Unilever's Global Digital Delivery Pipeline
Empowering Unilever's Digital Transformation team to effectively manage their global project pipeline.
A case study on how I helped Uniliver's Digital Transformation team tackle complexity and achieve roadmap transparency
Value Impact
Reduction in project approval cycle times
Decrease in duplicate digital initiatives
Increase in cross-brand collaboration on digital innovations
The Challenge
Unilever, one of the world's largest consumer goods companies with 400+ brands across 190 countries, faced significant challenges in managing their global digital transformation initiative:
- Inconsistent digital infrastructure had evolved across brands and geographic regions
- Content governance was fragmented, making brand consistency difficult to maintain
- Digital project prioritization lacked a structured framework for objective evaluation
- Limited visibility into cross-brand digital initiatives led to duplicated efforts
- Resource allocation across competing brand priorities was often subjective
- The central platform team struggled to manage incoming requests from global business lines
- Scaling digital innovation across the enterprise required a systematic approach
These challenges were particularly acute as Unilever invested in a centralized web content management platform to standardize and modernize their global brand presence.
The Solution
As Digital Solutions Consultant, I designed and implemented a comprehensive demand management process to transform how Unilever prioritized and delivered digital solutions across their global enterprise.
Key Technical Components
- Multi-Dimensional Visualization Dashboard: A custom ETL pipeline using Google Sheets and AppScript to provide unprecedented visibility into project status
- Structured Intake Process: Standardized framework for capturing and evaluating digital requests
- Prioritization Matrix: Objective scoring system for evaluating initiatives based on strategic alignment, ROI, and technical feasibility
- Portfolio Management Dashboard: Executive-level reporting on digital transformation progress
- Governance Framework: Clear decision rights and escalation paths for digital investments
Implementation Approach
- Analyzed existing project portfolio to identify patterns and optimization opportunities
- Designed process improvements with direct input from business and technical leaders
- Created visualization tools to provide unprecedented transparency into the project pipeline
- Established regular governance cadence to review portfolio performance
Results & Impact
The demand management framework delivered significant improvements to Unilever's digital transformation efforts:
Operational Improvements
- Reduction in project approval cycle times
- Decrease in duplicate digital initiatives
- Increase in cross-brand collaboration on digital innovations
Business Outcomes
- Enhanced transparency through multi-dimensional visualization of the project portfolio
- Accelerated digital transformation through more efficient resource allocation
- Improved brand consistency across global digital properties
- Strengthened business-IT alignment through objective prioritization processes
- Created commercially viable project pipeline visualization product recognized by stakeholders for its effectiveness
- Established data-driven culture for digital investment decisions
Key Lessons
- Visualization Drives Transparency: Custom ETL pipeline and data visualization transformed stakeholder understanding
- Process Before Technology: Establishing clear governance processes was prerequisite to technical solutions
- First-Hand Experience Informs Solutions: Direct involvement in labor-intensive processes provided unique insight into pain points
- Cross-Functional Alignment is Essential: Success required bridging business and IT perspectives on prioritization
- Automation Eliminates Bottlenecks: Regular data refresh processes (running hourly) provided real-time insights without manual effort
