Inspiring Change: Digital Transformation Lessons From Chris Gaffney

Chris Gaffney, a former Vice President of Global Strategic Supply Chain

at Coca-Cola, shares his digital transformation lessons.

Some leaders innately understand how to inspire transformation, both in organizations and in people. In this episode of Masters of Digital Transformation, Tony hosts Chris Gaffney, former VP Global Strategic Supply Chain at Coca-Cola Company and current Principal at ECG. Chris built a strong career focused on distribution, logistics, and supply chain, as well as mentorship, and shares his knowledge of digital transformation, with an emphasis on planning.

Key Takeaways

Seek outside perspectives to inspire your digital transformation 

It can be a challenge for established companies to embrace change--especially digital advancements. To help facilitate and accelerate digital transformation within Coca-Cola, Chris looked to his industry peers and leaders to see how their organizations’ were implementing digital strategies. Another challenge companies may face in implementing digital transformation is gaining buy-in from executives and key stakeholders. Coca-Cola’s executives were encouraged to meet with their peers at companies that were leaders in change to help digital transformation concepts transition from “hype” to actionable initiatives. 

Align transformation with business initiatives 

Another key way to gain buy-in at the top levels within an organization is to ensure that digital transformation initiatives are aligned with the organization’s enterprise strategy. A successful transformation can also take off throughout an organization by selecting “lighthouse” geographies to provide resources and test out concepts that could be applied to the larger organization. 

Set a foundation to build a legacy 

Throughout each phase in his career--from logistics to supply chain--operations and planning played a pivotal role. As his career grew, planning processes and strategies (operations planning, infrastructure planning, and supply chain planning strategy) continued to advance. Along the way, he developed tremendous technical, operational, and leadership experience that he continues to pay forward to colleagues and up-and-coming professionals. In doing so, the knowledge that built his career can set the foundation for many careers to come.

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