1. ©Crocus Hill Associates: All Rights Reserved
Page 1
Crocus Hill Associates
Craig Bickel – Digital Transformation Experience
Digital Transformationisanewwordphrase to overlaya couple oldconcepts,businessalignmentand
technologydrivencompetitiveadvantage. Ithas gainedfavorinrecentyearsin the IT pressas a ticket
to the CIO to be seenas a strategiccontributortothe business,perhapsescape the stigmaof ‘ITisjusta
cost center’anda wayto demonstrate the value of ITinvestmentinthe business. These have been
importantissuessince the inceptionof the industrymore than50 yearsago and have overthe years
takenmanyforms:
There are manymore but the commonfactor is the new thinkingabouttechnology’sabilityto
transformationrelationships,processesandobjectsinthe environment. Today,SMAC(Social,Mobile,
AnalyticsandCloud) dominatethe newswithbreakinhappening inCognitive technologies,bigdataand
the ‘self-drivingvehicle’. While technology-drivenbusinessandstrategytransformation hasalways
beengoingon,lookingforandearlymoveror sustainable competitiveadvantage the focustodayison
‘disruption’,where industrystructuresare overturnedbycompaniesoutsideparadigmand‘redocean’
competitiveenvironment,clearlyUBERand Amazonare the current classicexamplesof this. Withthose
examples,itisimperativetodaythatall companiesundertakethe searchfora ‘digital strategy’. Most
will goat it withthe historical focusof lookingforwaysthatdigital technologiescantransformor
enhance theiroperationsandcompetitive position,afew will use the workasa catalystto identify
where the ‘disruptors’will come frominhopesof findingwaystoinoculate themselvesorrespondingto
the attack and a veryfewwill seektodevelopa‘blue ocean’strategy,findingopportunityin
uncontestedspacesortobecome a ‘disruptor’themselves.
A recentarticle on‘HowCIO’sCan Seize the Digital TransformationLeadership’emphasized:
1. Reassessyourleadershipskills.Emphasizethe business.
2. Thinkbigpicture.
3. Look through“fresheyes.”
4. Become a culture champion.Increase yourorganizational change expertise.
5. Askfor the job.
While those are politicallycorrectapproaches, they don’treflectthe ‘outof the box andtransformative
businessimpactthinking’neededtoleadanorganizationtoscan the horizonsinthe competitiveand
technologyarenas forthreats,andopportunities,analyze competitive andinternal strengthsand
weaknessestodevelopandsell compellingbusinesscasestothe keystakeholdersinsenior
managementandthe boardand to leadthe organizationandtechnological changesinaway that
providesoptionalityandthe abilityscale andmove quicklyshouldthe opportunityorneedarise.
 Accountingautomation
 Paperlessoffice
 ERP / BusinessReengineering
 BusinessIntelligence
 Enterprise ApplicationIntegration
 SupplyChainIntegration
 CRM
 Artificial Intelligence/Knowledge
management
 StrategicHumanCapital Management
 The Web and online stores
 Employee andcustomerself-service /
CustomerIntimacy
 Micro segmentmarketingandmass
customizationof presentation

2. ©Crocus Hill Associates: All Rights Reserved
Page 2
Crocus Hill Associates
Craig Bickel – Digital Transformation Experience
Overmy whole career,thishasbeenmyfocus. Frombuildingthe firstonline –real time systemto
manage the buildplanandcontract managementsystemsforthe Space Shuttle,tothe firstdynamicand
interactive salesanddeliveryanalysissystemsandthe firstonline ‘deliveredpricing’orderentry -system
at General Millsenablingthemtobe the firstcompanytobe able toquote firmdeliverydate andprice,
transformingthe customerservice function.
At EcoLab inthe early80’s, we ledthe implementationof the ‘informationcenter’apre cursor to the BI
systemscommonplace a decade later,usingrapidprototypingand‘4GL databases’toprovide end-user
drivenanalyticsand‘backend’productionsystems. These systemsallowedthe companytopreserve
marketshare withpredictive analyticsinthe face of a 500% disadvantage toP&G and Leverinthe
‘dishwater’wars. We alsoimplementedthe conceptof ‘integrateddatabase-drivensystems’years
before the emergenceof MRP. For that, we implemented‘order-to-cash’and‘plantoproduce’systems
usingwhatis nowCA’sIDMS and its4GL developmentenvironment. Almost30yearslater,aftera
$100M+ investmentin SAPthe companyisjustnow workingthe systemsoutbecause theyproducedthe
lowertotal transactioncostsand TCO forthose keyfunctionsthanSAP.
As a consultantwithCSCIndex inthe midto late 80’s and early90’s we workedwithleadingedge
companiesinthe pursuitof competitive advantage andstrategicinitiatives. Keyexamplesfromthat
workwas pioneeringworkin‘portfoliomanagement’and‘NDA processreengineering’forJohnsonand
Johnsonandotherpharmaceutical firms,integratingprogramand costmanagementwithkeyprocess
managementsystemforefficacy,safety,adverse reactionandclinical trial intosystemsallowing
researchand corporate managementtomonitorandcontinuallyreviewhundredsof millionsof
expensesona monthlybasisand make portfoliomanagementdecisionswithnear-realtime data
showingcosts,projectionsandprobabilityof success. Withanagro chemical firmwe developeda‘quick
ship’programusingroute optimizationtechnologyandlinkingtofieldsystems(pre cursorsof CRM) to
model nearreal time demanddeliverchemical tocoopsandfeedlotsjustintime forfarmersneeds.
At Cabot,inthe mid90’s to the early2000’s, we drove the managementof global marketsbyemploying
enterprise applicationintegrationtechnologyand‘operational datastores’linkedtoBIcapabilitiesto
transformthe companyfrom countryand regional productmanagementtoglobal marketmanagement,
allowingthe global managementteamtosee impacton salesandmarketingeffortsondemandwithin
hoursrather than waitingtoendof month. We were an earlyadopterof ‘single instanceERP’and
integratedall systemsfromSupplyChain,toCRM,to ProductionControl withERPand the BI complex
describedabove toenable the abilitytocontrol productionanddistributionof all global facilitiesfroma
single location. We pioneeredthe integrationwith‘industryportals’toleadthe move tovendor
managedinventory andelectronicsupplychainintegrationwithsupplierandcustomers,providing
significantadvantage incustomerintimacyandultimatelycapturingincreasedshare.
At AlixPartnersonalongterm engagementwithamajorintegratedoil producer,we transformedthe
financial processesandcontrols. We didextensive modificationstoSAPtoenable acomplex delegation
of authorityprotocol (DOA) andwork-flow basedapprovals. Onthe firstdayafterimplementationthe
approval processcaughta $700k purchase for a cancelledprojectwhere the paperbasedprojectcontrol
systemlagged. Aspart of a rollupand EBITDA workoutprocessfor LouisianaandTexasbasedhot-shot
truckingcompanies,we discoveredanextremelylongpaymentcycle andhighunbilledshipment levels

3. ©Crocus Hill Associates: All Rights Reserved
Page 3
Crocus Hill Associates
Craig Bickel – Digital Transformation Experience
leadingtosignificantprofiterosionandcashmanagementissues. Root-cause analysisdiscoveredpaper
and snail-mailbasedhandlingof bills-of-ladingandproof of deliverydocumentsaddedweekstothe
cash-to-cashcycle. We developedastep-wise technologytransformationplanstartingwiththe
implementationof scannersinthe depots,eliminatingthe mail delaysandshorteningthe cashcycle by7
days. Later implementationof IPODbaseddispatchingandsignfordeliverysystemfurtherreducedthe
cash cycle by another7 days (approximately30%),andreducedthe unbilledby80% byeliminating
paperin the truck cabs.
While atLawson,as part of a complete backand frontoffice systemsoverhaul,we reengineeredand
integratedthe marketingandsalesprocessestosmoothlymove fromsuspect,toprospect,close.
IntegratingSFDCtoolsforcontract management,DOA,andelectronicsignature movedthe company’s
close ratioup by 5% and positive movementinthe company’s‘NetPromoter’score. We engineereda
productconfiguratorto assure the complex productstructure alignedwithcustomerpurchase
requirements. Inthe firstmonthof operationwe determinedthat35% of customerorderscame with
some formof configurationproblemrepresentingamissof 5% of revenue.
As InterimCIOat BankersFinancial,we SOA enabledthe core AS400-basedpolicyandclaims
managementsystemto linkwithco-partnerslike re insurance companies,creditbureaus,agency
managementsystemstoreduce the underwritingtime andimprove the qualityof businesssoldinthis
Florida-basedpropertyandcasualtysystemleadingtoreduced‘shoppingtime’forcustomersand
measurable improvementsinlossratios. Thisworkalsoreducedthe ‘time-to-market’fornew products
by creatingreusable objects. We alsodevelopedpilotandbuild-outroadmapforacustomermobility
application,reducingcustomerservice callsandexpense,improvedcustomersatisfactionandbetter
documentationof claiminformationatthe time of loss.
While atWGroup, as part of a carve outof a home infusionservicescompanyfromahome healthcare
productdeliverycompanyownedbya PE firm, aspart of the IT strategydevelopmentwe identified
three digital-enabledprocessestotransformservice deliveryandincrease the valueof the companyat
sale time. Firstwasthe exploitationof dosage anddruginformation,sellingthe data(anonymized) back
to the drug companiesforshare of marketanalysis. Secondwasthe developmentof IPOD-basedpatient
onboardingtool reducingthe time andlabortoonboarda new clientby60%. The third wasthe
identificationandroadmapfora cell-phone basedapplicationlinkedtothe patientdatabase totrack
dosages,provide instructionandtrainingforcaregiversandenableautomaticreorderingof medications,
improvingthe performance of the compoundingorganizations. Workingwiththe softwarebusinessunit
of a Fortune 5 pharmaceutical firm,developedcloudstrategyforchangingthe deliverystrategyfor
software soldtohealthcare payersand payees. Developed‘SaaSification’strategyandroadmapfor
each of theirproducts(all acquiredfromISVs). Resultsleadtooverhaul of the contracting,salesand
deliveryprocessesultimatelyaidinginreductionsindeliveryandmaintenance costsand converting
annual maintenance costsalestoa more ‘annuity-like’subscriptionprocess,improvingcustomer
retention.

4. ©Crocus Hill Associates: All Rights Reserved
Page 4
Crocus Hill Associates
Craig Bickel – Digital Transformation Experience
The processfor developingadigital transformationstrategyisarecursive anditerativeanalysisof the
business,the competitive environment,the strategytoseekcompetitive advantageandthe opportunity
for technologytoenable ‘faster,better,cheaper’andmore importantlydifferent,transformative and/
or disruptive capabilities. The recursive partof thisanalysisisthatthe analysisof the businessdrivesthe
investigationof technologiestoradicallytransformprocesses,provideaccesstounderservedmarkets
and constituencies,radicallyspeedorimprove service ordrive downcostsof productand service. The
evaluationof technologies couldandshouldhighlighttransformativeordisruptive toattackmarkets
these mightbe competitive wherethe businessiscurrently(RedOcean) ornew marketswhere there
may be no competitors(Blue Ocean). Technologymayalsodrive afar differentwaytoattack the
markets(Airbnb,Uber,Amazonandothers) are exampleswhere supplychainsare different,sourcesof
resources(e.g.drivers)etc.,waysof communicatingwiththe clientare transformedanddisrupted.
Local businessesare disintermediatedbynationalorglobal businessesenabledbytechnology
establishingnewcompetitivebarriersanddrivingeconomiesof scale andhighlydifferentiatedservice
basedon technology.
From that pointthe workon riskassessment,businesscase identificationandportfolio prioritization
typicallyfitswithITprocesseswithaminorproviso…oftentimesthese ideasare soradical that it is
difficulttoassignbusinessandpotentiallytechnical risksandbenefits. Businesseswhowanttomove in
these directionsoftenbuya ‘put’optionwhere theyfundminimallyviable productdevelopmentand
engage inmarketresearchforthe IT capabilitiesmuchinthe waytheydo forthe ‘real’productsand
servicestheymake andsell. Pilotmarkets,marketresearch,consumertestingandreviewinglabsetc.
are oftenconductedpriortocommittingtoscaledupdevelopmentandsupportinfrastructure buildout.
These are areas where clouddevelopmentanddeliveryenvironments,agile processesandDevOps
enablementsupporttomove-to-marketandlow cost,rapidscale up andquickresponse tofeedback
neededtostayaheadof competitionand‘strikewhenthe ironishot’.
Understanding of the
business, markets and
competition
Understanding of
technology and the
potential to transform
Drives the
identification
of
Transformative andpotentially
disruptive opportunities