Digital Strategy & Architecture - Case Study

1. Transformation Overview:

The chairman of this conglomerate recognized the need for the company to modernize

and compete with start-ups & existing competitors, which had been steadily taking

market share. Threats exist from probable & planned multi-national E-commerce giants

entering Kuwait. The previous big investment in IT was more than 15 years on SAP

Platform. Consequently, the new Director of IT was tasked with driving a transformative

change within the organization, which would be the primary goal. The specific

initiatives that the Director will undertake to achieve this transformation are yet to be

determined. However, the Director of IT will need to think creatively and innovatively

to achieve the desired level of transformation within the company.

Summary: The chairman acknowledged the company's need to modernize and compete with start-ups that were taking away market share, as well as potential threats from

multinational E-commerce giants planning to enter Kuwait.

2. Business Overview

The conglomerate is one of the largest privately owned companies in the Gulf region. A

multi-national, with operations around the world (around 30 countries).

A conglomerate with global brands, 15,000 employees, and $6 billion in revenues with

partners like Ford Motors, Chevrolet, Honda, Lincoln, Cadillac, Lotus, Costa Coffee, and

many more. They have also their own E-commerce brand. This conglomerate is the number

1 or 2 in each business sector they operate in the region.

Summary: This conglomerate is a significant privately-owned conglomerate in the Gulf

region, with a global presence and operations in various countries. It has an extensive

portfolio of global brands and partners with around 15,000 employees and $6 billion in

revenue.

3. Capabilities

Consulting firms like Deloitte and BCG were roped in for Digital transformation study.

Protiviti was interviewed for Enterprise architecture practice for one domain, but it

didn’t materialize. The management has done a study of the existing employee’s skills

and understood they need professionals to work extensively on these bigger

transformation projects.

As part of this process, they recruited me (Naveen Kumar) to help them with Enterprise

architecture practice and come up with standardizing Frameworks for digital

transformation.

Summary: Naveen Kumar was selected as an impartial Trusted Technical advisor to coach

the company’s leaders in enabling Enterprise architecture practice along with coaching

Digital transformation journey.

4. Challenges and Opportunities

The retail industry in the Middle East is highly competitive, with many large players

vying for market share. This intense competition puts pressure on large retailers to

differentiate themselves and offer unique value propositions to their customers.

Consumers in the Middle East are becoming more sophisticated and demanding, with

higher expectations for quality, convenience, and personalized experiences. Large

retailers must keep up with these changing preferences and adapt their strategies

accordingly.

Also, large retailers and distributors must comply with a complex web of regulations

and laws, which can be challenging to navigate. This includes regulations around labour,

taxation, and import/export laws, among others.

On the other side, this conglomerate is a well-established and reputed brand and has a

heritage of over 100 years as a successful commercial enterprise.

Summary: The retail industry in the Middle East is highly competitive, and large retailers face

pressure to differentiate themselves and offer unique value propositions to meet the

changing preferences of increasingly sophisticated and demanding consumers.

Compliance with regulations around labour, taxation, and import/export laws can also

be challenging. This conglomerate, a well-established and respected brand, has a 100-

year history of successful commercial enterprise.

5. Stakeholders

The mandate for the transformation came from the company’s Chairman. This was

backed up by the CEO and Presidents of each business domain. The CFO and Director of

IT were also fully on board.

The mood among the business and IT teams was mixed. There were some individuals who

were hesitant to disrupt their existing processes, while others were enthusiastic about

the possibility of change and transformation.

Summary: The company's mandate for transformation was supported by top

executives, but the business and IT teams had mixed feelings, with some hesitant to

disrupt existing processes and others eager for change.

6. Roles and Responsibilities

My responsibility was crucial as I established the EA practice and standardized the

frameworks for digital transformation, which included developing the ADM, reducing

technical debt, digital transformation frameworks, and integration approach

standardization across the organization.

Additionally, I ensured that the transformation approaches were best practices and

comprehensible for all levels of staff, conducting workshops and stakeholder meetings

to gather input and communicate the benefits of the changes.

Summary: I was responsible and played a critical role in providing advice and guidance

to the senior leadership team. This ranged from a critical role in establishing the Enterprise

Architecture practice and standardizing frameworks for digital transformation,

including the Architecture Development Method, a process for reducing technical debt,

and integrating approaches across the organization.

7. Goal and/or Objective

The aim was to implement a company-wide transformation that would allow the

organization to reinvent itself and ensure its future success in a rapidly evolving. This

would restore the confidence of the chairman and CEO, which had been waning in

recent times.

During their initial assessment, management recognized the need for IT transformation

with the help of an Enterprise Architecture practice to monitor and update legacy

systems for effective digital transformation. Also, it was key to have sophisticated

integration capabilities for successful transformation.

Summary: The goal was to establish a company-wide transformation to secure its

future and recognized the need for IT transformation through an Enterprise

Architecture practice and sophisticated integration capabilities for effective digital

transformation.

8. Framework or Methodology

During my tenure at this conglomerate, I recommended the adoption of the TOGAF

ADM framework, which we implemented alongside the necessary domain-specific

reference architecture such as ARTS for E-commerce. Below are the frameworks,

Methodologies & best practices we utilized throughout my time at this conglomerate.

EA Frameworks/Methodologies

• TOGAF

• Reference Architectures

• BizBok for Business Analysis

Digital Transformation Frameworks/Methodologies

• Capability maturity assessment

• Customer journey mapping

• Customer persona

• Customer Experience Management

Summary: We leveraged the TOGAF ADM to improve our Enterprise architecture capabilities. Since it is a well-established and extensively documented methodology, it was simple for employees at all levels to comprehend the architecture approach we were

implementing.

The below example shows a typical customer journey:

9. Transformation

The objective was to implement a transformation that would provide the Chairman

with confidence that the company holds a competitive edge. This would necessitate

significant modifications to the organization's operating model, modernization of

current backend systems, enhancement of employee skills, and optimization of

technology usage.

Moreover, the transformation was designed to enhance operations and boost overall

organizational efficiency. Additionally, it was anticipated that the transformation would

elevate the "Customer Lifetime Value."

Summary: The conglomerate aimed to establish a transformation that would provide a

competitive edge over its competitors. This involved significant changes to the

organization's operating model, systems, employee skills, and technology usage to

improve productivity and elevate customer lifetime value.

10. Business Value and Benefits

Implementing enterprise architecture practices and digital transformation in the

organization offered several benefits, including the ability to provide self-service

capabilities and one-stop shopping options for customers. This leads to a reduction in

costs as well as an easy-to-use and easy-to-access system, improving the overall

customer and employee experience.

Additionally, it enhances organizational productivity by streamlining operations and

automating processes, leading to improved efficiency and timesaving. By leveraging the

latest technology and practices, the organization established itself as an innovative and

customer-focused entity, leading to sustainable growth and success in the long term.

Summary: The organization gained various advantages through enterprise architecture

and digital transformation, such as cost reduction, enhanced customer and employee

experience, and improved organizational productivity, leading to long-term growth and

success.

11. Lessons Learned

The major hurdle in the initial stage of this transformation was disseminating

information throughout the organization, as there were insufficient collaboration tools.

The efficacy of emails and video calls was limited.

Consequently, we recognized the need to conduct additional workshops with the

business team, increase our workforce, and enhance our utilization of collaboration

tools. As communication improved, progress towards our objectives became tangible.

Summary: The importance of timely communication and use of collaboration tools

played an important role in successful transformation.

Approach

1.TOGAF Framework
Activity	TOGAF (The Open Group Architecture Framework) – the most sophisticated enterprise architecture lifecycle and methodology for adaptation across an organization
Purpose	The TOGAF architecture framework facilitates the design, planning, implementation, and management of enterprise architectures. This includes Business, Application, Data, and Infrastructure architecture.
Outcome	1. Consistent standards and methods: The TOGAF framework enabled a standard language, methods, and processes for enterprise architecture, which ensured consistency and uniformity in the way architectures are designed, planned, implemented, and managed. 2. Efficient use of resources: The TOGAF framework provided a a structured and systematic approach to enterprise architecture that helps organizations optimize the use of resources, including personnel, time, and budget. 3. Improved alignment with business goals: The TOGAF framework improved the alignment of enterprise architecture with business goals and objectives, helping organizations to better understand and meet their business needs. 4. Increased flexibility and agility: The TOGAF framework promoted the use of open standards and interoperability, which enables organizations to be more flexible and agile in responding to changing business requirements and technology advancements. 5. Higher return on investment: The TOGAF framework helped to achieve a higher return on investment by ensuring that enterprise architecture activities are aligned with business goals, and by optimizing the use of resources.

2. Digital Use Case Mapping
Activity	Digital use case mapping: Using the results of “Capability maturity assessment”, we facilitated the creation of innovative digital use cases with groups consisting of business and IT Teams.
Purpose	Digital use case mapping is a technique used to identify and define the specific scenarios or situations in which digital technologies can be applied to solve a particular problem or achieve a specific objective. The process involves mapping out the various use cases for digital technologies, considering factors such as user needs, technology capabilities, and business objectives.
Outcome	50+ digital use cases are identified by different teams each of which consisted of: 1. Define the problem or opportunity: Identify the business problem or opportunity that the use case will address. 2. Identify potential use cases: Brainstorm a list of potential use cases for digital technologies that could address the problem or opportunity. 3. Evaluate potential use cases: Assess the feasibility and potential impact of each use case, considering factors such as user needs, technology capabilities, and business objectives. 4. Prioritize use cases: Rank the potential use cases based on their potential impact and feasibility and prioritize the ones that offer the greatest potential value. 5. Develop a roadmap: Develop a roadmap for implementing the prioritized use cases, considering factors such as timeline, budget, and resource requirements.

3. Customer Persona
Activity	Customer persona: Customer data is classified into customer persona for better understanding of the customer.
Purpose	A customer persona is a fictional representation of a specific type of customer, based on research and data analysis. It includes detailed information about the customer's characteristics, preferences, behaviours, and needs. Creating customer personas helps businesses better understand their target customers and tailor their marketing and sales efforts to meet their needs, resulting in more effective marketing messages, products, and services.
Outcome	As a result of this transformation, the marketing team was able to cater to customer needs more effectively, leading to a significant increase in sales and revenue. The organization achieved record- breaking sales figures following this change.

4. Customer Experience Mapping
Activity	Customer Experience Management: Designed, tracked, and managed the interactions between a business and its customers throughout the customer journey
Purpose	The goal of CEM is to create a positive and memorable experience for customers at every touchpoint, from initial awareness and consideration to purchase and ongoing support. By focusing on the customer experience, businesses can increase customer loyalty, retention, and advocacy, leading to higher customer lifetime value and revenue.
Outcome	CEM is a critical component of this successful transformation strategy, as it helps businesses to differentiate themselves from their competitors and build strong, long-lasting relationships with their customers.

Below is an example of level-2 customer experience management best practice snapshot: