This thesis work describes one of the projects addressed during my internship experience in a multinational chocolate confectionery and sweet packaged food manufacturer. For confidentiality reasons, the firm and its business data cannot be disclosed, and it will be referred to as “the Company”. The project focuses on the digital transformation related to the Order to Cash process in the FMCG food sector. The first part of the thesis covers the literature review performed to investigate the link between Industry 4.0, Sustainability and Digital Transformation, the three macro-concepts which the project was built around. The following chapters present the change of paradigm the project lived, and the consequent Company’s role evolution. The initiative, in fact, originated as an internalization opportunity, shifting later to a sustainability proposal targeting the reduction of paper usage along the different O2C phases and related activities. Eventually, it turned into a reengineering exercise, exploiting IT potentialities to digitally transform the whole Order to Cash process according to the principles of Industry 4.0. The analysis performed unveiled a larger opportunity, hence the decision to seek for a shared solution able improve the overall efficiency of the process among the value chain of actors in the O2C process was pursued. An integrated system enabling a shared knowledge infrastructure was designed, not any more driven by the Company’s internal requirements only, but supporting the performances of all the actors, encouraging the information sharing between them and enabling functional integration. In this context, the Company led the digital transformation in the industry, challenging the existent hierarchical structure in the chain by promoting horizontal integration. In the last chapters, the shared solution designed is presented through requirement and features description, and an explicative use case is reported. The goal of this thesis is not only to describe the new digitalized system developed for the Order to Cash process, but to prove how new approaches recalling Open Innovation and BPR concepts are applicable to complex contexts made of a high number of heterogenous stakeholders too, and to acknowledge how the exchange of data and information between companies is not only a merely technical deal, but a strategic element to improve the competitiveness of the entire sector.
Questo lavoro di tesi descrive uno dei progetti affrontati durante la mia esperienza di tirocinio in un’azienda multinazionale produttrice di cioccolato e snack confezionati. Il progetto si concentra sulla trasformazione digitale relativa al processo Order to Cash nel settore alimentare FMCG. La prima parte della tesi riguarda la revisione della letteratura, eseguita per studiare il legame tra Industria 4.0, Sostenibilità e Trasformazione digitale, i tre macroconcetti su cui è stato costruito il lavoro. I seguenti capitoli presentano il cambiamento di paradigma vissuto dal progetto e la conseguente evoluzione del ruolo dell'azienda. L'iniziativa, infatti, è nata come un'opportunità di internalizzazione, passando in seguito a una proposta di sostenibilità volta a ridurre l'uso di carta lungo le diverse fasi di O2C e le attività correlate. In una più ampia analisi, si è trasformata in un esercizio di reingegnerizzazione, sfruttando le potenzialità IT per trasformare digitalmente l'intero processo dell’Order to Cash secondo i principi di Industry 4.0. L'analisi svolta ha rivelato un'opportunità più vasta, ed è stata quindi perseguita la decisione di cercare una soluzione condivisa tra gli attori della catena del valore O2C, in grado di migliorare l'efficienza complessiva del processo. È stato progettato un sistema integrato che consente un'infrastruttura di conoscenza condivisa, non più guidata solo dai requisiti interni della singola azienda, ma che supporti le prestazioni di tutti gli attori, incoraggiando la condivisione delle informazioni tra loro e consentendo l'integrazione funzionale. In questo contesto, l’azienda dove ho svolto l’esperienza di stage ha guidato la trasformazione digitale del settore, sfidando la struttura gerarchica esistente e promuovendo l'integrazione orizzontale. Negli ultimi capitoli, la soluzione condivisa progettata viene presentata attraverso la descrizione dei requisiti e delle caratteristiche, e viene riportato un caso d'uso esplicativo. L'obiettivo di questa tesi non è solo quello di descrivere il nuovo sistema digitalizzato sviluppato per il processo Order to Cash, ma di dimostrare come i nuovi approcci che richiamano i concetti di Open Innovation e BPR siano applicabili anche a contesti complessi costituiti da un elevato numero di stakeholders eterogenei, e riconoscere come lo scambio di dati e informazioni tra le imprese non sia solo una questione puramente tecnica, ma un elemento strategico per migliorare la competitività dell'intero settore.
Industry 4.0, sustainability and digital transformation in the order to cash process. The case of a chocolate confectionery and sweet packaged food manufacturer
BERNARDELLO, OLGA
2018/2019
Abstract
This thesis work describes one of the projects addressed during my internship experience in a multinational chocolate confectionery and sweet packaged food manufacturer. For confidentiality reasons, the firm and its business data cannot be disclosed, and it will be referred to as “the Company”. The project focuses on the digital transformation related to the Order to Cash process in the FMCG food sector. The first part of the thesis covers the literature review performed to investigate the link between Industry 4.0, Sustainability and Digital Transformation, the three macro-concepts which the project was built around. The following chapters present the change of paradigm the project lived, and the consequent Company’s role evolution. The initiative, in fact, originated as an internalization opportunity, shifting later to a sustainability proposal targeting the reduction of paper usage along the different O2C phases and related activities. Eventually, it turned into a reengineering exercise, exploiting IT potentialities to digitally transform the whole Order to Cash process according to the principles of Industry 4.0. The analysis performed unveiled a larger opportunity, hence the decision to seek for a shared solution able improve the overall efficiency of the process among the value chain of actors in the O2C process was pursued. An integrated system enabling a shared knowledge infrastructure was designed, not any more driven by the Company’s internal requirements only, but supporting the performances of all the actors, encouraging the information sharing between them and enabling functional integration. In this context, the Company led the digital transformation in the industry, challenging the existent hierarchical structure in the chain by promoting horizontal integration. In the last chapters, the shared solution designed is presented through requirement and features description, and an explicative use case is reported. The goal of this thesis is not only to describe the new digitalized system developed for the Order to Cash process, but to prove how new approaches recalling Open Innovation and BPR concepts are applicable to complex contexts made of a high number of heterogenous stakeholders too, and to acknowledge how the exchange of data and information between companies is not only a merely technical deal, but a strategic element to improve the competitiveness of the entire sector.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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https://hdl.handle.net/10589/154093