Clorox ERP Integration To Bolster Data Visibility, Expedite Innovation
Clorox’s digital transformation is underway with an expected ERP integration happening in the U.S. segment over the next 18 months.
The company has been bolstering its technology stack and digital capabilities following a cyber breach that caused stalled distribution and lost consumers. What has totaled a $580 million investment will lead to both tech upgrades and changes in the company’s operating model so that no one at Clorox “does work the way that they did in the past,” according to CEO Linda Rendle during the recent Barclays conference.
“If you are managing orders and processing orders, if you are in logistics and figuring out how we get products from point A to point B, if you're in financial reporting and controls, if you're in innovation and marketing, we are giving you a set of technology and tools to do your work in a more efficient and effective manner,” she said.
Introducing New Efficiencies
The impact will be faster innovation cycles with lowered costs to more quickly and efficiently meet consumer demands, along with more end-to-end data visibility and decision-making capabilities from new digital tools.
“It's one of the ways that we've been able to deliver the margin improvement that we have because our general managers have a set of tools and accountability to look end-to-end and make sure they're removing costs while adding consumer value,” said Rendle.
Canada saw a full ERP and global finance implementation this past July, and the company plans to take any learnings and apply them to the U.S. integration. Clorox is already seeing expedited time to market as a result, launching innovations in a matter of a few months, which Rendle said the company had not done before.
The accelerated timeline could also be attributed in part to a recent investment in a generative-AI powered tool that identifies global trends so Clorox can quickly develop hundreds of digital prototypes at a time and test them with millions of consumers (instead of just 20 in a room as in the past).
Clorox has targeted 2025 - 2026 to see measurable results from the new capabilities across net revenue management, customer relationship management, merchandising, and supply chain.
