DALLAS – February 15, 2021 – o9 Solutions, the leading AI-powered Integrated Business Planning (IBP) platform, has announced the addition of former leaders from Avon and Lekkerland to its AIM10x Executive Council.
Digitally transforming processes within large enterprises is a notoriously challenging undertaking. It requires commitment, a solid strategy, the right technology, and outstanding leadership to inspire employees to invest in the process.
With its extensive view of the pitfalls and challenges of digital transformation, o9 Solutions has brought together a network of visionary leaders to share valuable learnings, best practices, and knowledge through its AIM10x webinars and AIM10x podcasts. Two of the council’s newest members, Vikram Agarwal, former Chief Supply Chain Officer at Avon, and Jochen Grosspietsch, former Chief Supply Chain Officer at Lekkerland, are also anticipated to share their insights and experiences, helping executives navigate and accelerate their digital business transformation.
Vikram Agarwal
Vikram is an industry veteran with over 32 years’ international experience with FTSE 100 companies. He believes that supply chains play a pivotal role in driving growth and giving businesses a competitive edge. This was most recently demonstrated in his transformation of Avon’s supply chain, which resulted in significant operational savings that were reinvested into the company’s growth, and a step-change in operational efficiencies serving 6mln direct customers.
Vikram’s understanding of the global consumer goods industry, especially in supply chain turnaround, digitisation of operations, route-to-market expansion, and B2B business development also has roots in the 30 years he spent at Unilever. As Executive Vice President, Supply Chain Africa, Vikram played a key role in its regional business leadership team. Here, he was responsible for an end-to-end supply chain across 15 countries, 14 factories and 25,000 employees – a burgeoning multi-billion-dollar regional business.
“Today’s global supply chains are intensively matrixed across a vast supplier base, multiple factories, diverse markets and increasingly complex product portfolios. Leading through this complexity to consistently deliver hyper-responsive customer service requires real-time data management at an unprecedented scale and accuracy,” Vikram comments. “Platforms such as o9 Solutions’ AI-powered IBP digital brain, with its end-to-end data integration and analytical capabilities in a control tower environment, are the critical decision-support systems to enable this. Working with like-minded peers in the AIM10 Executive Council, I hope to contribute to further development and widespread adoption of such systems.”
"Working with like-minded peers in the AIM10 Executive Council, I hope to contribute to further development and widespread adoption of such systems."
Vikram AgarwalFormer CSCO at Avon
Jochen Grosspietsch
Jochen is a supply chain and digital transformation leader with board-level management experience and strategic thought leadership. Most recently, he was responsible for the supply chain and online business at Lekkerland, a leading European convenience wholesaler with 23 sites in 6 countries. Under Jochen’s leadership, the company engaged in a customer-centric transformation of its supply chain, and set the basis for further growth, while setting up the merger and integration with retailer REWE.
During his 17 years as a former partner with McKinsey’s supply chain practice, Jochen worked on over 200 projects with leading global retailers and consumer goods companies to redefine their operating models and supply chain processes. One of his core themes has been to push for an end-to-end perspective for optimizing planning and operations. Jochen also holds a PhD in supply chain management and has done extensive research on supply chain best practices.
Jochen states: “I have long believed in the value of integration and the insights that digital tools provide in managing supply chains. Last year, while I was responsible for upholding the flow of goods to 40,000 convenience points of sale across Europe during the COVID pandemic, the need for visibility has became clearer than ever. The o9 platform provides everything executives need to make better decisions and integrate stakeholders across the value chain. I am thrilled to work with a great team of committed professionals, share experience and continue learning together.”
"The o9 platform provides everything executives need to make better decisions and integrate stakeholders across the value chain. I am thrilled to work with a great team of committed professionals, share experience and continue learning together."
Jochen GrosspietschSupply Chain & Digital Transformation Leader
“I am very excited that Vikram Agarwal and Jochen Grosspietsch have joined the AIM10x Executive Council. Their strong supply chain and digital transformation backgrounds in global enterprises makes them the perfect fit for the objectives of the network, which seeks to support the success of executives embarking on their own digital transformation journeys,” said Chakri Gottemukkala, CEO at o9 Solutions and active member of the AIM10x Executive Council. “Vikram and Jochen’s first-hand insight and experiences will be an invaluable asset to the council narrative.”
"Vikram and Jochen’s first-hand insight and experiences will be an invaluable asset to the council narrative."
Chakri GottemukkalaCEO and Co-Founder at o9 Solutions
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About the AIM10x Executive Council
The future of digital transformation, next-generation planning, and decision-making is here. But most businesses will find the journey to their goals difficult. The AIM10x Executive Council is a business advisory board that combines the expertise and experience of operational leaders at some of the world’s largest enterprises.
o9 Solutions created its AIM10x Executive Council in partnership with visionary experts across industries to deliver expert insights drawn from professional experience. Executives can navigate and accelerate their digital transformation journeys through AIM10x webinars, Masters of Digital Transformation podcasts, and the AIM10x Innovators Network.
About the author
o9 Solutions
The Digital Brain Platformo9 offers a leading AI-powered Planning, Analytics & Data platform called the Digital Brain that helps companies across industry verticals transform traditionally slow and siloed planning into smart, integrated and intelligent planning and decision making across the core supply chain, commercial and P&L functions. With o9’s Digital Brain platform, companies are able to achieve game-changing improvements in quality of data, ability to detect demand and supply risks and opportunities earlier, forecast demand more accurately, evaluate what-if scenarios in real time, match demand and supply intelligently and drive alignment and collaboration across customers, internal stakeholders and suppliers around the integrated supply chain and commercial plans and decisions. Supported by a global ecosystem of partners, o9’s innovative delivery methodology helps companies achieve quick impact in customer service, inventory levels, resource utilization, as well as ESG and financial KPIs—while enabling a long-term, sustainable transformation of their end-to-end planning and decision-making capabilities.
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