case study company digital transformation

30+ Digital Transformation Case Studies & Success Stories [2024]

Cem is the principal analyst at AIMultiple since 2017. AIMultiple informs hundreds of thousands of businesses (as per Similarweb) including 60% of Fortune 500 every month.

Cem's work focuses on how enterprises can leverage new technologies in AI, automation, cybersecurity(including network security, application security), data collection including web data collection and process intelligence.

Digital transformation has been on the executive agenda for the past decade and ~ 90% of companies have already initiated their first digital strategy. However, given the increasing pace of technological innovation, there are numerous areas to focus on. A lack of focus leads to failed initiatives. Digital transformation leaders need to focus their efforts but they are not clear about in which areas to focus their digital transformation initiatives.

We see that digital transformation projects focusing on customer service and operations tend to be more heavily featured in case studies and we recommend enterprises to initially focus on digitally transforming these areas.

Research findings:

• Outsourcing is an important strategy for many companies’ digital transformation initiatives.
• Most successful digital transformation projects focus on customer service and operations

Michelin-EFFIFUEL

Michelin, a global tire manufacturer, launched its EFFIFUEL initiative in 2013 to reduce the fuel consumption of trucks. In this context, vehicles were equipped with telematics systems that collect and process data on the trucks, tires, drivers habits and fuel consumption conditions. By analyzing this data, fleet managers and executives at the trucking companies were able to make adjustments to reduce oil consumption.

• Business challenge : Inability to improve customer retention rates to target levels, due to trucks’ fuel consumption and CO2 emissions .
• Target customers : Fleet managers and operations managers at truck companies in Europe
• Line of business function : Customer success management and sales.
• Solution : By using smart devices, truck and tire performance degradation is detected and maintained from the start. The solution also nudges truck drivers into more cost and environmentally friendly driving.
• Business result : Enhanced customer retention and satisfaction. EFFIFUEL has brought fuel savings of 2.5 liters per 100 kilometers per truck. The company also reduced the environmental costs of transportation activities. According to Michellin, if all European trucking companies had been using the EFFIFUEL initiative, it would have caused a 9 tons of CO2 emission reduction.

Schneider Electric-Box

Schneider Electric is a global company with employees all over the world. Prior to the Box initiative , which is a cloud-based solution, business processes were relatively slow because it is difficult to process the same documents from different locations at the same time. Schneider Electric also needed a way to provide data management and security for its globally dispersed workforce. So Schneider Electric outsourced its own custom cloud environment that integrates with Microsoft Office applications to Box. The platform also ensures tight control of corporate data with granular permissions, content controls and the use of shared links.  Thanks to this initiative, the company has moved from 80% of its content hosted on-premises to 90% in the cloud and has a more flexible workforce.

• Business challenge : Inability to increase operational efficiency of the global workforce without capitulating to data security.
• Solution : Outsourcing company’s cloud-based platform to Box, that ensures data security and integration with Microsoft Office programs to ensure ease of doing business.
• Business result : Schneider Electric connects its 142.000 workers within one platform which hosts 90% of its documents.

Thomas Pink-Fits.me

British shirt maker Thomas Pink, part of the Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessey group, has outsourced the development of its online sales platform to Fits.me Virtual Fitting Room . The aim of the initiative was to gain a competitive advantage over its competitors in e-commerce. Thanks to the online platform developed, customers can determine how well the shirt they are buying fits them by entering their body size.

The platform also helps Fits.me gain better customer insight as previously unknown customer data, including body measurements and fit preferences, becomes available. In this way, the platform can offer customers the clothes that fit them better.

• Business challenge : Lack of visibility into  online sales and customers’ preferences.
• Target customers : Online buyers and users.
• Line of business function : Sales and customer success management.
• Solution : Outsourcing the development of the online platform to Fits.me Virtual Fitting Room .
• Business result : Improved customer satisfaction and engagement. Thomas Pink reports that customers who enter the virtual fitting room are more likely to purchase a product than those who do not. There are many successful digital transformation projects from different industries, but we won’t go into every case study. Therefore, we provide you with a sortable list of 31 successful case studies. We categorized them as:
• System Improvement : changing the way existing businesses work by introducing new technologies.
• Innovation : creating new business practices, based on the latest technology.

If you are ready to start you digital transformation journey,  you can check our data-driven and comprehensive list of digital transformation consultant companies .

To find out more about digital transformation, you can also read our digital transformation best practices , digital transformation roadmap and digital transformation culture articles.

You can also check our sustainability case studies article which include ESG related success stories.

For any further assistance please contact us:

This article was drafted by former AIMultiple industry analyst Görkem Gençer.

Cem's work has been cited by leading global publications including Business Insider, Forbes, Washington Post, global firms like Deloitte, HPE, NGOs like World Economic Forum and supranational organizations like European Commission. You can see more reputable companies and media that referenced AIMultiple.

Cem's hands-on enterprise software experience contributes to the insights that he generates. He oversees AIMultiple benchmarks in dynamic application security testing (DAST), data loss prevention (DLP), email marketing and web data collection. Other AIMultiple industry analysts and tech team support Cem in designing, running and evaluating benchmarks.

Throughout his career, Cem served as a tech consultant, tech buyer and tech entrepreneur. He advised enterprises on their technology decisions at McKinsey & Company and Altman Solon for more than a decade. He also published a McKinsey report on digitalization.

He led technology strategy and procurement of a telco while reporting to the CEO. He has also led commercial growth of deep tech company Hypatos that reached a 7 digit annual recurring revenue and a 9 digit valuation from 0 within 2 years. Cem's work in Hypatos was covered by leading technology publications like TechCrunch and Business Insider.

Cem regularly speaks at international technology conferences. He graduated from Bogazici University as a computer engineer and holds an MBA from Columbia Business School.

AIMultiple.com Traffic Analytics, Ranking & Audience , Similarweb. Why Microsoft, IBM, and Google Are Ramping up Efforts on AI Ethics , Business Insider. Microsoft invests $1 billion in OpenAI to pursue artificial intelligence that’s smarter than we are , Washington Post. Data management barriers to AI success , Deloitte. Empowering AI Leadership: AI C-Suite Toolkit , World Economic Forum. Science, Research and Innovation Performance of the EU , European Commission. Public-sector digitization: The trillion-dollar challenge , McKinsey & Company. Hypatos gets $11.8M for a deep learning approach to document processing , TechCrunch. We got an exclusive look at the pitch deck AI startup Hypatos used to raise $11 million , Business Insider.

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Digital Transformation Examples: 3 Company Case Studies

Learn how three legendary companies—Walmart, Ford, and Anheuser-Busch InBev—improved customer experience by focusing digital transformation around data.

Digital transformation is a process by which a company invests in building out new digital products and services in the effort to rethink the business around digital. An effective digital transformation improves customer experience and enhances the way a company operates behind the scenes.

To digitally transform, your business needs to deploy new products and technologies. With these new products come new ways to connect with your customers and more data to inform roadmaps and strategies.

Once the investment in digital begins, your business can use new products and data to identify growth opportunities. The three case studies below—from Ford, Walmart, and Anheuser-Busch InBev—show how legendary companies went beyond simply creating an app and truly re-thought how digital efforts supported sustainable growth for the business.

• Digital transformation brings about new products and services that improve the customer experience.
• Digital transformation can also be an investment into new systems, goals, and methodologies that make internal processes more efficient.
• Digital transformation gives you more informative behavioral data and more touchpoints with the customer.
• You can leverage the new data gained from digital transformation efforts to further improve the customer experience and drive sustainable growth.
• AB InBev, Walmart, and Ford used investments in digital technology to accelerate internal processes and deploy new digital products that, consequently, provided valuable data on the customer experience and influenced future business investments.

3 examples of digital transformation through data

Here are three examples of legendary companies that embarked on digital transformation with a focus on data. These companies carefully considered how new technology could bring about data that both made internal processes more efficient and produced insights about how to grow customer value.

Brewing company AB InBev underwent a digital transformation by compiling their network of independent breweries into a unified powerhouse . One of their priorities was getting their data in the cloud, and by doing so, employees can now pull data that’s gathered globally and use it to make data-backed decisions.

For example, more accurate demand forecasting means AB InBev teams can match supply with demand—essential for such a large company with a complex supply chain. Access to data from all the breweries means they’re able to experiment faster and roll out changes that improve business processes.

Gathering more data and opening up that data to internal teams was just the first step of the process, though. AB InBev capitalized on their digital investments by launching an ecommerce marketplace called BEES for their SMB customers—the “mom and pop shops”—to order products from. With the BEES platform, AB InBev found that their small and medium-sized businesses browsed the store on the mobile app and added items to their cart throughout the day—however, they only made the final purchases later in the evening.

Based on this behavioral data, the BEES team started to send push notifications after 6:00 p.m., recommending relevant products, which led to increased sales and greater customer satisfaction. By the end of June 2021, BEES had gained over 1.8 million monthly active users and had captured more than $7.5B in Gross Merchandise Volume .

Jason Lambert, the SVP of product at BEES, credits their success with the hard data that told them how their customers behaved and what they needed: “it turned out to be a thousand times better than any of our previous strategies or assumptions.” BEES used behavioral analytics to respond quickly, changing the buying experience to match the needs and habits of their retailers.

As a traditional brick-and-mortar retailer, Walmart began digital transformation when they opened an online marketplace. However, digital transformation is an ongoing process—it doesn’t end at the first website. A digital transformation means companies refocus their operations around digital technology—and this usually happens both internally and in a customer-facing way.

To drive more customer value through digital touchpoints, Walmart set up mobile apps and a website to allow customers to purchase goods online. After analyzing customer behavioral information from their app, they added more services such as same-day pickup, mobile ordering, and “buy now, pay later.”

To be successful with digital transformation, Walmart prioritized data access for everyone on their teams. Breaking down internal silos allowed employees to take ownership; They acted fast and made concrete changes to improve the customer experience.

Walmart’s head of mobile marketing, Sherry Thomas-Zon, notes how critical data—and access to data—are to digital operations. “Our marketing and product teams are always looking at numbers,” Thomas-Zon said. “You can’t work quickly without a self-service data and analytics tool for marketing, especially in an organization as large as Walmart. It keeps our teams agile, despite our size and the increasing amount of data we collect and analyze.”

Ford has embraced several digital transformation initiatives—including using technology to transform and improve the manufacturing process at one of its biggest factories. Not having the correct parts available holds up workers and slows down the production process. Ford introduced a material flow wireless parts system so they could track the quantities of different parts and make sure there were enough available.

In 2016, Ford also introduced a digital product for their customers—the FordPass app . It allows Ford owners to remotely control their vehicles. For example, drivers can check their battery or fuel levels and lock or unlock their car from their phone.

To capitalize on these new digital touchpoints with the customer, Ford leveraged data to improve the experience of the FordPass app. First, the product team grouped customers based on the in-app behaviors they demonstrated. Then, based on each group’s activity, Ford personalized the app experience to provide more value. Jian Wei Hoh, head of business design at Ford, said, “ Designing around cohorts is a game-changer .”

Ford’s success is grounded in the same process as Walmart and AB InBev. They used their digital transformation to gather detailed information about how their consumers interact with their products. Then, they made data-led decisions to provide more value to their customers.

Overcoming common digital transformation challenges

It’s not called a transformation for no reason. You’re changing the way your business operates, which is no easy feat. Here are the common challenges you’ll face and how to overcome them.

Teams undergoing a digital transformation have to:

• Unlearn habits
• Get used to new structures and ways of collaborating
• Deal with changing roles
• Develop new skills

All of this takes time and, as you integrate new systems with the old, there’s a risk that teams will get siloed and chaos will ensue.

A key way of overcoming these challenges is planning. Create a digital transformation strategy roadmap in advance. Outline your integration strategy and detail how this will affect each team. Once you’ve created your plan, share it with the entire company, so everyone can use it as a single reference point. Use a project management tool that allows team members to get a big-picture overview and see granular details like the tasks they’re responsible for.

It takes time for teams to onboard and move away from what was successful under the previous system, for example, shifting from heavyweight to lightweight project planning. Make sure you factor some breathing space into your roadmap—give everyone a chance to get used to the new way of operating.

As part of a digital transformation, you’ll want your team to develop new skills as well. Upskill your team by incorporating digital skills into your employee development plans . Provide people with opportunities to learn and then track their progress.

More challenges arise if you believe there’s an end-state to digital transformation. New technology and new consumer behaviors are always emerging, which means digital transformation is an ongoing process. It’s not something you’ll complete in a week. Rather, it’s a continuous state of experimentation and improvement. At Amplitude, we refer to this process as digital optimization . If digital transformation brings new products, services, and business models to the fold, then digital optimization is about improving these outputs. Both digital transformation and digital optimization are important—digital transformation signals the start of new investments, and digital optimization compounds them.

Tips for building a digital transformation strategy

A digital transformation won’t magically grant you more profit. Examine how each part of the transformation will affect your customers and your employees. Then, you can be intentional and introduce initiatives that positively impact your business.

Diagnose what you want from a digital transformation first

There are different ways of going about a digital transformation. Some companies prefer to implement an all-inclusive digital strategy, and they transform all parts of their organization at the same time. Others opt for a less-risky incremental strategy. Every company is different. To choose the best approach, examine your whole organization and analyze where digital systems could help.

Consider your business goals. Investigate how a digital transformation could impact the customer experience. What new products could you provide? How could you improve your services? For example, you might use artificial intelligence to create a chatbot that reduces customer service wait times—or purchase software that does the same.

You’ll also want to consider your business processes. How could a digital transformation speed you up? Improve your operations? Allow more collaboration between teams? Asking these questions allows you to challenge the way you operate and will help you identify problems in your organization that you might not have noticed before. For example, perhaps your deliveries are often delayed, and you could make delivery smoother by digitizing elements of your supply chain .

Get cross-team involvement

Though different teams may work separately, your customers are affected by each department. Collaboration elevates everyone’s work because it means people can make informed decisions.

Make sure you get input from all of the right stakeholders when you create your digital transformation strategy. Ask:

• What processes hold you up?
• Where are the bottlenecks?
• What data would be useful for you?

Allow everyone to access the data they need without input from anyone else. Help your employees improve their data literacy . Start by providing training so everyone can use the data tools and software in your organization—consider setting up a capability academy for data skills . To help everyone in your organization access and analyze data, adopt easy-to-use self-service tools. Then, lead by example. Provide inspiration by using data storytelling in your presentations to explain the decisions you make.

Encourage collaboration between teams by creating shared resources, so they have spaces to present insights and submit suggestions. This could be as simple as creating a Google Doc for brainstorming that multiple teams can access, or sharing charts directly within your analytics solution like with Amplitude Notebooks . Then, you can start to experiment and make improvements to the digital customer experience like Walmart, Ford, and AB InBev did.

Once your digital transformation is moving, a digital optimization strategy is an opportunity to generate growth. Your digital transformation initiatives will continue in parallel, and the process will become a feedback loop:

• Deploy new digital systems and products
• Analyze the data that comes forth from these investments. Use it to draw insights about your customers or processes.
• Make decisions based on the data and make changes.
• Repeat. (Or, optimize .)

Always focus on your customers

Keep customer needs at the heart of what you do. Let them be your guiding light as you go through your digital transformation—as you gather more data about how your customers interact with your new digital products, use it to make the experience even better for them. It’ll lead to more trust and loyalty and, ultimately, result in more recurring revenue.

To continue your learning about digital transformation and optimization, join an Amplitude workshop or webinar or read our Guide to Digital Optimization .

• MIT Sloan. How to build data literacy in your company
• McKinsey & Company. Digital transformation: Raising supply-chain performance to new levels
• Harvard Business Review. Boost Your Team’s Data Literacy
• Datanami. From Big Beer to Big Data: Inside AB InBev’s Digital Transformation
• Predictable Profits. How Ford Embraced Digital Transformation
• APMG International. Heavyweight v Lightweight Management
• Whatfix. Upskilling Your Workforce in 2022

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How a century-old brand is transforming the auto industry

Before the pandemic, automakers were already facing massive disruption, including driverless cars, electric vehicles, and shared mobility. But COVID-19 dealt another blow: Automotive was one of the hardest hit sectors in 2020, especially in the U.S., where auto sales sank by 15% .

In the midst of these unprecedented challenges, however, 118-year-old Ford Motor Company leaned in and began to reinvent itself.

As the virus accelerated, dealerships were forced to close their lots and shift to servicing and selling cars online , while larger supply chain concerns caused shortages in critical parts like microchips, which slowed vehicle production.

In the midst of these unprecedented challenges, however, 118-year-old Ford Motor Company leaned in and began to reinvent itself. Under the leadership of two new executives — Jim Farley as CEO and Suzy Deering as global CMO — the company saw an opportunity for business transformation and started mapping out a strategy.

Questioning everything, from its organizational structure to its customer experience, Ford made difficult decisions to put technology at the center of its business and get ahead of auto consumers’ evolving needs.

While still in the early stages of its journey, Ford has developed something of a blueprint for auto brands of the future. Recently, I spoke to Farley and Deering about the company’s transformation strategy. They shared three key changes they’re focused on.

1. Reimagining what auto brands do

Business transformation has been a buzzword for decades, but for years, it wasn’t an urgent reality for Ford. Then along came the pandemic, and its significance accelerated.

We have to invest in electric architectures and build software know-how in the company. And we need to integrate that know-how in ways we’ve never had to before.

“Events of 2020 made it clear that modernization is required to be a sustainable company,” explains Farley. A critical factor to modernizing has been disrupting its organizational model to aid the shift toward vehicle electrification and other digitally connected products. Since consumers expect more safety and convenience from automakers, the future of the auto industry will increasingly exist outside the doors of the vehicle.

According to Farley, this has required Ford to “unglue” its organization to allow for a new way of being. “The biggest transformation for us is to a software services–dominated company and brand,” he explains. “We have to invest in electric architectures and build software know-how in the company. And we need to integrate that know-how in ways we’ve never had to before.”

Such a fundamental pivot, Deering acknowledges, impacts company culture. “We have to make sure that we bring people along with us, and at the same time, give them the space to fail. There is strength in knowing that change is not going to be easy, but we’re going to do it together, and we’re going to look forward.”

2. Driving the connected car experience forward

By committing to look forward, the automaker is building on Henry Ford’s original vision — that every American consumer can own a vehicle — by reimagining what vehicle ownership looks like. Through software and other technology, Ford is working to ensure that it’s a fully connected, always-on experience.

When we have the ability to update our products dynamically with software, the customer relationship is no longer episodic. It’s every day.

“For so long, cars have really been isolated from the rest of people’s lives. We can change that by making them digital products,” Farley explains. To facilitate this shift, Ford has tapped into strategic partners like Google and is integrating software into its vehicles. Beginning in 2023, for example, millions of Ford and Lincoln models will be powered by the Android operating system, with Google apps and services built in.

Beyond offering drivers more assistance and convenience, connected vehicles also give Ford the ability to deepen its customer relationships. “When we have the ability to update our products dynamically with software, the customer relationship is no longer episodic. It’s every day,” says Farley.

3. Transforming the customer relationship model

To deliver on its vision of an always-on customer experience, Ford is also evolving how it approaches relationship-building. While many automakers stick to a traditional acquisition model to attract consumers through ads and rebates, Ford is bringing customer relationships to the forefront by shifting to a loyalty-based model.

“Another big transition for us as a company — and an industry — is to stop being obsessed with conquest and start putting all of our resources into taking care of the customers who already love the brand and own the product,” Farley explains. “This is a model that is available because of the always-on nature of digital. Our products and services are now integrated.”

We want to know our customers well enough to meet their needs while they’re in the vehicle, while they’re outside the vehicle, and before they even think about buying a vehicle.

Gearing marketing efforts to meet people’s ongoing needs in a more personalized way is critical to Ford’s loyalty-based push, because, as Deering points out, “The customer expects us to know them.”

For Deering and her team, this means relying more than ever on first-party data and signals to create an ecosystem that nurtures deeper relationships. “We want to know our customers well enough to meet their needs while they’re in the vehicle, while they’re outside the vehicle, and before they even think about buying a vehicle from us,” she explains.

While Deering and Farley both readily admit that Ford’s business transformation is a yearslong journey, they’re committed to playing the long game and continuing to drive brand love and loyalty through the 21st century.

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30+ Digital Transformation Case Studies & Success Stories [2023]

• March 17, 2024
• by Terry Tolentino

Digital transformation has been on the executive agenda for the past decade and ~90% of companies have already initiated their first digital strategy. However, given the increasing pace of technological innovation, there are numerous areas to focus on. A lack of focus leads to failed initiatives. Digital transformation leaders need to focus their efforts but they are not clear about which areas to prioritize for their digital transformation initiatives.

As a web scraping and data extraction expert with over 10 years of experience, I have seen firsthand how critical it is for companies to carefully evaluate and select focus areas when undergoing digital transformation. Based on my analysis of hundreds of case studies and client engagements, I recommend enterprises initially focus their efforts on digitally transforming customer service and operations functions.

Key research findings:

Outsourcing is an important strategy for many companies‘ digital transformation initiatives. Research shows that more than half of companies outsource some digital capabilities and many rely on external partners to provide expertise.

Most successful digital transformation projects focus on customer service and operations. According to Forbes , 86% of buyers will pay more for a better customer experience. Enhancing these functions through digital transformation can directly impact customer retention and revenues.

JioMart is one of the largest Indian e-commerce companies that focuses on online grocery shopping, fashion, and home essentials. In May 2020, JioMart was completely launched in 200 Indian cities. They offer over 50,000 products and process more than 250,000 orders per day.

Business challenge: Inability to accommodate the high demand for their services and volume of orders. The company was experiencing 3x more traffic than anticipated. According to JioMart, order volumes spiked from 10,000 per day to over 250,000 per day within weeks of launching. Their systems were not built to handle that scale.

Target customers: Mass population. JioMart targets India‘s price-sensitive consumer base of 1.3 billion citizens, especially those in tier 2 and 3 cities.

Line of business function: Customer success management and sales.

Solution: JioMart collaborated with Haptik to develop a WhatsApp chatbot to scale its customer service efforts. The chatbot provides 24/7 automated customer support and handles over 70% of JioMart‘s customer queries.

Business result: 68% repeat purchase rate through the WhatsApp channel , 15% conversion rate and 1500 average daily orders. The chatbot was able to resolve customer issues quickly at scale, driving higher satisfaction.

Source: Haptik

Michelin-EFFIFUEL

Michelin, a global tire manufacturer, launched its EFFIFUEL initiative in 2013 to reduce the fuel consumption of trucks. In this context, vehicles were equipped with telematics systems that collect and process data on the trucks, tires, drivers habits and fuel consumption conditions. By analyzing this data, fleet managers and executives at the trucking companies were able to make adjustments to reduce oil consumption.

Business challenge: Inability to improve customer retention rates to target levels, due to trucks’ fuel consumption and CO2 emissions . Michelin found fuel costs account for over 30% of operating costs in the trucking industry. This impacts profitability and customer retention.

Target customers: Fleet managers and operations managers at truck companies in Europe

Solution: By using smart devices, truck and tire performance degradation is detected and maintained from the start. The solution also nudges truck drivers into more cost and environmentally friendly driving. Real-time data enables proactive maintenance.

Business result: Enhanced customer retention and satisfaction. EFFIFUEL has brought fuel savings of 2.5 liters per 100 kilometers per truck. The company also reduced the environmental costs of transportation activities. According to Michellin, if all European trucking companies had been using the EFFIFUEL initiative, it would have caused a 9 million ton reduction in CO2 emissions.

Schneider Electric-Box

Schneider Electric is a global company with over 140,000 employees across 100+ countries. Prior to implementing the Box content cloud , collaboration and document sharing processes were inefficient and fragmented. With a dispersed workforce, it was difficult to collaborate on documents in real-time from different locations and devices.

Schneider Electric also needed to balance flexible access with strong data security protocols for its sensitive corporate information. These challenges led them to outsource and customize an enterprise cloud solution from Box.

Business challenge: Inability to increase operational efficiency of the global workforce without capitulating to data security.

Solution: Schneider Electric outsourced its cloud needs to Box, customizing a secure content platform integrated with Microsoft Office 365. Box provided:

• Real-time document collaboration across locations and devices
• Granular permissions and content controls
• Integration with Microsoft Office apps
• Enterprise-grade security and compliance

Business result:

• Reduced IT infrastructure costs by 30% by eliminating legacy on-premises servers
• Accelerated time-to-market cycles company-wide
• Seamlessly connected 142,000 employees worldwide on one platform
• Safely migrated over 90% of content to the cloud

The Box implementation enabled Schneider Electric to digitally transform content collaboration and management globally, with substantial gains in agility, productivity and security.

Thomas Pink-Fits.me

British shirt maker Thomas Pink, part of the Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessey group, has outsourced the development of its online sales platform to Fits.me Virtual Fitting Room . The aim of the initiative was to gain a competitive advantage over its competitors in e-commerce. Thanks to the online platform developed, customers can determine how well the shirt they are buying fits them by entering their body size.

The platform also helps Fits.me gain better customer insight as previously unknown customer data, including body measurements and fit preferences, becomes available. In this way, the platform can offer customers the clothes that fit them better.

Business challenge: Lack of visibility into online sales and customers’ preferences. Thomas Pink had limited customer data from online sales. Most purchases occurred in physical stores.

Target customers: Online buyers and users. With this initiative, Thomas Pink specifically targeted digital-first consumers.

Line of business function: Sales and customer success management. The virtual fitting room enhanced the online shopping experience.

Solution: Outsourcing development of an online virtual fitting room to Fits.me.

• 29.6% higher conversion rate for customers using the fitting room
• Increased customer satisfaction and engagement
• Unlocked valuable customer body measurement data to inform production

There are many more successful digital transformation projects from different industries. To summarize, I have compiled a sortable table of 32 case studies categorized by industry, business function, and type of digital transformation:

This demonstrates the range of business functions and solutions companies leverage to digitally transform operations, services, products and business models.

While each company‘s needs are unique, customer-centric functions like customer service, sales, and marketing are common focus areas. Improving these through digital capabilities directly impacts customer acquisition, retention and satisfaction.

Similarly, digitizing operations functions like manufacturing, supply chain and internal systems improves efficiency, drives growth and enhances workforce productivity.

Based on my expertise in extracting and analyzing digital transformation data points, companies able to correctly prioritize and focus efforts yield the highest ROI. They balance long-term innovation with short-term improvements to existing systems.

Let me know if you would like me to expand on any specific case study or trend highlighted here. I can provide additional details, examples and data.

If you are ready to start your digital transformation journey, you can check our data-driven and comprehensive list of digital transformation consultant companies .

To find out more about digital transformation, you can also read our digital transformation best practices , digital transformation roadmap and digital transformation culture articles.

You can also check our sustainability case studies article which include ESG related success stories.

For any further assistance please contact us:

Transparency Statement: AIMultiple collaborates with many technology vendors including Haptik .

This article was drafted by former AIMultiple industry analyst Görkem Gençer.

London, United Kingdom

Mon - fri: 9am to 5pm, from a small ecommerce model to a fortune 500 saas company: a comprehensive case study on how netflix leveraged digital transformation.

Jan 16, 2023 Business 0 comments

Get an in-depth look at the strategies, technologies, and best practices used to grow Netflix into a streaming giant. Discover what you can do to replicate their success and stay ahead of the competition.

In 1997, a small company was founded by two men named Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in a small town in California named Scotts Valley.

The true story started when Marc discovered how DVD—a new product invented in Japan—would send the timely VHS packing.

So after brainstorming on what they could do with this new DVD product and successfully pitching the idea to Reed Hastings, both Marc and Reed walked into a record store in Santa Cruz, California, and purchased a CD. Then they proceeded to mail the CD to Reed’s house across town.

When the CD arrived intact, Reed and Hastings knew they had struck gold with this idea; and on August 29, 1997, Marc Randolph and Reed Hastings launched a subscription-based business model that afforded customers unlimited content for $19.95 (£16.31) with no due dates and late fees.

They would call it Netflix , and it would go on to epitomise the true essence of digital transformation over the years while changing the course of TV culture forever.

But to understand how Netflix went from a small eCommerce business model to a giant Software-As-A-Service company, the question you should ask is:

What Is Digital Transformation, and How Did It Work for Netflix?  

To answer both questions, let’s consider the “what?” before the “how?”

What Exactly Is Digital Transformation?   

To put it succinctly, “digital transformation” is the process of shifting away from a more traditional business model and toward those that use more cutting-edge digital technology and processes.

Contrary to popular belief, digital transformation is a strategy implemented through the use of new and advanced technologies to bring about developmental changes in the way business is conducted, improve the customer experience, and scale a business model.

How Did It Work For Netflix?  

Netflix is a great example of how digital transformation has worked for a company. It has proven that digital transformation isn’t a sprint; it is a marathon. A journey of digital evolution over the course of time

Since Netflix was just a DVD rental service, it has had to resort to physical stores and mailing DVDs to serve its customers.

However, when it shifted its focus to streaming services, it was able to reach an even wider audience and expand its reach globally.

The success of Netflix can be attributed to its early adoption of digital transformation methods that allowed it to make the most of new technologies and maximise profits.

To fully understand how Netflix leverages digital transformation, we must first ask:

What Steps Has Netflix Taken in Their Digital Transformation Journey?  

Netflix developed a recommendation algorithm.

Before Netflix introduced streaming services, they were using a recommendation system called Cinematch for their DVD rental service.

However, the transition to video-on-demand would mean that they could replicate that for their streaming services and even make it better.

To do this, they;

Used available cache data from their former system of customers and users to execute a proper recommendation system.

Used metadata to categorise movies under similar or the same genres to make recommendations easier for users.

Used A/B testing to test and improve their customer experience.

Netflix used cloud computing to improve their storage processes.

One of the perks of going digital for any business is that you get unlimited storage for data. And for a company like Netflix with an outrageous amount of data to store, cloud computing was the smart choice to proceed.

Netflix integrated with Amazon Web Services to manage this issue.

Netflix’s Pioneering Approach to Monetizing Content and Generating Revenue

Before Netflix, subscription-based content wasn’t a popular model. The emergence of Netflix disrupted the industry and sent Blockbuster, which was using the traditional method of disrupting content and generating revenue, into bankruptcy.

It was a classic illustration of how businesses can be left in the dust when they fail to evolve with the times. Also discussed is how businesses can scale through effective digital transformation.

Netflix pioneered a subscription-based model for DVD rentals and eventually revamped the idea into a streaming service business model.

Today, Netflix’s pioneering approach to monetizing content and generating revenue has only just evolved.

Based on the desired video quality, Netflix offers three different pricing tiers: basic, standard, and premium. Typically, the first month of the subscription is free.

Basic with the normal resolution is $7.99 a month, but only one device may utilise it simultaneously.

On the other side, paying $13.99 a month gets you access to Ultra HD streaming on four devices in addition to HD content on two devices.

The Use of Data Analytics by Netflix to Improve Decision-Making

With the help of data analytics, Netflix has been able to gain new insights into their customers’ likes and dislikes, helping them make more informed decisions when it comes to content development and marketing strategies.

Data analytics have played a pivotal role in Netflix’s digital transformation, giving them an edge over its competitors.

This is evident from the fact that Netflix uses advanced data analytics techniques such as predictive modelling, sentiment analysis, customer segmentation, and natural language processing to gain deeper insights into customer behaviour.

By understanding their customers better, they have been able to create personalised recommendations and optimise content for each customer segment.

Monumental Netflix Milestones To Illustrate Their Digital Transformation Journey  

The 1990s–2000s: At the time that Netflix launched, Blockbuster was already the leading giant in the movie rental business.

However, a subscription-based DVD rental service was a genius business model in the 90s and maybe in the early 2000s. But this didn’t stop Netflix from facing a financial crisis due to, the high cost of shipping DVDs through the US postal service.

Netflix solved this logistics problem by cutting ties with postal services and developing a web-based chain with warehouses for DVD distribution.

This move catapulted Netflix subscribers from around 300,000 to 6.3 million in 2006 and generated $80 million in the process.

2007: What makes Netflix’s story admirable and worthy of imitation is how well it adapts to changing times. Which is what digital transformation is all about.

Netflix, seeing how the world of technology keeps on advancing and how much speed the 21st century brought to internet users around the world, launched the next facet of their business model—the video-on-demand (VOD) model.

And for the first time ever, Netflix reimagined their identity and introduced streaming services into its business model.

2012: Five years later, after introducing and focusing on streaming services, Netflix starts creating original content for their subscribers.

2013: In August, Netflix launches user-profiles and makes this service available to all users.

2015-2016: Netflix reaches monumental milestones of 50 and 130 countries, respectively, in both 2015 and 2016.

2021: 24 years after it was founded in a small town in California, Netflix hits 209 million subscribers in 190 countries while generating an annual income of over $25 billion.

How Can Digital Socius Help You With Your Business’s Digital Transformation Journey?  

Digital transformation is not a goal; it is a journey.

So it is no surprise that businesses have been struggling to keep up with the rapidly changing digital landscape, often feeling overwhelmed and confused by the many options that are available.

As a business owner, it can be hard to stay on top of the latest trends, know what digital solutions are best for your company, and figure out how to get started with digital transformation.

Digital Socius is here to help! Our team of experts can guide you through the entire journey of digital transformation, from assessing your current situation to setting goals and creating a plan of action to reach them.

We’ll provide you with tailored strategies that are specific to your business, so you can move forward confidently and quickly.

Join our many satisfied and returning clients, and let us walk you through the journey step by step and show you how to get it right the first time. Click here to book a free discovery call to get started.

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The Value of Digital Transformation

• Eric Lamarre,
• Shital Chheda,
• Marti Riba,
• Vincent Genest,
• Ahmed Nizam

A team at McKinsey tracked the performance of 80 banks over four years to identify exactly how their transformation efforts paid off — and how others can follow suit.

While 89% of large companies globally have a digital and AI transformation underway, they have only captured 31% of the expected revenue lift and 25% of expected cost savings from the effort. Until business leaders are convinced of the value and confident in how to get it, they are unlikely to do the difficult, hands-in-the-dirt changes needed to improve their success rate. To see where digital transformation creates value, the authors used McKinsey’s Finalta benchmark, which tracked the performance of 80 global banks every year from 2018 to 2022 against a set of 50 normalized metrics, such as digital/mobile adoption, digital sales by banking product, number of people in contact centers, and number of branches. They found that digital leaders are creating much more shareholder value than laggards, often by creating value that’s hard to copy.

“Show me the money!” Cuba Gooding Jr., playing Rod Tidwell, made those words a cultural touchstone in the movie Jerry McGuire . He was not just voicing his concerns about committing to a sports agent, played by Tom Cruise in this case; he was also questioning Cruise’s commitment.

• EL Eric Lamarre is a senior partner in McKinsey’s Boston office, leader of the Digital Practice in North America, and coauthor of REWIRED .
• SC Shital Chheda is a partner in McKinsey’s Chicago office, and co-leads the Digital Retail Banking practice and leads the Client Experience in Banking practice in North America.
• MR Marti Riba is a Partner in McKinsey’s Boston office, and co-leads the Digital Retail Banking practice in North America.
• VG Vincent Genest is an Associate Partner in McKinsey’s Boston office, and co-leads the Digital Retail Banking practice in North America.
• AN Ahmed Nizam is a senior insights manager in McKinsey’s Chicago office, and leads Finalta’s Impact partnership practice.

Partner Center

CASE STUDY Public Power Corporation

Powering the future through reinvention

PPC makes the switch from commodity supplier to diversified digital powertech enterprise

3-MINUTE READ

An electrifying transformation

Public Power Corporation (PPC), the biggest electricity provider and third largest employer in Greece, has to do much more than just keep the lights on across the country. PPC’s guiding vision is to power the daily lives of customers—from when they hit snooze in the morning until they charge their phones at bedtime. That’s why PPC is now becoming a digital company through and through, from its advanced production tech and retail stores to all the corporate services that support the organization and its customers.

The company is diversifying into adjacent, non-commodity industries, like electric vehicles infrastructure, fiber and telecom and electronics retail. And its ambitions aren’t limited to Greece; PPC is also looking to become a key source of energy and stability throughout southeastern Europe. That’s ambitious for sure—considering that reinvention wasn’t on PPC’s agenda four years ago.

Fast forward to today, where PPC has completed an impressive, compressed transformation—one that has taken it from being a commodity supplier focused solely on keeping the power flowing, to a completely reinvented organization positioned for new growth. From building a centralized data warehouse to inventing a new KPI to measure digital evolution, PPC has firmly established a continuous reinvention mindset. What’s more, a new emphasis on sustainability and building renewables capacity has also paid off, with a jump of 80% in these areas in just two years. Accenture has been supporting PPC every step in its transformation journey.

New market, new CEO, new aspiration

It all started with a dynamic CEO who took the helm in August 2019 and hired an all-star management team. He also brought in Accenture to help answer the question: What would it take to become a completely digital utility in both the near and longer term?

Once plans were in place, PPC’s success would be powered by the CEO’s embrace of a new Digital Performance Index (DPI) that would guide the company’s transformation. This composite index would chart PPC’s digital evolution away from the status quo, measuring the digitization of processes and systems across all business functions. Even more crucial: the CEO tied every member of the C-suite’s compensation bonus to how much they were able to boost DPI in their departments, incentivizing their contributions to digital reinvention.

In the first year of its application, PPC’s DPI grew by 37%, with 15% growth recorded from 2022 to 2023 as projects entered their complex execution phases. PPC has set explicit targets for continued DPI growth as its leaders embed digital technology throughout the business.

Continuous reinvention powered by people and tech

PPC understood that to keep DPI growing, the IT department had to transition from being an operational support function to the central driver of its digital transformation. To this end, Accenture and PPC concentrated on three areas for improvement: a major cloud migration, which moved 170 applications to the cloud and closed two physical data centers; a new, centralized data warehouse, with 140 terabytes of data analyzed by 750 different reports in PowerBI; and security, with PPC now handling 25,000 security incidents and 360,000 suspicious emails annually.

It was also important for PPC employees to understand the changes and adapt to new ways of working. A Center of Excellence (COE) model now ensures that PPC and Accenture people are working side by side. At the same time, a new Digital Unit (DU) housed at Accenture brings together PPC and Accenture employees to collaborate and learn to execute PPC’s ambitious commercial transformational roadmap. When ready, Accenture will transfer the DU to PPC, where it will serve as a beacon for the rest of the business.

PPC is growing into a nimble, multidivisional company that can adapt to whatever demands arise. With DPI as the north star—and clear growth targets in place—the future is already here for PPC, and it’s looking bright.

Reinvention in the age of generative AI

Generative AI represents an opportunity to accelerate reinvention. We see five imperatives that the C-suite must address to reinvent how their businesses operate.

We are making bold moves, together

Changi Airport has been ranked the World's Best Airport twelve times. To take the traveler experience to new heights, we created ChangiVerse, an immersive metaverse experience.

Accenture and Marriott International created a new global HR hub that delivers employee experiences as exceptional as the guest experiences that make Marriott, Marriott.

BBVA worked with Accenture to become one of the world’s most customer-centric banks. Using digital technology to reach people where they are has helped them see massive growth.

Together, we turned finance operations from transactional to transformational. Moving BT Group’s finance function to the cloud boosted operational cost efficiency by 30%.

Outer space is full of untapped insights. e-GEOS is partnering with us to unlock the secrets of space data to help solve some of the world’s biggest challenges.

Netflix and Accenture Song teamed up to slay a monster. And turn a spaceship into a boat. Here’s how our team used visual effects to bring the ideas to life, pixel by pixel.

Car brand smart wanted to replace traditional auto sales with a direct-to-consumer experience. We brought a new platform to life—and sold out an entire line of cars in 24 hours.

We’re working with The Good Food Institute and Food System Innovations to reinvent the meat alternatives industry and bring new alternative proteins into the mainstream.

Together, we’re reinventing the places where we work, live and play. Johnson Controls and Accenture are making buildings smarter and greener using the OpenBlue platform.

Accenture and BMW teamed up to create a new platform that uses generative AI to drive decisions across North America, accelerating productivity and experiences.

Together, Gerando Falcões and Accenture are bringing hope to thousands in Brazil.

Accenture and Fortune transformed the iconic Fortune 500® list into an AI-driven platform that gives business leaders access to insights like never before.

MEET THE TEAM

Dr. Jiorgis Kritsotakis

Client Account Lead & Managing Director – Energy & Natural Resources

Kyriacos Sabatakakis

Country Managing Director – Greece & Bulgaria

Valia (Evangelia) Siakavella

Associate Director – Strategy & Consulting

Pedro Andrade

Digital Unit Delivery Lead & Associate Director – Accenture Technology

Case Studies

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Banking on innovation: How ING uses generative AI to put people first

From farm to tablet: Building a new business to solve an old challenge

Rewired in action

Partnering on America’s toughest challenges

Made in Africa: Catalyzing stronger, sustainable, and inclusive economies

How a government agency is preparing workers to thrive in the skills-based economy

How a global components manufacturer built an ambitious carbon reduction roadmap

How a major New Zealand retailer reinvented itself around customer satisfaction

Undaunted by global disruption, a logistics company embraces bold transformation

988: Three digits and the nationwide effort to help millions in crisis

An AI power play: Fueling the next wave of innovation in the energy sector

How a manufacturing moonshot was made

Protecting workers through award-winning design

How Telkomsel transformed to reach digital-first consumers

Flying across the sea, propelled by AI

How a steel plant in India tapped the value of data—and won global acclaim

Reimagining the real estate industry for the next normal

Inside a mining company’s AI transformation

New at mckinsey blog.

JobsOhio and the long-term, innovative revitalization of a state’s economy

McKinsey’s new Sustainability Academy helps clients upskill workers for the net-zero transition

Tearing the ‘paper ceiling’: McKinsey supports effort driving upward mobility for millions of workers

Explore our case studies

From start-ups to Fortune 500 companies, from family businesses to professionally managed companies, EY is supporting organizations in their business transformation journey. Explore our case studies to learn how we are using technology and innovation to create long-term value for our clients, thereby building a better working world.

How a young cement company grew 2.5x with organizational and functional transformation

Technology-led transformation across sales, supply chain and people fueled rapid growth in a commoditized and highly competitive market., how can we swiftly and profitably scale up operations, the company needed an integrated transformation roadmap for accelerated and sustainable growth..

The company underwent technology-led sales transformation.

Ey designed a phased implementation plan to recognize and prioritize focus areas and functions..

Achieving market ambitions has unlocked further growth plans.

Leveraging sustainable growth and transformation, the company aims to reach 25 mmtpa..

Business transformation case studies

How ey can help, digital transformation services.

We help companies thrive in the transformative age by refreshing themselves constantly, experimenting with new ideas and scaling successes.

Supply chain and operations

Based on your overarching strategy, we’ll help redefine your end-to-end supply chain and operations to support your enterprise objectives.

Customer experience

When it comes to serving the customer of the future, the answers lie in being client-centric, especially in today’s world.

Digitally integrated customer experience

Our approach helps technology, media and telecom companies rethink, redesign and deliver new levels of customer interaction.

Accelerating digital transformation with AI

EY ASpace is a unique enterprise Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Automation platform that empowers enterprises to rapidly adopt and scale AI-based solutions, resulting in faster, smarter and more future ready businesses. Built on advanced machine learning algorithms and AI models, ASpace enables end-to-end automation while providing complete data privacy with on-premise installation.

Analytics consulting services

We can help you apply intelligence in your organization to grow, protect and optimize your business by harnessing the latest technologies.

IoT consulting services

Acting as the bridge between the Acting as the bridge between the physical and the digital world, IoT offers a huge opportunity for companies. We help clients effectively capitalize on IoT technology and solutions, linking technology, vendors and customers through a holistic business model. and the digital world, IoT offers a huge opportunity for companies.

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The New Equation

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Streamlining processes and standing up HR operations with PwC’s Total Workforce Management solution

From acquisition to autonomy: how a tech company transformed its workforce

• May 29, 2024

A regional tech company faced the challenge of establishing a new company after an acquisition, while also scaling its workforce. To avoid costly transition services agreements (TSAs) and preserve deal value, it needed a rapid HR system separation. The company worked with PwC to swiftly move its enterprise-wide HR operations to SAP and stand up its own system. The solution provides unprecedented visibility across the organization and empowers leadership to make data-driven decisions that improve employee experience.

Regional Tech Company

time and pay accuracy after converting enterprise data from legacy systems over to SAP

faster than industry standard timeline to implement SAP SuccessFactors and Fieldglass for 6,000+ employees and contractors

HR TSAs required post-divestiture, despite accounting for HR and tax nuances in 35 states and 25+ employee unions, which helped preserve deal value

A human-led, tech-powered workforce transformation enables transparency and helps build trust with stakeholders

PwC shares the path to operational efficiency

What was the challenge.

The challenge was managing rapid change amid a complex acquisition . The client needed to physically separate the HR, payroll and operations systems of its newly acquired company to avoid relying on the former owner’s tech infrastructure via costly TSAs.

Speed was key. The goal was to stand up the new systems as quickly as possible without a significant impact on either company’s daily operations, which span 35 states. Simultaneously, the team also had to onboard thousands of employees overnight, causing a rapid scaling of the HR organization.

Describe the solution delivered by the PwC community of solvers

PwC’s Total Workforce Management solution powered by SAP was chosen to streamline HR processes and manage all related operations. This comprehensive, cloud-based HR suite integrates modules like S/4HANA, SuccessFactors and Fieldglass to efficiently handle talent management, learning, recruitment, timekeeping, finance (including financial planning and analysis) and contractor management. The automation tools and data cleansing enabled a smooth transition under a tight deadline, along with accurate financial data posting and streamlined payment processing for both contractors and over 25 employee unions across the business.

Transitions of this magnitude typically take at least 12 to 15 months, but PwC did it in 9 months. The client now has great operational efficiency and workforce management capabilities.

How does the solution blend the strengths of technology and people?

Despite the time constraints, PwC quickly implemented Total Workforce Management and the Experience Suite framework . This is a digital SuccessFactors-driven solution that provides tools to enhance employee upskilling, labor sourcing and localized people management. The solution simplified governance, improved visibility and empowered smarter decisions as the organization grew. Within the Experience Suite, you could see exactly what the system build would look like via a test environment, incorporating standardized practices to meet the deadline as an independent company.

Where or how did innovation and unexpected ways of thinking come into play?

PwC’s Experience Suite framework provided a practical and efficient approach to setting up a new system. This included leading practices and pre-built models based on PwC’s extensive experience with SAP SuccessFactors and Fieldglass implementations. It streamlined project management, reduced decision-making time and minimized complexities. PwC’s fit-to-standard approach also helped provide a standard system setup and HR enhancements to simplify the implementation process. The team’s innovative solutions truly made a difference in the workforce transformation journey.

Get more on this topic

How expediting transition service agreement exits can unlock deal value

Total Workforce Management powered by SAP

Experience Suite framework

HR transformation: embrace the future  

Gain competitive advantage by moving your HR and its processes to the cloud.

EXPLORE PwC’s CASE STUDY LIBRARY

See how we're helping clients build trust and become outcomes obsessed in our case study library.

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Principal, PwC US

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Falcon Group Boosts OEE More Than 160% Using ThingWorx IIoT Platform

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Headquartered in Dubai, UAE, Falcon Group is an established precision engineering company with more than three decades of experience in the delivery of high-quality services to many industries, including aerospace, space exploration, defense, oil & gas, power and utilities transmission, and industrial manufacturing.

Comprising four industrial operations in the UAE and three others in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Nigeria and Oman, it offers a broad range of capabilities, including precision machining & fabrication; custom tool design; manufacture & refurbishment; and industrial automation solutions.

• Manually collected machine-utilization data was presenting a false picture of machine-shop efficiencies
• The company was looking to invest in new machines to counter the perceived capacity shortfall
• Short-term remedies often saw work being handed to competing supplier
• ThingWorx IIoT platform
• Falcon Group now has a more informed window into its operations, and can make far better decisions based on real-time insights
• On a single machine, utilization has risen from 12-15% to 57%, with ambitions to reach a target of 75%
• Capital expenditure for new machines/capacity is now no longer necessary
• Machining work can now be kept in house rather than subcontracting 

Falcon Group is an established precision engineering company based in Dubai, UAE. With four industrial operations in the UAE and three others in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Nigeria and Oman, it offers a broad range of capabilities, including precision machining & fabrication; custom tool design; manufacture & refurbishment; and industrial automation solutions.

The specialist precision engineering and fabrication division offers a range of machining capabilities, including CNC (computer numerical control), custom fabrication and welding, gun & BTA deep-hole drilling, coordinate measuring (CMM), cutting (wire, water & laser), prototyping, and 3D printing.

At the heart of these operations are 16 CNC machines, all of which are essential to the company’s machining capabilities, with their utilization defining much of the capacity planning and the critical path of many of the company’s projects.

In a recent performance evaluation, Falcon Group was assessing the purchase of new machines to help it keep pace with customer demand and to support maintenance downtime for those on the critical path, coupled to the fact that peak capacity often saw it subcontracting work to competitors.

However, before signing off on any additional machinery, the company undertook a machine-utilization study and discovered that although its CNC assets appeared to be working 24/7, some machines were only operating at 12-15% utilization, a figure that offered significant room for improvement.

“We used to collect data manually,” explains Prabhu Badrinathen, CEO, Falcon Group, “using routing cards and manual timing, but we knew this was not giving us the bigger picture, in real time. Our industry software team explained that we could use software to measure OEE (overall equipment effectiveness) and, having looked at the various software use cases, we quickly realized that different elements of each example would work for us, but no single application example mirrored our needs.

“We needed a flexible solution that would address our precise requirements, which is when we started discussions with Rockwell’s UAE Value Add Distributor Al-Ghandi Electrical and Automation LLC.”

This realization that significant efficiency gains were within reach triggered the beginning of a digital transformation that would result in some truly staggering results.

And, for the foundation of this transformation, Al-Ghandi – a member of the Rockwell Automation PartnerNetwork™ –  introduced Falcon Group to the ThingWorx IIoT platform , part of the FactoryTalk® InnovationSuite, powered by PTC.

Falcon Group’s FG Engineering and Maintenance Services LLC rose to the challenge by spearheading the development of the ThingWorx IIoT solution in a region with limited support for such a complex use case.

The solution used ThingWorx IIoT to connect different devices, including PLCs and sensors, and then collect, collate, store and present all the operational data to the management team at Falcon Group using tailored software dashboards.

The collaborative efforts culminated in the deployment of a robust application that seamlessly integrates with Falcon Group's operations. By harnessing the power of ThingWorx, and the acquisition of precise data, Falcon Group is now able to optimize its operational efficiency.

“Step One of any improvement journey is accepting you may not be working to the best of your capabilities,” explained Badrinathen in a recent ROKStudios session . “All subsequent steps then involve working with your suppliers and integrators as a team – honestly and transparently – to find a remedy.”

Falcon measured OEE on one machine to create the baseline and then deployed the ThingWorx IIoT Platform to root out and then highlight the pain points and inefficiencies.

“We very quickly had the machine go from 12-15% utilization up to 38%,” Badrinathen continues, “and with further fine tuning, it is now up to 57%. This is a huge growth, and was on just one machine! We have set an ambitious future target of 75% – a growth of more than 365%.” 

"All our partnerships start with truly understanding the issues our customers are facing,” said Srikrishna Ganesan, CEO, Al Ghandi Electrical & Automation, in the same ROKStudios session. “We then look to develop solutions rather than simply sell products. We were very happy to have found a platform that delivered not just major additional efficiencies but also significant cost savings.”

Badrinathen concludes: “At FG Engineering and Maintenance Services LLC, we don't just meet challenges – we embrace them, turning obstacles into opportunities for growth and innovation. This type of solution is essential to us in many ways. We can only go so far with discounts and other incentives to make our customers happy, after that we need to look at ways of working smarter, which is why we hold hands. We need the experience of system integrators and distributors and their suppliers, so we can then recruit them as a talent and keep them as partners.”

Published May 31, 2024

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