Implementing B2B Digitization - Top Challenges & Solutions: FEICA CONNECT Interviews SpecialChem CEO Christophe Cabarry

FEICA is delighted to welcomeChristophe Cabarry, Founder andCEO of SpecialChem back tothe 2019 European Adhesiveand Sealant Conference &EXPO.

FEICA CONNECT spoke withChristophe to get a previewof some of the keyconcepts he will discuss atFEICA 2019 in Dubrovnik

Following on from histhought-provoking presentationon ''last year, Christophe will this yeardelve into some of the morepractical aspects aroundimplementing digitalization in B2Borganizations.

Let's hear from Christophe:

CONNECT: Christophe, how willthis session complement andbuild on last year's presentation?

Christophe Cabarry (CC): Lastyear we examined the impact ofdigitization and why companiesneed to embrace it to securetheir long-term futures. I believethis need is now generallyaccepted and over this last year,many businesses have beentaking steps to digitalize.

In fact,every business we talked to lastyear is taking action in this area.As a result, I concluded that delegates would find a discussion ofthe key practical challenges B2Borganizations face whendigitalizing to be most useful.

CONNECT: You say 'many businesses have been taking steps toImplementing; can you give us someexamples?

CC: Yes, there are in fact twoaspects to this:

First, what I callthe visible part of the iceberg.This includes a number ofcompanies who have createdtheir own online platforms. For example,

• Lanxess created the CheMondis online market place for chemicals (www.chemondis.com) and
• Evonik launched the OneTwoChem online market place (www.onetwochem.com)
• Chemours created the Ti-Pure Flex™ online portal for purchasing Ti-Pure™ brand titanium dioxide (shop.chemours.com/tipure)
• In addition, Amazon Business is also accelerating its expansion plans and who knows where these may end

All of these, of course, represent major investments by large companies.

However, there is also amuch bigger submergedportion of the iceberg,which comprises large,deep-rooted investmentsby every company we aretalking to.This often includes theimplementation of CustomerRelationship Management(CRM) systems with marketingautomation tools.

We also see B2B companies hiring experienced digital professionals. BASF, for example, hasannounced that it will hire 300high caliber digital specialists inthe coming years. To gauge theimportance BASF places on this, itis worth noting that it mentioned'digital' 51 times in its 2017Annual Review, compare to onetime in 2015!

CONNECT: What do you see asbeing the main challenges to thesuccessful implementation of digitization?

CC: The challenges fall into fourmain categories:

• Organization
• Resources
• Tools and systems, and
• Management mindset

In mypresentation, I will address eachof these in turn. I touched onsome of the organizational challenges last year, particularlythose facing the sales function.




Traditionally, the industry likes stableorganizations, deep analysis andcomprehensive plans.



People need to be free to experiment; if it works – great – repeatthe process; if it doesn't – scrap itand move on. In addition, wehave found that some companies regard digitalization as an ITproject, or try to reduce it to'digital marketing'. But it shouldn't be led by IT people, althoughthey are of course needed, andyou can't just install a CRM andsay 'Great – we're digitalizednow!' The organizationalchallenge is linked to theresources challenge.

The digitalmaturity of an organization – interms of people resources –needs to grow at the samespeed as its digital complexity. Ifthe complexity grows faster thanthe maturity, the process will fail.You need to install and develop a team with the requiredknow-how and invest in appropriate systems and processes at thesame pace to successfully exploitdigitalization.

CONNECT: That brings us nicelyonto resources. What are yourthoughts about the requirements inthis area?

CC: We see many companiesthat want to embark on digitalization using only their existingstaff. They always struggle. Youneed some external people inthe team who have actually'done digitalization' themselves;who know what to do and act asa catalyst to accelerate theprocess and bring digitalmaturity. In this case, the wholeprocess goes faster and there isless trial and error.



You will also need to hire somepeople who have been there,seen it and done it! These canbe consultants or freelancersthat you will need for some time.

CONNECT: The third challenge istools and systems. We touchedon these last year. What changes have you noted in this area?

CC: The main change has beenin the philosophy around theinformation system (IS). So, whileit's good to install new software,such as a CRM, if you don'thave the right IS philosophy youwill fail. We can compare thesituation to the early days ofenterprise resource planning(ERP) systems. People spentseveral years and millions of dollars implementing huge behemoths of systems. It was oftenquite a traumatic experience.

Now we have the option of web-based software as a service(SaaS), which offers vastly improved agility. You don't ownthe software, you 'rent' it. It isquick to configure and connect,but if it doesn't work, you canrapidly move to an alternative.

The challenge here is integration.Your data should not be 'stuck' inone piece of software; it shouldbe in data warehouses or'datalakes'. This enables data tobe accessed through a range ofsystems, facilitating useful,in-depth analyses. For example, ifyou have a product informationmanagement system (PIM)feeding a website, you can bringdata on how many times eachpiece of product information hasbeen viewed into your CRM toanalyze and help optimize yourmarketing efforts. This sort ofactivity is difficult to do inall-encompassing ERP systemsbecause they are not easy toplug into.

CONNECT: This change inapproach to information systemsrequires a change in mindset andyou mentioned managementmindset as being the fourthchallenge. What will you revealabout this aspect of digitization?

CC: Last year I talked about theimportance of change management and culture. Building onthis, I can say there are now veryfew managers who don't see theneed to digitalize. They usuallyfocus on digitalization of the interactions with the market becausecustomers are demanding it andthey have no choice, particularlyin the western hemisphere.

However, what's changed sincelast year is that they often don'tknow what to do exactly because the subject if so big andcomplex and touches on everyarea of the business. My recommended approach is first toensure effective changemanagement to instill a sense ofurgency and then to build athree-year 'digital roadmap';sketch it out and make sure it isintegrated into the businessstrategy.

You will probably needconsultants who have experience of actually doing this tohelp. The road-map is absolutelynecessary to engage andinspire the whole team and itaccommodates the timeneeded to implement andassess new software. You canalso plan your new hires; today'schoices will be smarter if youknow where you need to be inthree years. Then, break it intosmall actionable chunks anddeliver small wins.

CONNECT: Will you be able toprovide our delegates with somereal-life examples to illustratethese challenges and how toaddress them?

CC: Yes, I will. Of course, I won'tbe able to mention specificnamed customers, but I willexamine the trends and provideexamples of how actual B2Bcompanies have successfullyovercome some of thesechallenges. I think my presentation will provide delegates withplenty of food for thought!