom-

is “breeding a culture that is willing to try

ers of today and being ready and able

new ideas, empowering teams to make

to be there for the customers of tomor-

change happen”. The key to success-

row. Golley believes that the term digi-

fully making that change happen for her

tal transformation though, should be

can be broken down into three simple

rethought. “It implies that there is a trans-

ingredients that Virgin Media has and will

formation from one state and to another,

continue to follow. “It’s the same in tele-

that there’s an end,” she says. “People

coms as in any other industry,” she says.

are constantly changing, the landscape

“Put the customer front and centre and

will shift. This is not something you can

give the customer the control. Don’t make

do and then walk away from. I prefer to

the mistake by thinking that this is a tech-

use the term digital evolution, driving the

nically-led transformation and make small

continuous change needed to keep our

micro-changes and test the impact as you

DNA consistently relevant.”

go. I think we should continue to live by

This first digital evolution has allowed

that mantra; ‘let’s just try it’.”

w w w.t h e i n t e r f a c e . n e t

27

Rob Galbrai “ the most interesting man in insurance�

Rob Galbraith, an industry leader in fintech, explores the current insurtech landscape and how, despite lagging behind other industry sectors, it is a space of great opportunity and even greater risk WRI T T EN BY

28

D al e Bent on

ith L I S T E N TO T H I S PODCAST ON THE DI G ITAL I N S I GHT ’ S OU TPU T CH AN N E L S B E LOW

29

ROB GALBRAI T H INDU S T RY LE A DE R I N FI N T E C H

What are some of the biggest changes in technology you have seen, both the technologies themselves and their importance to tech?

There’s an apprenticeship when it comes to underwriters. A lot of people think of insurance as being somewhat immune to change and to innovation, but really it’s been with us all along. We just didn’t necessarily see it. I always tell people that rather than be afraid of technology, insurers are actually one of the first to adopt technology.

I met somebody in an underwriting conference. He said he was from Silicon Valley. I thought it was quite curious that he was at this underwriting conference of professional underwriters and that they were sleepy and boring, matching my somewhat risk averse personality.

I asked him, “Why are you here?” And he said to learn everything there is to know about the insurance industry because “I 30

ROB GALBRAITH “THE MOST INTERESTING MAN IN INSURANCE”

want to go back and disrupt your industry and you’ll all be out of a job next year.”

Okay, nice to meet you too.

I think that was the first sign that something was afoot. It’s really just blown up from there and really been front and center in just the past few years, in a way that it was rare, but it was more in the background.

How has the insurance professional changed?

It’s an ongoing evolution. Some have really embraced technology and they still recognise that there will always be a relationship element to insurance. Those are the folks that are doing well. Those that are slow to embrace the changes are the ones that are struggling or will be struggling in the next five years. I think in many cases, insurance is being dragged into the 21st century and a lot of that comes from rising customer expectations.

It’s a broken product. It has been around for centuries and it’s a very enduring product, but it’s far from perfect.

I think as consumer expectations are changing in other industries, they have those types of expectations for responsive products, digital experiences in the insurance industry. We’ve been a little slow to deliver that. You see folks that w w w.t h e i n t e r f a c e . n e t

31

“ It is very difficult to attract a new type of customer, the digitally savvy customer, while at the same time not alienating your existing customer base, that maybe perfectly happy with the way that you’ve always done business” — ROB GALBRAITH INDUSTRY LEADER IN FINTECH

32

ROB GALBRAITH “THE MOST INTERESTING MAN IN INSURANCE”

are really opportunistic, trying to fill the

to partner with in the future. You need to

gaps as part of the insurtech movement.

be much more open.

What are some of the barriers to embracing digital transformation?

How has the insurance consumer changed?

Insurance has a very long and rich

I think that is a huge challenge. You hear

history and many of the top competitors

a lot of conversations about channel of

have been around for decades. If you

choice, omni-channel, right? Being where

look at the top 10 insurers, the youngest

your customers are. I know compa-

company was founded in 1937. You get a

nies that have tried to eliminate the fax

lot of stagnation in your embracing of the

machine, only to turn those things back

status quo. I do think there’s some prac-

on, or to even still be open to a paper

tical limitations. You are tied to this old

application that comes in. A customer

technology.

comes in and actually fills it out by hand

We use the concept of technical debt.

Just as you rack up debt on a credit

because they prefer that versus a digital.

It is very difficult to attract a new type

card; it’s fine for a while, but at a certain

of customer, the digitally savvy customer,

point, you can’t continue just to pay the

while at the same time not alienating

minimum balance. You’re going to go

your existing customer base, that maybe

bankrupt that way. You’ve got to make

perfectly happy with the way that you’ve

an investment and be very mindful, have

always done business. It’s exceedingly

a plan to pay it off. That’s just the pay it

challenging and costly. It’s a particularly

off to a zero balance. The reality is that’s

thorny challenge that I think insurers are

not an investment in the future, right?

struggling with.

That’s just getting your technology to ization in 2019, and really you need to

Are companies investing in technology just to stay competitive?

be planning ahead for 2025.

Nobody wants to be a first mover in

where it should be for the current organ-

Your most critical strategic partner in

insurance. It is a very risk averse, very

2022, may not exist as a company today

cautionary industry. At the same time, I

at the end of 2019, through to 2020, and

think we see regulators like an investor,

so you just don’t know who you’re going

saying, “We’re really evaluating you now w w w.t h e i n t e r f a c e . n e t

33

based on your innovative efforts,” and explicitly recognizing that need to change. I think a lot of people want to be seen as being innovative and then they roll out and digitalise things. But it’s very much just a fresh coat of paint on an old building and they really haven’t changed any of the plumbing or the infrastructure. So that fundamental change is seemingly challenging and difficult.

Companies that have recognized the need to change, you hear a lot about core systems replacements and things like that, because our world is moving so fast, and I argue that we live in a world of accelerating change, so it’s not just that it’s changing, but the pace of change is ever increasing. Decisions that you might’ve made in the mid-2010s, you might not make the same choice today.

It’s very much a game of whack-a-mole. It’s very difficult to pin down and to decide on this long journey that you need to make to make this digital transformation.

You have to have one mindset of I’m just going to pay down that debt and plow through it. But then you also have to have another eye towards a changing landscape and position yourselves to be able to be agile and pivot, as necessary. It’s a very difficult balance to achieve.

When looking to improve insurance models, how do you define what improvement actually is?

I feel that most people are trying to do the same processes, embracing the same business models, but in a modern way. I actually don’t know if that’s the right way to think about it, because there’s a proliferation of all these emerging technologies that all lead to an inevitable conclusion, that we need to just fundamentally blow up the insurance model and change it differently.

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ROB GALBRAITH “THE MOST INTERESTING MAN IN INSURANCE”

w w w.t h e i n t e r f a c e . n e t

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There are a number of things really.

a claim. Depending on how that claims

There’s a rise of cheap sensors every-

experience goes, I may be a customer for

where, such as telematics in your car and

life or I may be really irate in shopping my

in your homes for smart home devices

coverage at the next renewal.

and wearables for example. This prolif-

There’s not a lot of passion for your

eration of sensors that are just backing

insurance company, and you’re right. I

up tons and tons of data, and in the past

think there’s a weariness. Telematics has

that wouldn’t have been possible to even

been around for a really long time but it’s

store any of that, much less process

failed to get traction in certain countries.

it. But now with the advent of cloud

For insurance companies to now come

computing it can all go to the cloud and

up with new products and new services

can be stored up there.

that help you manage your home, or get

We’ve got new capabilities that we

a risk score, people start asking: how are

never ever had before in the insurance

you going to use this? Do I trust you with

industry that should lead to a fundamen-

this data? Especially when it’s a brand

tal rethinking of the industry. I just don’t

new company, a new insurtech startup

see a lot of that happening yet. I think everyone’s trying to refurbish the old way of doing things and not necessarily completely rethinking the insurance model that’s been around for decades, not centuries.

How has the increased use of data analysis and storage impacted the consumer?

I think consumers have a certain mental model of how an insurance company works. That you’re the thing that I need to buy to do the thing I really want to do. I’ve got the insurance to do the thing I really want to do, then I forget about it until I have 36

ROB GALBRAITH “THE MOST INTERESTING MAN IN INSURANCE”

“We’ve got new capabilities that we never ever had before in the insurance industry that should lead to a fundamental rethinking of the industry.”

— ROB GALBRAITH INDUSTRY LEADER IN FINTECH

and you don’t have any pre

many are different. I don’t know

preconceived notions of what this

that that actually leads to different

company is, how they operate,

outcomes for consumers. I would

what they’re going to do with this

argue that on the whole, it’s prob-

information.

ably overly regulated and those

I actually think they get the benefit of the doubt, in a way that traditional insurers, agents,

regulations need to be reexamined and modernized.

It’s tough. On one hand, we

brokers maybe do not. Trust is

need to look at some of the regu-

paramount and I think insurance

lations that exist under the old

companies really need to double

model, since our world is chang-

their efforts to gain the trust of

ing rapidly, but I also think there’s

their customers.

probably some regulations that need to be considered for our

How has the transformation of insurance impacted governance and regulation?

new world, and our new model,

I feel for regulators. I think we

whole. Because the insurance

know insurance is a heavily regu-

industry provides such a tremen-

lated industry. I would argue that

dous societal benefit and we see

there are many regulations that

this in countries that don’t have a

we have. It’s regulated vastly

robust insurance market in a lot

differently in a lot of countries.

of developing areas.

Some principles are the same, but

to keep the trust for consumers in the insurance industry as a

Building a robust insurance w w w.t h e i n t e r f a c e . n e t

37

38

ROB GALBRAITH “THE MOST INTERESTING MAN IN INSURANCE”

market in these countries will help unleash a lot of economic activity to help them grow. They have a way to design it in a way that they don’t have to be burdened with legacy systems and legacy regulations.

They can then start with a bit of a clean slate right now. There are some exciting innovations that are happening that are mobile first and other value propositions in some of these countries, that I think eventually will make it to the more advanced economies.

If you were to give some guidance that, while being no guarantee of success, to steer people down the right path to success, what would it be?

Stay curious and have an open mind at all times. That’s for you personally and professionally, but it should translate to your organization. We shouldn’t be so set on past dependency. You should be open to changing course, at a moment’s notice.

L I S T E N TO T H I S PODCAST ON THE DI G ITAL I N S I GHT ’ S OU TPU T CH AN N E L S B E LOW

w w w.t h e i n t e r f a c e . n e t

39

40

A procurement transformation Interface visits Denmark to speak to Danish Crown’s Group CPO, Lars Feldskou, regarding the company’s massive procurement transformation WRI T T EN BY

Andr e w Wo o d s

PRODUCED BY

Hey kel O u n i

41

P

rocurement transformation represents a dramatic shift in an enterprise’s structure,

operations and bottom line, resulting from the establishment of a new collective mindset, processes and tech. Those tasked with rolling out new procurement strategies require experience, ambition and the ability to motivate and organise large numbers of staff.

Danish Crown AmbA is a food processing company, dealing primarily in the meat processing of pork and beef and through its subsidiaries, as part of Danish Crown Group, it’s Europe's largest pork-processing company and Denmark's largest beef-processing company. Like many traditional and well-established manufacturers, Danish Crown operated in a divisional, siloed structure that saw separate arms of the company working in relative isolation. However, the current demand of business owners, the wider market and the all-important customer focus now require companies like Danish Crown to be fast, agile and centralised.

In 2016, Danish Crown launched a new transformational programme across the Group called the 4WD Strategy (4WDS).

4WDS was established to reconfigure the €9bn company so it could break free from its different divisions, to work as one 42

DANISH CROWN

unified company. An integral part of the strategy involved the transformation of the procurement function.

Lars Feldskou joined Danish Crown as Group CPO in 2017 to help facilitate the 4WDS across procurement. A highly experienced procurement professional who has delivered many transformations at previous companies, Feldskou relished the challenge of delivering a Group-wide strategy. “The old strategy was very much decentralised, while the new strategy is very much based around w w w.t h e i n t e r f a c e . n e t

43

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www.solina-group.eu

You can’t underestimate the value of a great working relationship. The benefits of two

to success in the market,” says Moens. “We have

companies aligning together on key projects in a

the Pulled Beef. Those concepts have been

harmonious collaboration brings alignment on

launched into the market, and are now front

strategic goals, and nurtures innovation.

runners in retail.”

Solina is a leading designer of customised ingredient

One of the key trends linked to customer demand

solutions for customers operating in the savoury

is that of sustainability, of which an important

food industry, food service and butchery markets

element is strategic sourcing, being vital for

and a key customer in those endeavours is Danish

a modern food company. Therefore, Solina works

Crown, the global meat production group. Excellent

in close partnership with key suppliers to achieve

and trustworthy – the pair enjoy a long-term

full transparency related to the quality of the

relationship which goes back to the early 1930s.

ingredients, and their traceability. “We’ve really

One of Solina’s companies in Denmark (previously

been ahead of the curve with best practice, for

known under the name SFK), had been owned by

example with sustainable pepper. We are always

Danish Crown in the past.

investigating how we can value optimise our

several examples such as the Pulled Pork and

customers’ proposition and so procurement is “Solina is the leading European provider of taste,

a key aspect. How can we be more efficient for

texture and functional solutions for the savoury

them? We are all working in the same direction to

food industry,” Anthony Francheterre, CEO Solina

have healthier or cleaner products, for marinades

Group explains. Anthony Francheterre joined Solina

for example,” says Francheterre.

as CEO in September 2019, having worked at some major food brands, and was soon made aware of

NEXTERA® by Solina – the future generation of

just how intimately the two companies have been

Protein Foods – is a “new” business unit within

working together from day one. “Danish Crown is

Solina that is focused on the development of

one of our key customers because of its size, the

new protein foods. The concepts and creations

quality of the relationship, and the match of the

of NEXTERA cater to vegan, vegetarian and

respective DNA.”

flexitarians, people who simply want to eat less meat while retaining the full pleasure of food.

One of the key values the two companies share is

“It goes without saying that we used all our

a sense of being ‘glocal’. Solina and Danish Crown

know-how to develop with Danish Crown the

operate globally, but are keen to capture the local

first veggie based paté on the Danish market,”

trends and respond to consumer needs in each

says Moens.

market. “So, we’ve got a kind of mirror effect on how we operate. And it means that because we are

To meet these challenges, in a constantly changing

operating in a diverse market, we need to be agile,

environment, Solina and Danish Crown rely on

flexible and innovative.”

one vital aspect of their enduring partnership: trust. “Danish Crown is one of our key customers,”

Innovation is one of the main drivers between the

says Francheterre. “I think it’s a win-win relationship

two companies. Several growth platforms have

because we learn a lot from each other as we

been created completely in line with how they

build on the same platforms for the growth of

work together with customers. Kristel Moens is

both companies. You can’t discuss Solina, without

responsible for Marketing at the Solina Group: “The

discussing one of its most important customers,”

two sides come together in a partnership approach

he says.

working together to achieve innovation and to drive new concepts to market by doing workshops based on new ideas, new trend insights, exciting taste propositions and consumer preferences.

It’s so exciting the way our working together leads

www.solina-group.eu

centralisation and a group perspective

“Formerly, the business units had their

on many key areas,” he explains from

own local setup for procurement,” he

Danish Crown’s offices in Randers. “I

explains. “And so, the first thing we did

must say, I love the challenges of work-

was create a group of existing staff

ing with transformations, development

within it. I'm a very strong believer that

projects and change management.”

things are driven by people and not only

Feldskou’s procurement transformation

by Excel sheets and PowerPoints and

at Danish Crown was initially two-fold.

other systems. We had to get the people

The first element was to establish a

engaged and centralised. I had to create

number of initiatives to create some

a strong management team that under-

bottom-line savings. The second ambi-

stood the journey, the vision, while also

tion was to build up a centralised global

being prepared for a massive amount of

professional procurement department.

change such as the collective mentality,

46

DANISH CROWN

“ I now have a good set-up and a mix of people that know the business from the inside, and people that have come in with knowledge from the outside” —

LARS FELDSKOU, GROUP CPO, DANISH CROWN

involving the readiness to live in an envi-

existing staff, some of whom know the

ronment where everything changes week

business from the inside out including

by week and month by month. Some

Annette Jakobsen, Henrik Skov Madsen,

people live it and love it. Other people

and newcomers Chris Hoffmann, Niels

hate it. For me it was important to find

Hedegaard, Ole Mortensen and Adrian

out who could embrace this change and

Fisher. “I now have a good set-up and

the journey and who could not. Setting

a mix of people that know the busi-

the right management team and the right

ness from the inside, and people that

procurement team, was the first thing that

have come in with knowledge from the

we focused on.”

outside, from companies that have been

Danish Crown now has seven main leaders in the procurement management team with a mix of new and

on a similar journey over the years,” he says.

According to Feldskou it was the w w w.t h e i n t e r f a c e . n e t

47

tangible business opportunities that were

The start of the procurement transfor-

the main drivers behind the new strat-

mation was about creating relationships

egy. “Danish Crown got a new CEO, in

with the businesses, as Feldskou talked

Jais Valeur in 2016, who saw that there

with them about their ambitions and the

was a number of opportunities that could

best strategies to achieve them. “Danish

be harvested in doing things in a differ-

Crown is a big company with nearly

ent way,” he explains. “This was about

25,000 employees and 60-plus facto-

working across the different businesses,

ries all over Europe and Asia also. So, for

some of which were better at it than

me, in the beginning, I was getting out

other business units, but it was never

and getting to know people to find out

really planned or managed in an organ-

what they were doing, as well as their

ised way. He saw that going a bit hori-

challenges, what they were good at, and

zontal instead of going vertical, in our

where they could see possibilities. It was

approach to a lot of things, could benefit

very much about creating some fast and

the company.”

significant results that we could use in w w w. th e i n te r fa ce. n et

49

our communications to prove that work-

at the heart of the Group, and Boston

ing together across the company was a

Consulting Group (BCG) came in to

greater benefit to working in silos. It was

recommend points of action. “We invited

very much about convincing people that

BCG to come in early 2019 and make a

this new setup was right with benefits

review about the level we had achieved

within it, so they could play an active part

to that point and asked them to come

to get something out of it. We established

with their recommendations about how

a very clear structure and organisational

we should take it to the next phase. They

plan, including a new reporting set-up.

(BCG) went around and talked with a

We outlined some very clear targets and

lot of people both in the business unit

KPIs.�

and the group setup and came up with

One of the key parts of the procure-

a model which introduced business unit

ment strategy involved the establish-

procurement partners, that represents

ment of a new operating model that

group procurement inside the business

would place the procurement function

units. The partners have a role in the

50

DANISH CROWN

“ It’s vital to have the support from the top management; support that is very visceral, very communicated, and fundamental to all layers of the company” —

LARS FELDSKOU, GROUP CPO, DANISH CROWN

challenge. “Danish Crown is a huge company and has a long, long history of being decentralised. Then, suddenly, you’re working on group targets, group mandates, group perspectives, which are a huge challenge. This is a 180-degree turnaround. There was also a massive job in terms of standardising master data across all the different levels of the company from business unit to business unit.” The technological side to the transformation addressed Danish Crown’s procurement tools. For many years, Danish Crown had been running SAP across the different business units and individual set-ups. However, JAGGAER

daily life in each of the business units,

was introduced as a procurement

but also play a part in our procurement

tool for source-to-contract which also

strategy and journey. They became

addressed e-procurement in the busi-

ambassadorial and acted as a bridge

ness units, acting as an umbrella across

between us and the business units to

the business.

ensure the projects and the strategy we

“From a procurement point of view, we

execute is also implemented out in the

can do a lot of stuff, having implemented

business units. It was a good, strategic

that system. This will give us transpar-

move to get an external company like

ency and knowledge about our daily

Boston Consulting Group to come in and

business. Right now, we’re creating the

do that for us because they were neutral

baseline or the foundation for taking the

and looking from the outside in.”

journey into a lot of other procurement

Feldskou has delivered a number of

activities and areas. We still have a way

transformations in his time, but even

to go to establish, for instance, transpar-

accounting for his experience, this shift

ency on our master data. In certain cate-

at Danish Crown represented a massive

gories, we're very good, because in the w w w.t h e i n t e r f a c e . n e t

51

categories like ingredients and packag-

at challenging each other. I think that's

ing materials that goes directly into our

where we start to see things happen-

end products, we have a lot of knowl-

ing. This team are good at challenges

edge; we have item numbers, we have

and supporting each other, and they're

a specification and stuff like this. But in

good at moving each other into new

other areas like our logistics, our indirect,

levels. And by having such diversity in

our CapEx spare parts and stuff like this,

the team, we create a genuine speed

we don't have the transparency and we

that moves this transformation forwards,

really need to move as fast in those categories as we can. We're going live here in the second half of 2020 with our ePro as we call it, and that will take us into the next level with precise, described procedures and processes and even further transparency. We can then control our spend and eliminate a lot of the tail spend and maverick spending that we have today. That will probably take a couple of years before we are through with that journey.”

Niels Hedegaard is Senior Director Group Procurement, Business Development: “One of our levers for getting more in control with our procurement activities across the company is through implementing systems that will help us. So, we have invested in a piece of software called JAGGAER, consisting of two modules. We launched the “Source to contract” module on the 13th of December, so that all of our category managers can operate in our six-step 52

DANISH CROWN

Lars Feldskou Group CPO, Senior Vice President, Danish Crown For the past 20 years Lars has worked on establishing, optimising and restructuring and/or building up/downsizing organisations such as Ecco Shoes, BB Electronics, Vestas and MHI Vestas Offshore. His work has included major change management transformations with massive costout and source-to-pay-transformation programs within procurement, logistics and supply chain management areas.

Lars also has extensive experience in the management of big organisations including team establishing/team-building exercises.

Lars has been Group CPO, Senior Vice President at Danish Crown since 2017.

53

sourcing model, through that tool. The other part is the “E-procurement” tool.

That is more or less an eBay platform for all of our employees across our company. Whenever they want to buy anything from a pencil, to a spare part, a piece of machinery, or a marketing event, or whatever they want to buy, then they will actually go into this platform instead of just picking up their phone and doing maverick buying. Getting this tool implemented will be a great, great lever for us to be even more in control around our procurement activities. This will make us even better in securing the suppliers with whom we have contracts because their catalogues are available in the JAGGAER system. So, it's easy peasy for our colleagues to find whatever they need from the suppliers that are already approved.”

Feldskou is particularly enthused by his team, tasked with driving the massive operational changes across Danish Crown. Feldskou is determined to underline the importance of the team and constantly underlines the importance of a positive and talented workplace. “We have a very good mix of people that are thinking very pragmatic and operational, and others who are thinking very strategically, and together they're good 54

DANISH CROWN

w w w.t h e i n t e r f a c e . n e t

55

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Download our report to find out how other organizations are building their digital roadmap for procurement. What technologies will deliver the most value for procurements?

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because there's always one in the team

easy to communicate. It's easy to make

that takes the next step and gets the

decisions.”

rest of them to follow. I think we've come

We've detailed a lot about the trans-

quite far in terms of the way we operate,

formation program at Danish Crown, but

communicate and the way we work in a

what advice would Feldskou impart to a

standardised, organised way. I think we

CEO or CTO or CPO contemplating such

are recognised for that, and we already

a large transformation? “It’s vital to have

reached the targets in 2019 that were set

the support from the top management;

for 2021. But that’s just the beginning of

support that is very visceral, very commu-

the journey and has created the path for

nicated, and fundamental to all layers of

the years to come. We are at a level now

the company. One of the strongest things

where we are very organised. We have

I have at Danish Crown, is a very precise

a structure and a governance around

strategy that runs the overall company.

what we do, which is working, and is

I have massive support from our CEO,

making a lot of things transparent. It's

COO and CFO in the journey, and that's w w w. th e i n te r fa ce. n et

57

important. I have strong support from the

Krakow within procurement. And last, but

management teams out in the business

not least, we also are heading up training

units, and I don't think we would have

and education of people within the group

been able to have the speed we have

procurement environments.

without that support. That's the main

The really big change Lars is leading, is

driver besides creating the right team to

one of the key strategic initiatives within

actually execute it. So, ensure you have

our organising, namely, to establish a

the right capabilities, the right skills, the

group procurement organisation and

right people with the right mentality. It is

thereby delivering on the strategic ambi-

the people that drive it. In daily life, it's

tions within procurement. Previously all

the people that engage with the relevant

procurement activities were handled in

stakeholders. For me, the most important

the different business units, and thereby

aspect of taking on a transformation like

the opportunities with leveraging the size

this is to ensure that you have support

of our company were simply not happen-

from the top, and that you set the right

ing. As part of defining the 4 Wheel

team in place from day one. Then you

Drive Strategy, we expect to improve on

can overcome a lot, and ensure that you have movement, and that you're moving forward, fast.�

Niels Hedegaard, Senior Director Group Procurement, Business Development, Danish Crown “Within the business development area, we have our strategic development that we are leading, we have our entire strategic governance structure, we have the controlling and reporting and KPI follow-up. We are also developing processes and systems in close cooperation with our colleagues in the Procurement Centre Of Excellence in 58

DANISH CROWN

“Right now, we’re creating the baseline or the foundation for taking the journey into a lot of other procurement activities and areas” —

LARS FELDSKOU, GROUP CPO, DANISH CROWN

the company's performance to start to join forces on procurement across the business. And that was why the group procurement organisation was established and Lars was hired to take the lead on that journey.”

Annette Jakobsen, Director of Procurement, Danish Crown “The main changes we are seeing now in the way we're doing procurement is how we involve the business and work together with the business. Previously, it was very much doing the procurement at a desk and only looking at what we buy today: ‘Let us go and find the same, just at a lower price.’ Today, we look into the whole value chain and look for optimisations. In order to do that, we need to work really close to the business. We also have the new operating model that ensures that we actually do work with each business unit. Each business unit has a business unit procurement partner with one leg in procurement and one in the business unit. They report into the business unit, but work closely together with us.

This brings us much closer to the business unit.” w w w.t h e i n t e r f a c e . n e t

59

60

DANISH CROWN

Henrick Skov Madsen, Procurement Director, Danish Crown “The benefit of making it into one big organisation, where we pool the quantity is we’re much, much stronger together, in that we can start optimising. Now we can work across Europe on finding ways to focus on the best suppliers. Because if you want to be a good European supplier, it requires a different set of skills to being a good Swedish, Danish or Polish supplier. From an organisational point of view, we need to make sure we get the benefits out of the size we have when we're talking with suppliers.

We have opportunities that we simply didn't have before when we were operating as eight different units at the time.

When we put all the business units together, we can see the value of what it makes for us, but also what we can offer the supplier market, and help them with a totally different agenda than we have seen before.”

w w w.t h e i n t e r f a c e . n e t

61

L I S T E N TO T H I S PODCAST ON THE DIGITAL INSIGHT ’S OU TPU T CHANNELS BELOW

62

Digital Digital Digital Transformation Transformation Transformation with with with CJ CJ CJ Das, Das, Das, CIO CIO CIO ofofof Simpletire Simpletire Simpletire WRI T T EN BY

D al e B e n t o n

With over 20 years’ experience from being a software manager to becoming a chief digital officer and in his current role as CIO, CJ Das, CIO of SimpleTire, looks to answer a simple question;

What is a digital transformation?

63

How has the technology conversation changed?

When we started out, we used to call it automation more than anything else.

Simplification of the business process, we expedite the business process, let’s talk about operations for example.

There are various process and operations we need to automate. That was nothing but digitization if not transformation per se. The discussion changed later on primarily because the expectations from users changed.

Users have different expectations and we had to keep up with the pace. When we called it digitization we changed the game plan slightly. What that means is that we started with the customer. Let’s go to the customer and see what they want. Changing something just because there are digital tools available there today it doesn’t make sense. We would

So the discussion changed over the

start with the customer and then trace

years because of the expectations from

back and see what do we need to

our customers change and because we

do as a business to provide value, to

had some tools available to change the

provide relevance.

business and take some “giant leaps”

Very often we could not do a digital transformation. It was not possible to

instead of making a small tweaks as you are doing earlier when I was a developer.

transform the whole business, but we basically small steps towards the trans-

What does digital transformation mean?

formation, a gradual iteration.

Every company has to define the journey

could do some digitization and that is

64

D I G I TA L T R A N S F O R M AT I O N W I T H C J DA S , C I O O F

SIMPLETIRE

for themselves and its very different for

given to help the customer. I wouldn’t

each company. Many of the companies,

say the business has changed. They’re

although they call what they are doing

still in the car rental business. It just

digital transformation, are doing some

another way to serve the customer

kind of digitization. Let’s take for exam-

better. I would call a digitization.

ple, yesterday I was at the car rental

Let’s take the banking industry,

place. Rather than stand in line to take

for example, they’re lagging behind

the rental car I could go to the kiosk and

slightly. I see various smaller compa-

put in my number and get a rental car.

nies that disrupt and they’re doing digi-

That kiosk is not a transformation,

tal transformations, they’re finding new

that is just another interface that is

ways to serve their customers. That’s w w w.t h e i n t e r f a c e . n e t

65

“ Chat is very common, but chat has some limitations. It can only do so much” —

C J DA S , C I O O F S I M P L E T I R E

digital transformation, whereas the

really want to talk to us and that is prob-

rental car had just provided another

ably true for many companies. They try

digital way of doing business.

to avoid talking to you and me, the regu-

It’s becoming clear that each

lar people, we don’t like to pick up the

company has to define their own jour-

phone and call, if there is a chat availa-

ney, whether you transform or not, you

ble on the website, we’d rather use the

have to serve the customers better.

chat. That’s the norm.

And in doing so, let’s use some modern digital tools.

Chat is very common, but chat has some limitations. It can only do so much.

It doesn’t have the same level of intel-

How important is it to identify the ‘right’ technology?

ligence. We decided on how can we

We found that the customers do not

ers will come to us, who do not want to

66

make the chat so intelligent that custom-

D I G I TA L T R A N S F O R M AT I O N W I T H C J DA S , C I O O F

SIMPLETIRE

talk to us but feels very comfortable talk-

There was a business case and a

ing or chatting and have a more human-

need. We identified a need as to why

like interaction. Not only that, the chat

we should make the chat intelligent. We

will help them in their buying decisions,

looked at different platforms and did our

almost like a human being.

research. In this case, we decided to

We used to see the people that

use Lex, which is basically the platform

come to our website put the goods or

that Alexa uses. Lex is serverless. We

merchandise in the cart and then aban-

use a serverless version, what they call

don it. What is going on here? In the last

the Lambda, meaning you don’t have to

moment, they’re hesitant. We can you

install anything, you just use the server

use the chat to help the customer as

as is, which is hosted by Amazon.

they probably need answers to some very small questions.

Through Lex we added some intelligence and then integrated that into a w w w.t h e i n t e r f a c e . n e t

67

chat bot. We integrated it into the back end with ERP system, with CRM, with product management system. So now the chat knew the customer, what kind of buying history that customer had from the ERP system, all the POs and so on, chat knew all the product details and we had built in some data modeling to identify the customer at a granular level.

The chat will walk you through each step of the buying process. In this one example, we identified a tool, readily available and we went for it.

How do you stay in tune with the evolving digital trends?

That’s a very difficult question and since there are so many tools mushrooming

So that judicious or business acumen is

everyday, it is becoming very difficult for

something one needs to have at C-level,

me, especially as in CIO to keep up. I

I assume.

try to read as much as possible, I try to

I think it is just keeping up with the

attend conferences, but it’s not easy as

trends, learning. But unless they are

there are a lot of shiny objects out there.

specific use cases, I don’t think one

Take blockchain, I’ll not be able to

needs to really start using a tool just

talk about blockchain because I really

because it’s a new tool and somebody

do not know blockchain, but I have the

might be using it.

basic idea and once I get the basic relevant as far as my current industry is

How has the role of the CIO changed?

concerned. I’m not going to learn about

The CIO’s responsibility has changed

blockchain because some financial insti-

quite a bit. They were seen as a tech-

tution is using it or something like that.

nology person who would be the

idea, at least I know how blockchain is

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D I G I TA L T R A N S F O R M AT I O N W I T H C J DA S , C I O O F

SIMPLETIRE

Who would you say then is responsible for delivering a digital transformation in a business?

If there is a digital transformation officer, he is responsible. When I look at digital officers today, they are mainly pseudo marketing people. They can copy the ideas, the use cases and so on. But at the end of the day, the CIO has to execute.

He or she is always there, whether in the forefront or in the background, the CIO and a chief digital officer have to work in tandem.

If there is no digital officer, then there’s a CIO working with the chief marketing officer. Chief marketing officers, as you know, are very technology savvy guardian of the systems. Today with

people. He is responsible because he’s

cloud and all, somebody else is the

the captain of the ship but otherwise

guardian. We cannot be the guardian,

he doesn’t get involved in day to day

you cannot be the gatekeeper, that’s

activities.

not the road anymore. explain everything and if you truly are a

What are the initial steps in any digital transformation?

good technologist, then you do not have

One step is, what is the market scenario?

to use any technical language at all. The

What is the demand out there? What do

more you explain in non-technical words,

the customers want? Although we might

the more people will understand better

be profitable, it doesn’t mean we are

and jump on the bandwagon that you’re

complacent, somebody could easily be

trying to drive and ultimately the more

trying to disrupt us and take our market

successful you’ll be.

share away. So that pulse of the custom-

Your role has changed and you have to

ers has to be felt. That might tell us w w w.t h e i n t e r f a c e . n e t

69

what we need to do and how we need to transform the business.

Another method involves an R&D team. I have always had a small R&D team and their job is obviously research. Their job is to invent new products, so to say, new offerings to the customers. So this is very important, I think for any company to have a small R&D team.

It’s important to tell the R&D team that you don’t play by any rules. Because if I impose the same rules that you have today, they’ll not be able to freely think and invent new things.

Young people these days have very little respect for the bigger institutions. If you have too much respect, too much of the baggage, you cannot think freely. I get some new blood who, so to speak ‘just do not care’.

Maybe initially you’ll be called a rogue, no problem.

I’d rather have rogues than lose my business. In the roadblock and environment let the R&D folks, brilliant people think differently. They can come with new offerings. Once you have a new potential product marketing will get involved. Here we go back to the customer and find out what is going on out there. What do the customers really want t? What are the customers wanting tomorrow?

The R&D group, tell me what we could be doing given the data we have, given what our products we have today, they tell me the next big thing we could be doing.

Once I’ve identified some revenue-generating new product, that’s the business case. Now, let’s look at the tools. What is the best tool we could be using? Then we look to transform the business digitally.

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D I G I TA L T R A N S F O R M AT I O N W I T H C J DA S , C I O O F

SIMPLETIRE

“ It’s important to tell the R&D team that you don’t play by any rules. Because if I impose the same rules that you have today, they’ll not be able to freely think and invent new things.”

— C J DA S , C I O O F S I M P L E T I R E

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71

What are some of the biggest barriers to digital transformation?

The baggage some of the companies carry I think are the main barriers. For example, the old companies like General Motors, a humongous automotive company. They have unions, they have things that make them slow. They have huge plants which are 50 years old.

They just cannot compete with the likes of Tesla.

They have to come up with new ways to do things. Spin up a new business altogether. A sister company or something like that, but being where they are, they are just entrenched in a situation where things that are difficult for them to move faster. The political or pseudo-political reasons are the barriers. Besides that, I think some of the top people just cannot think or had the ability to come up with the right strategy.

You have to always assume that however well we may be doing, there is somebody sitting in a garage somewhere at this point in time trying to disrupt the business. So how do I keep ahead in the game? Continuously reinventing oneself, continuously disrupting oneself, or maybe even cannibalizing one’s self. This is the kind of strategy one has to have.

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D I G I TA L T R A N S F O R M AT I O N W I T H C J DA S , C I O O F

SIMPLETIRE

“You just cannot give up. You have to continue. Even if there are failures, you have to continue down that path.

Informed decisions must come from the people, the people mainly who are in touch with the customers.”

— C J DA S , C I O O F S I M P L E T I R E

If you could give one piece of advice to anyone who’s embarking on these journeys, who’s in the midst of a transformation, what will be key to following the right path and making the right informed decisions?

I think if they have had some success they need to continue down that path. You just cannot give up. You have to continue. Even if there are failures, you have to continue down that path. Informed decisions must come from the people, the people mainly who are in touch with the customers.

The top people have to have the ability, to some extent, to see the future. That’s why they are being paid so much. They are supposed to take the business to the next level. How did the Google folks know there is a huge market of search engines? They saw the future.

Somehow, they saw the future. That ability has to be there in the C-level people.

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UnionBank – Betting on digital W E E X P LO R E H O W U N I O N B A N K P U T S I T S M O N E Y O N D I G I TA L T O E S TA B L I S H I T S E L F A S A T R U E BANKING LEADER IN THE PHILIPPINES

WRI T T EN BY PRODUCED BY

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D al e Bent o n K i r on Cha vd a

75

D

igital disruption and the concept of digital transformation is a conversation being

had the world over, in every industry.

Organisations and individuals are, and have been for a number of years, investing in transformation in order to embrace the new digital world. This, understandably, can cause fear and reticence as these businesses face numerous challenges and shifting market dynamics that force them to play their hands in fear of losing out to competitors and worse, losing relevance to customers. In the Philippines, one such company has grabbed the reigns of digital transformation and digital banking and established itself as a true leader in the information age. UnionBank is one of the largest banking institutions in the Philippines and has continuously positioned itself as a leading digital bank to best serve the growing needs of Filipinos everywhere.

The company’s very own President and Chief Executive, Edwin Bautista, said it best himself when he proudly acknowledged that UnionBank is leading the way in the digital conversation in the Philippines. “We were the first Philippine bank to make a big bet on digital transformation,” says Bautista. “Everyone talked about it, but we were the first to 76

UNION BANK

put our money where our mouth was. At first, we did it out of fear of digital disruption, but now we’re seeing ourselves as a disruptor too; and given our lead in this area [we have a chance to] leapfrog the competition.”

Through its digital transformation strategy, UnionBank continues this big bet on digital transformation as it looks to deliver superior customer service to the digitally enabled customers of today, and play a key role in the Philippines’ push to be a G20 country by 2050 and truly power the future of banking.

w w w. t h e i n t e r f a c e . n e t

77

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Through a digital transformation

OutSystems is a software company

service you want,” says Mark. You

strategy, Union Bank, one of the

that provides a low-code platform

can do everything by yourself or

largest banking institutions in the

for rapid application development,

you can bring in people to help you.

Philippines, continues to place a

enabling companies to embark on

Be it servicing your car, learning to

great bet on digital transformation

a digital transformation journey.

speak French, or wanting to become the best painter in the world. You

as it looks to deliver superior customer service to the digitally ena-

“Our relationship with Union Bank

can do it naturally or you can have

bled customers of today, and play

is that we are a system supplier

training to help you do so. That’s

a key role in the Philippines’ push

who can provide the capability for

what we do as a company and we

to be a G20 country by 2050 and

them to transform their business,”

are very successful in doing it.”

truly power the future of banking.

says Mark Weaser, Vice President APAC, OutSystems. “We do this

Through the use of Technical Suc-

In recent years, the banking and

by A, training up their employ-

cess Manager assigned to custom-

financial industry within the Phil-

ees on our technology, B, better

ers like Union Bank, OutSystems

ippines has changed dramatically

enabling them, and C, support-

enables a constant dialogue to of-

and in turn, this sparked the initial

ing them and encouraging them

fer mentoring and problem solving

discussions around digital trans-

to build all the applications they

and white boarding. This allows

formation for UnionBank. This also

need to move archaic systems

OutSystems to align itself fully with

falls in line with the broad ambition

across to a fast, modern system.”

the customer and be seen as more than a supplier or a partner. “Each

of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the central bank of the Philip-

This relationship is typical of the

customer has a different journey

pines, that looks to raise the volume

way that Outsytems works with its

and different objectives, but we’re

and value of electronic transactions

customers. Customers such as Un-

not just trying to push our prod-

in the country from its present

ion Bank, work with partners under

uct. We try to align ourselves and

“negligible” level of 1 percent of

the OutSystems umbrella to move

try to be the customer,” says Mark.

all transfers to 20 percent by 2020.

forward, adapt and adopt the low code technology. OutSystems goes

“We ask ourselves, are we a suppli-

A key part of this transformation

beyond the traditional perspective

er who’s just trying to persuade a

saw Union Bank look to redefine its

of a strategic partner in that it deliv-

customer to buy in more products?

customer service function through

ers more than a service, by bringing

No, we’re trying to understand why

technology enablement and imple-

people into the business to work

customers want those products,

menting a culture of innovation. This

closely with Union Bank and to train

and why they want these features

is where Union Bank’s relationship

them and support them as they im-

and what benefit they’ll get from

with OutSystems comes into play.

plement the technology in order to

it. That’s what makes our rela-

Ranked as one of the world’s lead-

realise the true value of it. “We can

tionship with Union Bank so suc-

ing cloud employers and trusted by

do as much or as little as is needed.

cessful, because we are aligned.”

thousands of customers worldwide,

It’s the same as buying any level of

“ I T ’ S A L L I N T H E S E R V I C E O F W H AT G OT U S H E R E , W H I C H IS OUR FOCUS ON OUR P E O P L E , O U R L OYA LT Y TO O U R C U S TO M E R S , A N D O U R A B I L I T Y TO W O R K TO G E T H E R A N D E N J OY T H E S C A L I N G OUT PROCESS.” —

HENRY AGUDA, CTO, CTOO AND CHAIRMAN OF UBX

In recent years, the banking and financial industry within the Philippines has changed dramatically and in turn, this sparked the initial discussions around digital transformation for UnionBank. This also falls in line with the broad ambition of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the central bank of the Philippines, that looks to raise the volume and value of electronic transactions in the country from its present “negligible” level of 1 percent of all transfers to 20 percent by 2020. “The banking industry in the Philippines is dominated by maybe a few major players holding the largest market 80

UNION BANK

share in terms of traditional banking. And

financial services is now proving that it

there has been little innovation, I would

can be an easy experience and that it

say, prior to the entrance of fintech into

can be available to most, if not all.”

the country in recent years,” explains Ana

At the very start of the transformation

Delgado, Chief Customer Experience

journey, UnionBank recognized that it

Officer and Head of Consumer Finance at

needed to redefine its customer service

UnionBank. “The introduction of fintech

function and its technology enable-

has really forced the banks to rethink

ment. This is where Delgado joined the

their strategies and rethink their rele-

business, as she was asked to estab-

vance. What they’ve changed in the

lish a customer experience practice in

customer’s mind, is this notion that bank-

the bank. Over the last four years, this

ing has to be something tedious and that

experienced team has evolved dramat-

is difficult and not everybody is eligible

ically from an initial roster of four to

to be part of the banking system. They’ve

24 people that now covers all things

democratized payments, so access to

digital including UX, UI, marketing and w w w. t h e i n t e r f a c e . n e t

81

YEAR FOUNDED

1981

REGION HQ

Pasig City, Philippines

w w w.th e in te r fa ce . n e t

83

web development. Working alongside

expertise of existing people within the

Delgado and driving this transformation

business. So, it’s not like we came in with

is Dennis Omila as Chief Information

the mentality that we’re the ones that are

Officer and Henry Aguda as CTO, CTOO

going to transform you,” he says. “We

and Chairman of UBX - UnionBank’s

needed to collaborate and respect the

fintech division.

depth of the experience of people within

While Delgado has worked with

the bank, but at the same time, lever-

UnionBank for a number of years, both

age on things that we’ve been exposed

Omila and Aguda come from the telco

to in our respective industries. We really

industry, something that Delgado thinks

provided a lot of respect to the different

speaks volumes as to need to bring

perspectives and we made use of that.”

different experience and skill sets into the organization as it looks to cement its position as a true digital leader in banking. “When we started the digital transformation, we actually recognized that since our competitors were fintech and technology companies, we needed to change the talent set in the bank and we couldn’t do this on our own,” says Delgado. “Hiring people from various background, specifically telco, the tech companies, data analytics was crucial and it continues to be crucial in our journey because if you think like a banker, or if we continue to just think like bankers, we would never take the risks that we’re taking.”

Omila agrees with this sentiment: “When we came in as new talents, there was a great deal of respect for the experience and depth in terms of the 84

UNION BANK

Aguda leads the fully owned subsidiary

and changing the expectations of our

called UBX. UBX, as Aguda describes,

customers for banking,” she says. “We’re

is “technically a tech company”.

trying to rewrite what banking means.

Incorporating another company, UBX

Frankly, in our customer’s eyes, banking

acts as UnionBank’s technology arm, and

is a tedious and painful experience and

this subsidiary is made up of people and

we also believe that it does not have to

talents from a number of different indus-

be. In fact, it can be a delightful expe-

tries and this allows the company to take,

rience and that’s what we’re trying to

as Delgado states, “calculated risks.”

achieve and UBX and the varied skill sets

“When I say risk, I mean the risk that

in our organization enable us to do that.”

involves changing the business model

These calculated risks that UnionBank

w w w. t h e i n t e r f a c e . n e t

85

can afford to make reflect a changing

200+ digital openings a day and that

customer. While the company looks

makes us a major contributor to the BSP

to break that mindset of tedium with

goal of increased digital transactions by

regards to banking, this is a tedium that

2020.” Being the only one to introduce

has developed through digital enable-

these capabilities represents the compa-

ment. The technology landscape within

ny’s approach to innovation and what

the Philippines has changed and so

truly sets it apart from its competitors.

customers are more connected than

Through the advent of UBX, UnionBank

ever before. As Aguda notes, it is no

can look at exploring the fintech disrup-

longer a challenge of overreach for

tion a little differently. No longer will the

banks, it’s now a challenge of qual-

organization, understandably, look at

ity. “Mobile phone penetration rate is

fintech organizations and try to incorpo-

about 110%, meaning more people have

rate or almost copy their best practises,

multiple phones. The total phone base

they can use their varied expertise and

in the Philippines could be around 110

“do one better.”

million, with around 75% of those being

A transformation is a journey and an

smartphones. More people are enjoy-

organization needs to establish a strate-

ing connectivity and smartphones,” says

gic roadmap with clear goals and

Aguda. “What that also means is that

desired outcomes, this is only

more people are looking towards online

natural. With UnionBank, things

banking, convenience banking as well,

were a little different. Aguda

so that they can do most of their transac-

believes that the organiza-

tions with their device.”

tion is “strategy in motion”

This has seen UnionBank introduce

and works towards a broad

digital account opening capabilities, the

statement and a flexible

only bank to do so in the Philippines,

approach that enables

something that has been well received

innovation and challeng-

from customers. “UBP is the only local

ing new ideas. That broad

bank that introduced the digital account

statement is to provide digi-

opening and so far it’s been a huge

tal banking services for 50

success on our end,” says Omila. “Only

million customers. Considering

recently we were averaging close to

there are around 100 million

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UNION BANK

“ W E N E E D E D TO C O L L A B O R AT E A N D R E S P E C T T H E D E P T H OF THE EXPERIENCE OF PEOPLE WITHIN THE BANK, BUT AT T H E S A M E T I M E , L E V E R A G E O N T H I N G S T H AT W E ’ V E B E E N E X P O S E D TO I N O U R R E S P E C T I V E I N D U S T R I E S . W E R E A L LY P R O V I D E D A L OT O F R E S P E C T TO T H E D I F F E R E N T P E R S P E C T I V E S A N D W E M A D E U S E O F T H AT ” —

DENNIS OMILA, CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER

people within the Philippines, and a total banking population of around 20 million, this broad statement highlights the ambition and confidence in its own abilities to achieve it. This confidence stems from the very top of the business as it challenges each and every person within the business to push harder.

“It’s not so much the number, it’s the aspirational part of trying to think out of the box,” says Aguda. “Our chairman’s philosophy is, if you set a target that is beyond reach then people will start thinking out-of-the-box.

Our strategy is around capturing those customers, but it was focused on making our people aspire for something more in order to achieve that.” The initial phase of the transformation strategy saw the company work to establish this culture of innovation first and foremost and only then could it look to data consulting and enterprise architecture which guided its technical people on what to build in line with what the customer wants, and the business requires.”

Make no mistake, innovation has been a clear competitive edge for UnionBank since the turn of the century. w w w. t h e i n t e r f a c e . n e t

87

This transformation journey is one of taking that innovation curve further. “We launched the first internet banking in the Philippines, we had the first debit card,” says Delgado. “So, innovation has always been a huge part of who we are and how we compete in the market and differentiate from the other banks. This innovation comes from our agile mindset – from the top down we work in an agile way where teams and leaders are empowered to make their own decisions, so it allowed us to really be faster, be more nimble. It’s like a start-up mentality.”

In discussing transformation and digital disruption, it can be easy to forget that ultimately the key driving force for all of this is and always will be the customer.

So how does changing a culture, driving an agile and innovative and empowering workforce mindset translate into customer success? UnionBank is all too aware of the shifting dynamics of its customer base. Some will be digital ready and demanding of newer channels, others may be reluctant to embrace technology. Delgado highlights that when building its new customer experience, UnionBank was very cognizant towards this. UnionBank hasn’t removed branches, rather it has invested in transforming the experience of the branch as well as the digital channels in service of delivering the best customer experience. It has done this through investing in three pillars: physical, digital and human channels.

“By investing in these pillars, through human touchpoint technologies and digitizing the branch experience,” says Delgado. “We’re embracing the fact that there are some clients who will take more time and need more assistance to move on to digital channels or 88

UNION BANK

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89

“ T H E I N T R O D U C T I O N O F F I N T E C H H A S R E A L LY F O RC E D T H E B A N KS TO RE T H I N K T H E I R S T R AT E G I E S A N D R E T H I N K T H E I R R E L E VA N C E ” —

ANA DELGADO, CHIEF CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE OFFICER AND HEAD OF CONSUMER FINANCE AT UNIONBANK

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not at all, and catering to the wide range

easy journey ahead. “I think the key is

using customer experience approaches.”

really to have the values and elements

The future of UnionBank is one of

that allows us to get there,” he says. “It’s

opportunity. The company is targeting

about continuing to embrace change,

an ambitious 50 million banking custom-

having a learning attitude and being

ers in the coming years and it has and

collaborative.”

continues to invest in the technology and

This learning attitude and collaborative

the culture in order to get there. Omila

approach will see UnionBank continue to

recognizes that it’s not going to be an

invest in technologies and enable greater innovation but for Aguda, it’s about remaining focused. “It’s all in the service of what got us here, which is our focus on our people, our loyalty to our customers, and our ability to work together and enjoy the scaling out process,” he says.

“Ultimately, at the end our north star, our compass is really the customer and whether we are able to provide value and experience to them. That’s what will allow us to understand the direction they’re going to take and not to digress from that. We must keep the customer at the heart of what we do.”

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5

WRI T T EN BY

D a le B e n t o n

inspirational women in IT As diversity, inclusivity and opportunity continue to be key talking points across the board within the STEM workforce, we look at five women in IT who have been recognised as allies and champions for female professionals in STEM both today and in the future, by Information Age and DiversityQ

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Carly Britton Head of Client Services Vualto Advocate of the Year With over 13 years in the IT sector, Britton is no stranger to being recognised as an inspiring figure in STEM. Alongside being the winner of Women in IT Awards Advocate of the Year 2020, Briton was also a winner at the TechWomen100 Awards 2019 and a finalist at the Venus Awards 2019 - Inspirational Women in STEM. In her own words, Britton is “ a strong advocate for encouraging girls and women to consider careers in technology. I am an active STEM Ambassador and founder of #GIRLCODE - Free coding for girls aged 8-14 in Plymouth & Bath.�

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F I V E I N S P I R AT I O N A L W O M E N I N I T

Jackie Shears Associate Director Mental Wellbeing Transformation at NHS Digital Data Leader of the Year Winner of the Data Leader of the Year award, NHS Digital notes that Shears has continuously displayed a “compassionate approach in reshaping the size and magnitude of the data and has enabled the NHS to make better informed decisions.”

Working as part of the Department of Health, NHS Digital is the national provider of information, data and IT systems for commissioners, analysts and clinicians in health and social care. Shears’ work allows the continued support of the health and care system, helping patients to make informed choices about their care while ensuring that their data is kept safe.

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Amanda Hamilton City & County Healthcare Group CIO of the Year An internationally-experienced technology leader managing IT services and delivering strategic change in healthcare, restaurant, retail, professional services, commercial & global corporate sectors, Amanda Hamilton was recognised as the CIO of the Year for her work with City & County Healthcare Group. An unrivalled innovative drive and passion has seen her deliver efficiencies worth ÂŁ1.7m per year and improved cash flow by ÂŁ4m. Alongside her success, her tireless work for diversity and inclusion has seen an increase in female representation from 0% to 37%.

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F I V E I N S P I R AT I O N A L W O M E N I N I T

Mel Unsworth Global Head of Technology, YOOX NET-APORTER, Future CIO of the Year As Global Head of Technology for YOOX NET-A-PORTER GROUP is the world’s leading online luxury fashion retailer, the responsibility to deliver sustained IT success rests firmly on the shoulders of Mel Unsworth. Successfully overseeing a major integration of two infrastructures between different businesses alongside the demands of a rapid team growth, Unsworth’s strong performance and values place her well and truly on the “ones to watch” list for future CIOs.

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Karen Hopley HR Transformation Director, G4S Transformation Leader of the Year Leading the development and deployment of G4S’ global HCM system to create a global integrated HR, finance and business system, Hopley’s work across the business allowed G4S to truly transform the way it operates, connects with its customers, enable its people to collaborate, and will underpin the future competitiveness of the company. Her successful launch of the pilot programme has enabled greater business efficiencies, more control and access for employees to their data and has led to 3100 people being hired in the past 12 months.

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