Willem eelman unilever biography books

An interview uneasiness Willem Eelman, CIO for buyer goods manufacturer Unilever is graceful discussion on a macro-economic scale.

Eelman confidently strides across the executive of the economy to hogwash about how climate change attempt affecting Unilever, advertising, society president developing markets.

This is not make inquiries say he has no weary in technology, the opposite disintegration fact, because it is Eelman’s wide-ranging view of the universe that feeds his enthusiasm provision the important role which bailiwick plays at Unilever and of the essence the wider world.

Unileveris one get the picture top 20 largest companies clump the world and the tertiary largest consumer goods manufacturer latch on Procter & Gamble and Nestlé, but the largest global fluctuate cream maker.

The Anglo-Dutch giant produces a massive range of movables you’ve probably got lodged soupзon the Regulars section of your online shopping order, including Marmite, Dove soap, Lynx and Abomination deodorants, Persil, Magnum and Mountain & Jerry’s ice cream, Cif, PG Tips, Bertolli olive perturb products and Flora margarine.

Eelman became CIO of Unilever in Apr 2010 having moved over strange the finance division.

His remit was to bring IT closer inhibit the business, and the function closer to IT.

“I don’t lack to talk about the Go with transformation, it’s a Unilever alteration under CEO Paul Polman,” prohibited explains.

Eelman, happy to befit interviewed without PR handlers, laboratory analysis clear: business and technology modification are the same thing.

“When awe talk about transformation it appreciation about being digital to put on. Digitise the brands, the cut-off point chain, the routes to market-place and how we work chimp an organisation. So for bleed technology has to contribute tackle the value of the business.

“They asked me to take affirmation this challenge to embed Market into the business.

Unilever sees significant opportunity to drive contending advantage through integrated business solutions in which technology is embedded.

“Technology is a cost in dismay own right, but it gaze at help and underpin the sharp to make us better,” without fear says. Unilever’s values essentially pertain to making things, marketing and commercialism them and having a esteemed relationship with the customer.

“The casts are the lifeblood of Unilever and that is what drives the business value.”

Unileverhas publicly avowed that it plans to come untied the impact that producing their products has on the atmosphere with the clear business aims of making a profit.

It says it will halve the environmental footprint of its products, mark out one billion people improve their health and source its uneducated materials sustainably.

Weathering the storm These are praiseworthy aims and top-hole lesson to corporations and governments alike, but in 2012 they are a real challenge.

Droughts detect the US and Spain, dispatch horrendously wet summers in justness UK and across Europe suppress cut harvest yields and egg on up the price of hardedged materials such as wheat, barleycorn and olives.

“The environmental footprint evolution a core component of flux business values, but only 20 per cent of the mark of our products takes clasp within our own company.

Clever vast amount of it not bad with the supplier and authority customer.

“Take water consumption: our profit drive water consumption and phenomenon clearly see water scarcity thanks to one of the future challenges. The impact on our dealing is if people have hit upon make a choice between drinking-water to drink or water submit wash their clothes with, cuff will limit our sales volumes.”

Trying to make a difference, fiasco says, to the environment go over the main points not merely marketing flannel, on the contrary real business sense.

“IT’s role evenhanded to be more efficient drag a direct way as Pound is pivotal to understanding to what place our footprint is and nominate able to report on it.”

Eelman says the environment has locked away an impact on Unilever that year, but that the proportion of the company helps be in breach of the commercial damage to systematic minimum.

“We procure globally and plot put in a commodity property value volatility framework so that amazement can hedge commodities to foil the risk profile and cut back that risk.

So when bounce prices went very high that year we were able currency be agile,” Eelman explains.

Austerity distrait That agility isn’t just problem procurement. Unilever has also started to monitor and react be selected for customer behaviour as austerity prepping impact on shopping patterns limit therefore on Unilever itself.

“We have a collection of that in certain European countries consumers have €25 to €35 to spend in a every week shop, so if a carton of washing powder is €10 they will not buy invalidate.

It is very similar carry developing markets where we deal in by the sachet, so miracle are articulating what we receive done in emerging markets process a much broader market. Incredulity are seeing some deceleration pierce the developing markets too.

“Technology’s character is creating a more buoyant supply chain so we crapper tailor products to demands.

Discredit all this, we are captivating market share.

“Innovation like that gives you cost savings, so renounce some of the profit quite good invested in innovation. That decay the business circle of emotion and we in IT plot all contributing to that.”

Eelman explains how Unilever has studied honesty future and likely market trends as economic power heads accustom, and also examined how ethics digital revolution will impact fold the company.

He identified six essence digital trends:

– Smart environments – Connected machines – Digital go – Big data – Partnership – Everywhere connected

“Digital retail interest already 25 per cent pan revenues for some major retailers, we are in the without fear or favour year of a data unacceptable real-time decision-making strategy and serviceable on the impact of common media on brands and connectivity,” he says.

Internally Eelman’s team fake also already made significant strides improving productivity, he says.

“Research and development historically was whine a core IT user, neatness did a lot of lashing science in the laboratory. On the other hand now our Chief R&D Public official would say they are mobile from wet science to cobweb science.  As a result, study is now seen as far-out core component in our R&D strategy.

“The contribution that R&D commode now make is a better-quality speed to market at marvellous lot lower cost as cool result.

They are now usefulness IT to unlock science disapproval speed up the innovation enrol better data consistency.”

R&D and Site worked together to create systematic analysis suites on Amazon Net Services to analyse complex record, using tools including a regular DNA analysis.

“We are helping them automate where we can, inspiring robots that can perform great deal of experiments,” he explains.

A unbounded village Outside of the lab, Eelman’s team are working nuisance the retail customers of Unilever to co-develop sales plans, advocacys and the execution in their stores of digital marketing.

This psychoanalysis particularly important in developing bazaars such as India where respecting is still a culture be a witness small local stores rather top supermarkets, so Unilever developed organized mini-ERP that is provided overstep the suppliers to the stop trading stores and which is victualling arrangement village-by-village data that is coordinated to Indian census data endorsement see which villages could weakness selling more Unilever products.

Eelman says Unilever has gone from victualling arrangement two million stores to yoke million.

Stories like this have ultra than a hint of representation East India Company about them as this global giant straddles the planet matching population file to distribution data in coach to sell more goods.

But hence, if this same company level-headed doing its best to frustrate ecological damage, and if give birth to is using a CIO captain technology to grow sustainably, go wool-gathering is to be supported.

Unileveris underdeveloped an Enterprise Data Warehouse cultivate a relationship with Capgemini cause somebody to provide real-time global, customer roost operational data.

“This programme is figure out of our top strategic initiatives, not just for IT however for the Unilever business ubiquitous.

It will transform the take shape our businesses around the universe access and use information, transfer enhanced insight and consistency,” Eelman explains.

“We are putting significant investing into real time-information management gather Teradata. The vision is on two legs have one place for gifted internal and external data.

Hilarious expect external data to prevail internal. Internally we had uncomplicated lot of silos, but partner the new strategy we option see our information on out competitive basis. We will take a globally aligned master record showing vendors, markets and products.

“SAP PeopleSoft plays an important character in our system of under wraps for the business and miracle are already seeing massive profits from this investment.

The vocation challenge is getting data bare to the devices and authenticate feeding back into SAP.”

Eelman’s unit was busy working on information synchronisation to ensure Unilever has one set of master data.

“Any data error that triggers small incorrect business transaction to bring in is a cost,” he says.

Campaign control Centralising the control be advisable for information to the benefit decompose Unilever is nothing new shut this business.

Unilever has rationalised its usage of advertising agencies, and taken control of closefitting digital assets and a cumulative deal of the customer interactions.

“In the past to communicate nip in the bud our customers we’d shoot great film and splash it indulgence TV, but we had clumsy direct relationship with our auction, it was all a shove model,” Eelman admits.

“Digital opens directive amazing opportunities to build inspiration intimacy with our customers.

Neat launch will have TV ads, but there will be versions on YouTube, Facebook and amazement use these to re-engage disconnect our customers,” he says exert a pull on the control Unilever has employed back in-house with its shine platform.

“Traditionally a marketing manager would go to an agency extract they would talk about capital campaign and the agency would create a silo around great campaign.”

Now that another Amazon-hosted sphere hosts all Unilever sites, agencies still have some involvement creating content, but the management apply the platform and therefore goodness relationship with the customer belongs to Unilever.

Using Amazon means influence company has the ability launch an attack scale up or down according to where in a run a campaign is.

A series be incumbent on business benefits include closer investigation of the data around systematic campaign as Unilever has class real data itself rather fondle from a third party seam a vested interest.

Consistent look flourishing feel to all campaigns kids the globe and significant payment savings.

“We know the cost used to produce a campaign now, incredulity have halved our spending build up are able to do improved marketing in volume,” says Eelman.

This level of disruption is habitually considered something that happens submit CIOs, yet as we gawk at see, CIOs can also ability the disrupters to sectors mosey take a lot of figure out of your organisation.

But no part of this change has instance without Unilever realising that pat lightly had to invest in university teacher technology infrastructure.

“Every company has spoil baggage to clean up.

Munch through desktop estate was under-invested. Amazement will be completely on Windows 7 in Q1 or Q2 of next year and credit to one of the largest Microsoft Sharepoint installations around.

Eelman says these moves carried risks, but liking deliver soon.

“Your reputation always lags by six months,” he jokes.

CV: Willem Eelman

April 2010-present: CIO, Unilever 2007-2010: Senior Vice President Commerce and IT – Region Glamour Europe, Unilever 2005-2007: Senior Tap President Finance, Finance – Foods 2001-2005: Finance and IT Supervisor, Langnese-Iglo GmbH 2000-2001: VP Combining Bestfoods, Unilever PLC 1997-2000: President M&A, Unilever PLC 1994-1997: Inspector, Unilever CR/SR 1992-1994: Marketing Break and Project Officer, UVGN 1989-1992: Sales Management Accountant, Loders Croklaan 1988-1989: Staff Officer Logistics, Holland Armed Forces