Dannon, Tasty Baking CIOs Discuss 2009 Tech Trends
The 2009 Tech Trends report, conducted annually by CGT and AMR Research, surveyed the consumer goods industry on top-of-mind topics, like TPM, S&OP and PLM, all of which are pertinent to an organization's ability to grow today and win tomorrow. On Dec. 1, 2009, CGT hosted a live Web seminar, featuring AMR's Lora Cecere and leading CG executives from Dannon and the Tasty Baking Company, who revealed the results of the Tech Trends report and provided real-world insights. In a time of economic uncertainty, this live Web event undoubtedly helped listeners prioritize IT and business investments even as budgets continue to tighten. Here are some highlights from the Web event:
--Lora Cecere, vice president, Head of Research, AMR Research opened up the event with an overview of the consumer goods market. "It is now known as the great recession. The software dips that happened within 2009 are some of the greatest that we've seen in software history. As we look at the consumer products industry, we've seen some real changes, but we've also seen some things that haven't changed as much and remained the same," she said. Cecere also explained IT spending as "getting a pretty dramatic haircut." Other observations included funds shifting to front office spending (to drive revenue) and manufacturing (to improve compliance to food safety and product quality); and global plans for ERP and supply chain being closely evaluated.
-- E. J. Hutchinson, CIO - NA at Groupe Danone / Dannon revealed that IT spend in his environment has, like most, seen reductions. He explains that "the reductions really occurred over the prior two years rather than just last year. That's not just within North America, but also on a global level. On the other hand, we've done a decent job leveraging enterprise solutions," he said. Hutchinson also reported on 2010 strategic business initiatives that will impact spending at his organization. "BI is definitely at the top. Our supply chain integration/supply chain management is actually much lower probably because we spent a lot of focus and effort on that area in the prior couple years, ERP we've upgraded globally over the last year across the board, and globalization and CRM are near the top of our list - and social networking."
-- For Brendan O'Malley, VP & CIO at Tasty Baking Company, product lifecycle management (PLM) is at the top of his list. "It's one of the key projects that we're looking at next year. I think there are a lot of things we can do to improve PLM. For me personally, that's a much higher priority." When it comes to Sales & Marketing IT strategies O'Malley said that at the Tasty Baking Company there is "a lot more thought towards pulling that retailer data, getting that downstream data, pulling it back into our systems and new products - not so much in forecasting, but getting that whole new product development process and everything that goes into it, pulled together."
--Larry Danna, associate vice president, Global CPG, Retail, & Logistics Practice, CPG Practice Leader at Infosys was also on hand to offer his perspective on IT spending in the industry. Specifically, Danna talked about what he is seeing as far as sustainability. "What we're seeing is large programs being discussed and funded - sustainability is no longer this thing we have to try to do, it is now becoming inbred. I see it on smaller technology projects and larger strategic programs, and it's not just on programs that affect say the supply chain, or operations, or facilities, or water or energy, it's across the entire organization -- not only is it the right thing to do, but if done properly it also drives true business value," he concluded.
To listen to this event in its entirety, click here. To download the full 2009 Tech Trends Report, click here.
--Lora Cecere, vice president, Head of Research, AMR Research opened up the event with an overview of the consumer goods market. "It is now known as the great recession. The software dips that happened within 2009 are some of the greatest that we've seen in software history. As we look at the consumer products industry, we've seen some real changes, but we've also seen some things that haven't changed as much and remained the same," she said. Cecere also explained IT spending as "getting a pretty dramatic haircut." Other observations included funds shifting to front office spending (to drive revenue) and manufacturing (to improve compliance to food safety and product quality); and global plans for ERP and supply chain being closely evaluated.
-- E. J. Hutchinson, CIO - NA at Groupe Danone / Dannon revealed that IT spend in his environment has, like most, seen reductions. He explains that "the reductions really occurred over the prior two years rather than just last year. That's not just within North America, but also on a global level. On the other hand, we've done a decent job leveraging enterprise solutions," he said. Hutchinson also reported on 2010 strategic business initiatives that will impact spending at his organization. "BI is definitely at the top. Our supply chain integration/supply chain management is actually much lower probably because we spent a lot of focus and effort on that area in the prior couple years, ERP we've upgraded globally over the last year across the board, and globalization and CRM are near the top of our list - and social networking."
-- For Brendan O'Malley, VP & CIO at Tasty Baking Company, product lifecycle management (PLM) is at the top of his list. "It's one of the key projects that we're looking at next year. I think there are a lot of things we can do to improve PLM. For me personally, that's a much higher priority." When it comes to Sales & Marketing IT strategies O'Malley said that at the Tasty Baking Company there is "a lot more thought towards pulling that retailer data, getting that downstream data, pulling it back into our systems and new products - not so much in forecasting, but getting that whole new product development process and everything that goes into it, pulled together."
--Larry Danna, associate vice president, Global CPG, Retail, & Logistics Practice, CPG Practice Leader at Infosys was also on hand to offer his perspective on IT spending in the industry. Specifically, Danna talked about what he is seeing as far as sustainability. "What we're seeing is large programs being discussed and funded - sustainability is no longer this thing we have to try to do, it is now becoming inbred. I see it on smaller technology projects and larger strategic programs, and it's not just on programs that affect say the supply chain, or operations, or facilities, or water or energy, it's across the entire organization -- not only is it the right thing to do, but if done properly it also drives true business value," he concluded.
To listen to this event in its entirety, click here. To download the full 2009 Tech Trends Report, click here.