Miguel Llorca G贸mez, 娇色导航at olive oil, spirit, and wine closure manufacturer Grupo Torrent, outlines the company's digital transformation roadmap to stimulate growth and business value.
Miguel Llorca G贸mez joined Grupo Torrent three years ago, and since then, his role as CIO, and the entire IT function, has expanded to enable significant transformation of the company. 鈥淧reviously, IT was a support function under the financial area,鈥� he says. 鈥淏ut today, digital transformation is integrated into the management committee and reports directly to the CEO.鈥�
This evolution has allowed聽IT to closely align with the strategic objectives of the business, becoming a driver of innovation and efficiency. As part of the change, in a competitive sink or swim industry,聽Grupo Torrent has implemented Microsoft Dynamics 365 for its new ERP system.聽Thanks to this, the company has聽integrated and optimized all of its business processes, from supply chain to quality management.聽鈥淭his transformation聽has not only modernized our operations, but prepared the company for the challenges of the future.鈥�
G贸mez correlates the business聽transformation with how the 娇色导航role has grown into strategic business leader and integral decision-maker, someone who identifies new opportunities to innovate. 鈥淭his means my team and I aren鈥檛 only focused on technology聽per se, but on how it can drive growth, improve operational efficiency, and offer tangible value to the customer.鈥澛燱ith this in mind, key priorities relate to how change management, cybersecurity, and adoption of new technologies can bolster a competitive position in the current VUCA market.
A strategy built on stability
The聽roadmap to digitally transform the organization is based on three fundamental pillars: infrastructure modernization, process digitalization, and enabling advanced analytics. On one hand, infrastructure modernization includes implementing robust and scalable systems such as Microsoft Dynamics 365. Process digitalization, on the other, focuses on automating and optimizing the company鈥檚 operations by integrating cutting-edge technologies in its production plants. And enabling advanced analytics is being developed through projects like the Torrent Data Lake, which will allow users to access and analyze data autonomously and securely, facilitating informed decision-making.
鈥淭he main objective of our聽roadmap聽is to become a more agile, efficient, customer-oriented, and sustainable organization,鈥� he says.聽With that in mind, G贸mez and his team aim to improve efficiencies, reduce costs, increase transparency throughout the value chain, and foster a culture of data-based decisions.聽
They also focus on聽improving the employee experience, providing tools and tech that fine-tune their work and promote a more innovative and collaborative environment. 鈥淯ltimately, we aspire to strengthen our position in the market and guarantee the long-term sustainability聽of Grupo Torrent,鈥� he says.
Targeting investment
Given the increasing importance of IT in the corporation, it鈥檚 not surprising that budgets allocated to this area have accelerated聽in recent years.聽鈥淭his is due to the need to invest in tech that allows us to remain competitive and respond to market demands,鈥� he says. In this sense, they鈥檝e prioritized modernizing systems, implementing cybersecurity solutions, and staff training. 鈥淭his trend reflects our commitment to digital transformation, and the importance we give to technology as a key business enabler.鈥�
Regarding the聽tech they rely on to boost figures, G贸mez says that聽everything revolves around their ERP.聽鈥淲e decided to opt for Microsoft Dynamics 365 as a platform rather than a solution for our needs,鈥� he says.聽鈥淲ith this paradigm shift, we managed to create a perfectly integrated ecosystem with a high degree of automation and unique data.鈥� In this sense, some functionalities have been implemented through Power Platform for use on any device and platform, ensuring the data resides in the same source as Dynamics 365.
鈥淭hanks to the consolidation of data with the new ERP, we鈥檝e been able to develop useful and agile dashboards, adjusted by functional areas, which allows us to have short- and long-term visibility, and enables well-informed decision-making,鈥� he says.
Another example of how these technologies provide added value is in advanced warehouse management with PDAs. This, G贸mez explains, has allowed them to improve precision in inventory management, reduce errors and optimize the use of space.聽鈥淭he automation of processes in production plants integrating the ERP has increased traceability and control, which translates into greater quality and operational efficiency,鈥� he says. 鈥淣ot only are we improving our internal operations, but this will also allow us to offer higher quality and more reliable products to our customers.鈥�
All the rage
When it comes to technology, it鈥檚 practically impossible not to mention AI, and聽Grupo Torrent has already integrated it into various areas of the business. In customer service, for example, they have a project in sight to incorporate AI to improve UX and optimize response time. In 鈥嬧�媝roduction, they鈥檙e exploring AI for maintenance prediction and process optimization. 鈥淎I is a powerful tool that, when well used, can offer significant competitive advantages,鈥� he says. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 crucial to implement AI in an ethical manner and with a clear focus on continuous improvement and added value聽for our customers and employees.鈥�
On the horizon
In addition to integrating and implementing the use of ethical and responsible AI in the business,聽G贸mez faces other challenges including聽managing cultural change, cybersecurity and integrating heterogeneous technologies into its production plants. 鈥淐hange management is crucial because, as a traditional company, we need to ensure that all employees adopt new technologies and processes,鈥� he says. 鈥淐ybersecurity is another strategic line since we need to protect our data and systems in an increasingly digital and connected environment. And integrating emerging and disruptive tech into production lines requires a careful approach to ensure consistency and operational efficiency.鈥�
With an eye on the future,聽G贸mez鈥檚 short- and medium-term priorities are set on completing the ERP project, developing the Torrent Data Lake, and improving automation in the production plants.
