Op-ed: Everything that can be automated should be: Levi Strauss CFO

Op-ed: Everything that can be automated should be: Levi Strauss CFO

The function of the chief monetary officer has expanded nicely past conventional finance. Corporations’ crucial must construct for a digital future — pushed by customers whose digital preferences proceed to speed up — is including a brand new technological remit to CFOs of all industries. Immediately, CFOs are chargeable for allocating sources to arrange sturdy digital foundations; championing the correct expertise and organizational construction to implement digital aims; testing earlier than rapidly scaling value-creating applied sciences like knowledge visualization, robotics, synthetic intelligence; and relentlessly measuring whereas speaking the shareholder worth created.

Serving as extra cross-functional C-suite executives, CFOs are working side-by-side with their C-suite colleagues to restructure and refocus companies for sustainable profitability whereas defining and telling the story of how worth is created by digital transformation.  

Because the CFO of the 168-year-old firm Levi Strauss & Co., I am continuously working with my colleagues to determine methods through which we can do issues higher, quicker and extra effectively by the usage of rising applied sciences and environment friendly enterprise processes. Having the CIO and the ERP group report into me allows me to make sure that sources are allotted in the direction of automating and digitizing the processes throughout the group. Investing on this proactively as we check and scale digital instruments, like robotics and AI capabilities, throughout the enterprise helps us unlock actual progress alternatives and finally drive our enterprise ahead. 

The CNBC @Work Summit returns

On October 13, Michael Dell, Ray Dalio, Financial institution of America Chief Operations and Know-how Officer Cathy Bessant, WeWork Govt Chairman Marcelo Claure, Levi Strauss & Co. CFO Harmit Singh and Estee Lauder CFO Tracey Travis will discuss constructing a resilient future and extra. Register now.

As extra corporations embark on their very own digital journeys, this is my recommendation for different CFOs trying to perceive their function in main and pursuing a profitable digital transformation.

Create unity

For a real digital transformation to take maintain and show useful long-term, corporations have to start out with a stable plan and construct the correct digital basis. CFOs, in partnership with their C-suite colleagues, must suppose holistically throughout the group and implement expertise techniques on the core of their operations to allow simplified, standardized, and built-in processes all through each group of the enterprise.

Whereas comparatively dated, enterprise useful resource planning (ERPs) techniques are nonetheless the lifeline for companies. These techniques have modernized all through the a long time to maintain up with orbiting applied sciences, however it’s on the CFO to make sure these techniques combine with pricing techniques, operations, supply-chain-management techniques, and each different facet of the group. They’re one of many foundations of a profitable digital transformation. My function,  working with the ERP group, is to make sure that our workers and prospects expertise this digital transformation not as a pure technological change however a change that simplifies their work and permits them to make data-driven selections with real-time enterprise insights — finally accelerating market share progress and profitability.

Our personal digital transformation began with a devoted group made up of each enterprise and technical expertise upgrading to a cloud-based ERP platform, enhancing visibility into key wholesale, direct-to-consumer and manufacturing knowledge throughout all gross sales channels and areas globally. Defining the processes and configuring the platform to ship these processes throughout order administration, stock administration and omnichannel allocation — in addition to one single international monetary system of file — supercharges our operational effectivity and essentially modifications the best way we do enterprise. That is game-changing worth.

Champion tech expertise

Constructing the correct international various group and a tradition of innovation to create, implement and handle these platforms and new applied sciences is equally essential. We’re residing in an period the place expertise, particularly tech expertise, is tough to safe, and we’re competing with corporations that span industries. However whereas there may be nice international expertise to recruit, there may be additionally nice expertise to construct.

At Levi Strauss, we’re targeted on fostering an enterprise-wide tradition of innovation and are investing in our folks — a number of the greatest expertise in retail. Our persons are the important thing drivers of our digital transformation and the most effective ones to construct the way forward for our firm. We have launched into a company-wide digital upskilling initiative to assist our folks be taught and apply the skillsets we have to obtain our digital transformation from the within. Digital savvy workers should reside throughout all departments, together with finance. We now have additionally established international functionality facilities that enable us to not solely recruit expertise nearer to our customers but in addition construct a various expertise group.

Equally, creating the packages, initiatives and house for innovation can be important, and it is the C-suite’s accountability to champion these alternatives. For me, I am proud to play my half and have been a sponsor of our ongoing hackathon collection. By bringing our folks collectively to collaboratively clear up issues in a brief time period, we’re creating a strong engine for thought technology to higher serve our customers. Our 2021 hackathon occasion included 35 groups from throughout 11 nations that got here collectively to share concepts and add to our digital future. The highest three groups offered their enterprise case for funding to the manager group the place we might determine which concepts to take to the subsequent stage. From chat bots to self-checkout, the ensuing software program options offered at our hackathons have a enterprise impression.

Befriend automation

Everything that can be automated, should be automated. As CFOs, we have to continuously keep in mind that, and push our groups to do the identical. Our groups should not be spending hours getting into knowledge from one system into one other, updating spreadsheets, or copying over datasets. As an alternative, we have to free workers from such tedious duties and permit them to spend their time analyzing and fixing the extra difficult issues.

Robotic Course of Automation (RPA) is gaining in recognition throughout all industries as an increasing number of companies see how its strategies can save companies 30–40% of the hours sometimes spent on tedious duties. I have been on a private mission to handle this inside Levi Strauss, and I am excited to see our group embrace RPA with open arms. We created our personal RPA Heart of Excellence group the place it is targeted on discovering automation alternatives and scaling automation throughout features in our group, in flip releasing up priceless sources to hold out our long-term digital-first imaginative and prescient.

The funding in expertise is usually intimidating. Returns are usually not in a single day, making it onerous to justify the associated fee. However as CFOs, we have to assist prioritize initiatives that create worth whereas balancing foundational investments that will speed up digital transformation These applied sciences can unlock monumental potential throughout the enterprise from saving on operational prices to uncovering new enterprise alternatives to predicting areas of concern.

There has by no means been a extra essential time for CFOs to appreciate constructing for a digital future is paramount, particularly as we proceed to face challenges from the pandemic and plan for the long run. In unsure financial environments, it is key to have essentially the most up-to-date, real-time knowledge available to make fast selections in regards to the strategic path of your small business.

Because the CFO of a model steeped in heritage, I am excited in regards to the future and what’s attainable after we collectively lean into digital transformation.

—By Harmit Singh, Govt Vice President and Chief Monetary Officer at Levi Strauss & Co. Singh is a member of the CNBC International CFO Council.

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