Case Study

L'Oréal: The beauty of supply chain digitalization

16 pages
December 2021
Reference: IMD-7-2296

L’Oréal, the world leader in beauty products, began to rethink its vision for the industry. The world was on the cusp of a digital future full of possibilities. For a company known for its consumer-pleasing beauty products and owner of some the world’s most iconic brands, this meant thinking about innovation in a different way. It would no longer mean only providing the best products but also continuously adapting the industry to market needs. Through a combination of goal setting, training and communication, the digital transformation began, first with efforts in marketing, sales and consumer outreach, but supply chain quickly moved to a prominent role in helping address questions about how digitalization would affect the company’s products and consumer expectations. Starting with a vision of the CEO, Jean-Paul Agon, the company found itself on a journey to challenge its culture, its approach and even what its value proposition was. Along the way, the supply chain became a force for bringing together the different functions of a large, complex organization to identify and implement new business models in the digital age that cut to the heart of the company’s operations.

Learning Objective
  • Illustrate an effective, successful digital transformation and link this to Industry 4.0/supply chain digitalization capabilities by focusing on L’Oréal’s success
  • Examine the challenges of supply chain digitalization, the role of senior leadership in agenda setting, global digital governance, linking the supply chain digital strategy to the company-wide digital strategy, planning for scale from pilot to deployment, and the external/internal development choice
Keywords
Supply Chain, Digital Transformation, Digitalization, Industry 4.0, Business to Consumer, Consumer Goods, Digital
Settings
Global, France
L'Oréal, Consumer Goods, Consumer Goods, Cosmetics and Perfumes
2010-2020
Type
Field Research
Copyright
© 2021
Available Languages
English
Related material
Teaching note, Video
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