Cheng Zhenlin, Minister of Digital Technology Department of New Hope Group: Some thoughts on the digital transformation of enterprises

"When it comes to the status quo of digital transformation, there are generally two situations: one is that what you do is not as good as you think, and the other is that others seem to be doing better than your own
.
What should we do? It is very difficult to form a consensus.

.
" Cheng Zhenlin, Minister of Digital Technology Department of New Hope Group, said in his keynote speech "Some Reflections on the Digital Transformation of Traditional Enterprises" at the 2021 CIOC National CIO Conference
.

New Hope Group is one of the largest private enterprises in China.
Founded in 1982, New Hope Group has ranked among the top 500 Chinese enterprises for 18 consecutive years
.
At present, New Hope Group has gradually become a comprehensive enterprise group dominated by modern agriculture and food industry, and continues to pay attention to, invest in, and operate emerging industries with innovative ability and growth potential
.

In today's era, all walks of life are being swept and subverted by the wave of digitalization, and the agriculture and animal husbandry industry is no exception
.
Cheng Zhenlin introduced that the entire industrial layout of New Hope is the result of the continuous extension and deep digging of information technology and digital technology.
Blockchain, digital governance, inclusive finance and other fields have gradually formed their own smart solutions, and New Hope has continued to invest in the field of digital technology to form today's industrial layout
.

In Cheng Zhenlin's view, the industrial base formed by digital technology and New Hope in the past 40 years is more like two helices of DNA, a process of continuous iterative rise, and a community of shared destiny that helps each other
.
Judging from New Hope's basic experience in digital development in the past five years, whether it is factories, cold chain, agriculture, rural areas, or supply chain finance and financial technology, as long as digital technology can truly be closely integrated with the industry, it can achieve "true trust, true trust" and "true trust".
"Learn, use", you can have a unique competitive advantage in these segments than the average IT company
.

Faced with the pain points in the industrial chain, value chain and supply chain, such as the lack of orders for small and medium-sized enterprises, the demand of catering enterprises to purchase at low or high prices, and the difficulties in the connection between production and sales of the three rural business entities, New Hope is derived from these industry pain points.
The extension of digital technology is often more successful and has more vitality
.

As the so-called troubles of industrial growth are accompanied by opportunities for the growth of digital technology, the foundation of industrial cultivation, the gift is the soil for the development of digital technology
.

After years of practice, Cheng Zhenlin summed up the five insights of New Hope Group in the process of digital transformation
.

01 Value vs Value

The value of digital transformation is undeniable, but when it comes to strategy, commitment, and determination, every project asks whether it’s worth the price
.
It is true that we have heard many success stories of digital transformation, but there are far more losers than winners in the transformation process
.
How exactly do we understand the value of digital transformation and its real benefits, which are value?

Cheng Zhenlin makes two points here:

First, business and technology need to go from being relatively separate to "turning a dictionary"
.
In the process of digital transformation, the descriptions of the IT department and the business department are very different, but from the perspective of operation, operation and long-term development of the enterprise, everyone must turn to a dictionary, which requires both parties to have business, business and operation.
With the ability of empathy and empathy, it is possible to reach a consensus internally
.
Cheng Zhenlin emphasized: "It is far more difficult, fundamental, fundamental, and critical to reach an internal consensus than to make a project!"

Second, from focusing on single-dimensional output to focusing on capacity system building
.
The value of digital transformation, we often focus on system construction, business process and management system construction, in addition to the value of digital transformation in other dimensions, including data assets, team capabilities, digital beliefs, digital leadership The relationship between multiple dimensions such as power, business innovation and benefit arrangement cannot be ignored
.

These are two basic lessons that business and IT agree on
.

02 Anxiety vs Focus

Traditional enterprises are inevitably anxious when faced with the wave of digitalization, but they must have a focus.
They must focus on and excavate the key scenarios of excellent operation.
Starting from the scenario, small incisions and deep incisions are required to do a good job in digital transformation
.
In fact, digital transformation is not only about building a system, but also focusing on operating scenarios, continuously optimizing business logic, continuously improving business value, and implementing a parallel business and IT governance system
.

Cheng Zhenlin compares systems and projects in informatization construction to "medicine", and business, business logic and business value to "rice".
He believes that traditional enterprises should find the focus of excellent operation in their anxiety to do digital transformation.
Instead of taking medicine as soon as you feel anxious, because medicine cannot be eaten as food after all
.

03 Mindful vs Mindful

Enterprises doing digital transformation are building various application systems and choosing various solutions.
It seems that they are doing the same thing.
However, whether they are willing to do it varies greatly
.
The innovation of business logic and business model requires IT and the business department to work hard together.
First of all, you must have the heart to know the number.
The number is to use digital technology to sort out business processes, manage insights, and use informatization and data to solidify it.
and optimization
.

At the same time, Cheng Zhenlin emphasized: "The difficulty and importance of process reengineering and innovation are higher than the interconnectivity of the information system itself
.
Although information architecture, data architecture, infrastructure, and interconnection seem difficult, business is actually more difficult.

.
We want to strengthen the BIT class, B is business, and IT is information technology
.
"

04 Architecture vs Architecture

As an IT person, you must be very aware of the importance of the structure.
New Hope Group found that the establishment and gradual deepening of the structure is very important in the process of corporate governance.
However, CIOs will realize that not every beautiful blueprint envisaged can be realized smoothly.
CIOs also often do things like repairing houses on rainy days and changing tires on the highway, which shows that the ability of CIOs in terms of architecture is equally important
.
Which is more important, making plans or responding to changes made in new scenarios all the time? The ability to cope with changes is even more valuable today
.

In order to create revolutionary effects in the process of continuous technological evolution, CIOs need to have a framework in mind, but their actions are still inseparable from the framework
.
Cheng Zhenlin quoted a passage from the Agile Manifesto here: "Individuals and interactions are higher than processes and tools; working software is higher than detailed documentation; customer cooperation is higher than contract negotiation; responding to changes is higher than following plans
.
" CIOs need to strike a balance between architecture and architecture
.

05 Physical Exam vs Exam

In the past, people expected to live a healthy and high-quality life, and only had regular physical examinations
.
People tend to focus more on discrete, indexed outcomes than on the ongoing process of health management
.
Now, when people mention health, they think of wearing a smart watch or smart bracelet, because the data is more accurate, continuous and personalized
.
Enterprise informatization is also facing such a problem.
Managers should shift from focusing on discrete results to focusing on continuous processes, and shift the focus from informatization of management processes to digitization of production and operation, from coarse-grained data to the pursuit of finer-grained data.
degree data
.

The importance of data is self-evident.
Without numbers, all business decisions are lost
.
So what is the relationship between data and enterprises? Cheng Zhenlin believes: "The boundaries of data define the boundaries of enterprises! In a sense, data determines the limits of enterprise development
.
" He took Didi as an example.
In the past, taxis used to be Drivers listen to the radio while driving, and now they listen to Didi.
Didi’s data determines the business boundaries of the entire company and engulfs the ride-hailing market
.
The same is true in the financial field.
The reason why Internet finance can grow savagely is that Internet companies have mastered data on credit, risk and pricing.
This is the core of finance.
When it masters the past business records, credit ratings, and even It is the inventory, transaction volume, and customer situation that can make risk assessment and pricing for his financial services.
Once data is available, the boundaries of the enterprise are extended
.

write at the end

In the end, Cheng Zhenlin said that New Hope has been thinking about how to change from a brand manufacturer, from a comprehensive supplier of meat, eggs and milk to an industrial mid-stage in the future catering industry, to realize the integration of food supply and industrial interconnection, and to think about where data comes from, procurement, How to better online production, operation, sales and other enterprise business, and think about how to stretch the boundaries of the enterprise to better create customer value
.

Digital transformation is a process of simultaneous development and growth with business, a process of integrating knowledge and action, a process of constant definition and continuous forging, and a difficult and hopeful process! Hope Group, like its corporate name, will be full of hope in the future
.