Digital connectivity & the customer experience
Steve Martinez , VP of digital solutions , and Dr Dejana Drew , director of global innovation & technology , outline how Univar Solutions transformed itself digitally
E-commerce , artificial intelligence and a smart supply chain are not just buzzwords for Univar Solutions as a chemicals and ingredients provider . From product transactions and sustainable operations to formulation development and testing , we know that if we are going to lead the industry , we have to lead its digital transformation . To that end , we have implemented a digital strategy that puts the customer at the centre of everything we do and which is designed to make the customer experience as effortless as possible . The overarching objective is to make the customer experience as effortless as possible . Secondly , we are using the most advanced digital tools available to participate more effectively in our suppliers ’ and customers ’ evolution . Finally , as we scale up to achieve global presence , we are connecting the dots digitally to increase efficiency , enhance collaboration and synergise the efforts of all the constituent parts of our organisation . We are becoming faster and more agile to meet increasing demand and emerging trends . As we have evolved from a traditional distributor to a valueadded solutions provider , we have used digital tools to close the circle of service . To get there , our Digital Solutions team viewed suppliers and fellow employees as customers too . Its mission addressed all three constituents :
• Helping suppliers promote and position their products in the most effective channels to extend their reach
• Helping customers find products and solutions quickly and enable them to self-serve at any time using an array of platforms
• Helping their colleagues better serve both suppliers and customers with selectors , wizards and other tools . When this journey began four years ago , legacy industry assumptions were still in place : you could not sell chemicals online ; it could never be done safely ; it would always require a salesperson ; doing so would wreck market pricing . These were very serious and real concerns . But we found a way around those obstacles : keep running experiments , fail fast but fail small in order to learn more quickly , and stay committed . We are constantly refining and upgrading our IT platforms to serve the needs of suppliers and customers who are using them externally , but also for our employees using them internally . As we reconfigure for the future , we build them to be of maximum benefit to all . The key success factors to leading digital transformation in our view are :
• A digital storefront to enable easy ordering 24 / 7
• A formula and recipe finder focused on product and application insights
• Keeping up with the latest trends and case studies that leverage market intelligence and digital technology to provide timely insights
• Integrated marketing campaigns to promote supplier brands and products
• Analytics to drive cross-sell and next-product-to-sell strategies
• Robust reporting capabilities to provide valuable market insights , pipeline transparency and real-time business results
Evolve with suppliers & customers
As part of our customer-centric strategy , we are using digital tools to evolve alongside our customers and suppliers . At the most basic level , we look at how we can simplify order intake , shipping and billing . At a more consultative level , we find ways to help customers formulate their products , understand new solutions , deal with regulatory obstacles and respond to emerging market trends . We use AI-enabled analytics to track and analyse customer choices , model and predict consumer demand , identify logistical challenges and predict product availability shortfalls . We believe we have gone beyond our competitors in building out digital platforms that take supplier and customer engagement to the next level . Our customers might want to improve a formulation , or need to find a substitute ingredient , or be looking to expand into a new product category .
52 SPECIALITY CHEMICALS MAGAZINE ESTABLISHED 1981