Менеджер проектов, Центр отраслевых исследований и консалтинга, Финансовый университет при Правительстве Российской Федерации. Область научных интересов: операционная эффективность бизнеса, инновационное и стратегической развитие компаний, внедрение инноваций и новых технологий.
Project manager, Center for industry research and consulting, Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation. Research interests: IT-technologies in the operational efficiency of business, digitalization of production, crisis and arbitration management.
Russian companies are actively involved in the digital transformation. The key technologies and potential effects are defined, a lot of pilots and prototypes are successfully launched. The next logical step is to scale the concept from the level of individual processes to the level of assets, functions, holding companies and the whole enterprise. In the article, two main approaches to the formation of a strategic digital transformation programs are analyzed: an approach based on scaling of digital tools and an approach based on complex processes transformation. Both these approaches are aimed at increasing the level of digital maturity.
Российские компании активно включились в цифровую трансформацию. Определены ключевые технологии, понятные желаемые эффекты, есть успешные пилотные проекты и прототипы. Следующий логический шаг – масштабирование концепции с уровня отдельных процессов до уровня активов, функций, компаний-холдингов и всего предприятия в целом. Статья посвящена рассмотрению двух основных подходов к формированию стратегической программы цифровой трансформации: тиражирование цифровых инструментов и трансформация процессов, направленных на повышение уровня цифровой зрелости.
The Digitalizing and Industry 4.0 Concept has gained much spread throughout the world and Russia as well. In practice exists a uniform understanding of technologies foreseen by this concept and ways of their application, their application methods; the concept itself is considered as a means of transformation of certain elements of business models. KMPG research results showed also that prominent Russian companies had implemented pilot projects on implementation one or other technology in 2017 - 2018, while some of them have developed the digital transformation program for the business for several oncoming years. Now, tasks for transferring from selective piloting of separate technologies to major implementation of digitalizaton program, which is proved by following conclusions from the KPMG research.
Bauernhansl also notes the importance of gradual case distribution which showed the potential of anew technology and improved its acceptance at all management levels (Bauernhansl, 2014). Paul-Rohmer and co-authors have compiled the upper- level road map for industrial enterprises, which consists of four steps. The road map can be used by small and medium industrial enterprises which have selected the strategy of incremental improvements. Step one. Definition of the current condition and strategic position from the point of view of the intern and extern perspective. Step two. Definition of the desirable target condition including research of perspective technologies. Step three. Realization of transition via development of prototypes and a business model design. Step four. Formation of the scaling plan and management of changes for transition of all the organization to its target condition (Paulus-Rohmer, 2016). Schhuh and coauthors have offered a road map variant consisting of six steps. The map is focused on consideration of digital competences based on the available information (Industrie 4.0, 2017).
This article considers practically oriented approaches to formation of the digital transformation program. Structured and half-structured interviews are the informational basis of the research, including:
Respondents were given questions on approaches used for formation of programs, their structure, main stages, actions during these stages and peculiarities of use of those approaches. Formation of the digital maturity program and detailed description of two practical approaches to creation of the digital transformation program were the result of the research.
Digital transformation is the complex implementation of process innovations. The process innovation is “the implementation of new methods or significantly improved ones of production and delivery. This means significant changes in techniques, equipment and/or software”.1 The key complication of process innovations is connected to their system character: Changing of one part of the production system influences other subsystems and processes. Implementation of any technological innovations may lead to unforeseen technological problems, to the need in mastering new skills and increase of demands to qualification of service personnel as well as to significant changes in working processes throughout the entire production line2. Taking into consideration additional complications connected to implementation of new technologies and absence of a unified understanding of all peculiarities of their implementation; the scale of the problem is not clear. These complications make technological innovations a very complicated task, especially within the context of digital transformation, needing constant optimization of processes and actions excessing far beyond the preliminary scope of works on implementation.3
D. R. Syodin, V Parida, M. Leksel and A. Petrovich have conducted the in-depth analysis of cases of 5 automotive production plants in their article “Smart Factory Implementation and Process Innovation”, and, as a result, they systematized challenges which are faced by companies implementing digital plants by dividing them into three categories:
Within these three branches - employees, processes and technologies - researchers managed to systematize maturity levels during transition to digital production as well as to classify key activities which are the basis of digital production.
The model must also be supplemented and amended taking into consideration the result of semi-structured interviews conducted by the author. 9 people out of management one of Russial oil companies took part in the interview. The final model is given in Table 1.
Distribution of instruments presumes availability of a set of pilot technologies at an enterprise, which demonstrate positive results and are characterized by a certain degree of versatility, i. e. these technologies may be used in many similar processes of a company. This approach significantly refers to correctly compiled maturity model, which has initially designed levels. The example of preparation of maturity model within the view of technologies applicable to distribution, is given in Table 2
A set of technologies at each maturity level is selected individually for each enterprise/function.
Drawing up a program of digital transformation initiatives based on technology distribution can include following stages:
Stage 0. Preparing a register of digital tools and filling a maturity assessment model
Stage tasks:
Results:
Stage 1. Diagnostics of the current level of enterprise maturity in the context of production/lines
Stage tasks:
Results:
Stage 2. Formation of a map of transition to the target maturity level of an enterprise in the context of production/lines
Stage tasks:
Results:
It should be noted that processes at individual plants or industrial sites of an enterprise are the object of transformation, since they can simultaneously be at different maturity levels and strive for different maturity levels.
As a result of completion of these steps, a digital transformation program focused on distribution of digital tools, either previously proving their effectiveness in piloting, or developed at enterprises, or approved upon by suppliers, is formed.
The process approach involves an in-depth analysis of organization's business processes in order to identify areas for optimization. Digital transformation involves the use of modern technology as the main optimization tool. A key feature of using this approach when compiling a digitalization roadmap is the need for a detailed analysis of processes up to individual manual operations. Detailed levels and methods of their practical application are given in table 3.
Since digitalization involves the large-scale implementation of information systems, the key object of analysis in compiling a digital transformation roadmap is level 5.
Drawing up a portfolio of digital transformation initiatives based on process approach can include following steps:
Stage 0. Detailed diagnostics of processes within the perimeter of digital transformation
Stage tasks:
Results:
Stage 1: Hypotheses formation
Stage tasks:
Results:
Stage 2. Hypothesis studies and initiative development
Stage tasks:
Results of the stage:
Stage 3. Formation of a portfolio of initiatives
Stage tasks:
Results of the stage:
The result of these steps is a digital transformation program aimed at improving efficiency and digitalization of most laborintensive and problematic processes.
The approaches described above are significantly different. Distribution of existing tools as a "starting point" considers existing, developed or proposed digital tools, that is, this is a top-down approach. Of course, digital technologies are initially developed to solve specific problems, so effects will be obtained in any case. Nevertheless, at this approach to transformation, specific problems, solution of which with the help of digital tools can bring significant effects, may be missed, but it is absent for them and must be developed from scratch.
The process approach to the formation of a digital transformation program involves a progressive bottom-top movement, that is, a set of problems that need to be addressed is considered as a starting point. This approach can be called more fundamental, since a significant amount of work on process diagnostics is required to identify problems to the level of individual manual operations. This circumstance is a definite drawback of the approach, since it significantly postpones the start of digital transformation, which can only be started after summing up the results of a diagnostic examination (Table 4).
It should be noted that approaches are not mutually exclusive. First, in the first approach, in any case, the procedure of diagnostic examination and filling of the register of digital tools is performed before development and distribution, although it is much less detailed. Second, both approaches can be used simultaneously, that is, in parallel with introduction of digital tools top-bottom, research of process problems and search for solutions bottom-top can be carried out provided that the two approaches are synchronized.
Thus, the article considers the model of levels of digital maturity of an enterprise, approaches to formation of a digital transformation program and features of their use. The information presented in this article may be the basis for making management decisions in practice at the start of digital transformation.
1. OECD 2005, p. 9. 2. Gopalakrishnan, Bierly, and Kessler 1999. 3. Robertson, Casali и Jacobson 2012.
The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest present.