Essity

Robert Sjostrom

Robert Sjostrom currently works as the President of global operational services at the global hygiene and health company Essity, where his responsibilities include global sourcing, global business services, business technology, IT services, and managing a group wide technology-enabled business transformation program. Before joining Essity, he also worked as a global senior executive at Capgemini. Having years of working experience as a leader in different organizations, Robert keeps a passion for driving transformation, performance, and communication, both internally and externally.

In an interview with CIO Review Magazine, Robert Sjostrom, President Global Operational talks about impact of digital transformation in Retail Space.

What are some of the problems faced by retail enterprises within the sector?

I think what’s, of course always a challenge, it’s a data flow between supplier and retailer and also everyone is trying to keep maybe even more today than previously the data because of the value on the data. So that goes, of course, from a consumer perspective, maybe it would be better to share all data from a consumer products company or a retailer sometimes we might feel it’s better to keep the data ourselves, but probably we should find ways of I would say deal and trade with data going forward in a transparent way, which would be a benefit to both companies and consumers. So I think probably everyone needs to think a bit different going forward instead of having a lot of negotiations on everything and retailers are a bit stuck in old behaviors, I would say all of them trying to get more margin from the producer and the producers trying to get more margin of the retailer while no one is really talking about the consumer. So maybe if both parties start to talk more about the consumer and to, I would say also optimize what the consumer should buy, not just buying then I think course it’ll be more sustainable, but also more appropriate for the consumer at the end of it, the value chain. And data of course both I would say in store data producer data, but also all other kind of external data probably could provide a lot of new insights and save money and environmental waste over time.

What are some of the promising technological innovations that have helped overcome these problems?

When we started working with big data, rather than working with focus groups of 20 consumers to gain insights, we’ve discovered that the amount of insight gained in ten years can now be accomplished in five days. So, in order to gain better insights, we at Essity attempt to capture external data from various types of social media, other internet channels, and etc where we can gain a lot of basic data statistics. Later, as icing on the cake, we use focus groups inorder to do a quality check rather than a quantity check.

"To promote digital transformation in the retail arena, we should first focus on the business and then try to integrate technology to improve it "

What are some of the best practices that you personally advocate when working with multiple teams or multiple departments within the retail sector?

In a very stringent manner, we strive to blend both supplier data and knowledge obtained through procurement into the creation of innovations or products, as well as how to sell them to customers and retailers. We also concentrate on both customer and consumer wants, as well as other stakeholders. So this is a path we have begun, and we will continue to do so in all types of innovation processes moving forward.

How do you help companies transition from their legacy infrastructures?

As we are in the midst of a tremendous transformation, my responsibility has been to combine business, consumer, and technological ideas, as technology alone does not provide much assistance in this case. And today for any business owner, understanding these insights is extremely beneficial because it allows them to offer value to their business and customers, as well as predict what will happen in the future. Furthermore, staying informed aids in keeping the organization on track and ensuring a pleasant voyage.

Any technology that you would recommend to your industry peers?

As it is very important for us be aware AI machine learning analytics, however when it comes to the labor market, it’s quite tight on these kind of capabilities. So we’ve started working and taken an approach to create a centre of excellence with core skills, where we work directly with customers and allowing everyone to focus on what they’re best at.

Any piece of advice for upcoming professional in the field?

To promote digital transformation in the retail arena, I believe we should first focus on the business and then try to integrate technology to improve it. This is significant because it assist technology in better understanding company and then enhancing business through its deep involvement.