G & J PEPSI-COLA BOTTLERS of our transformation . We use technology as a competitive advantage in the marketplace and measure ourselves against peers and competitors ,” he adds .
BRIAN BALZER
TITLE : VP , DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY & BUSINESS TRANSFORMATION
Getting to Gemba To begin this journey , Balzer looked at the importance of this change , analysing the business benefits , and then relayed this to his leadership team .
“ This involved everything from building and implementing an ERP strategy by establishing a digital thread across all P & Ls of the business via Microsoft Dynamics 365 , to establishing a data management strategy and using tools like PowerBI and Dataverse to bring business insights to our business partners , and even being 100 % in the cloud by utilising SaaS solutions and the Microsoft Azure environment ,” says Balzer .
He continues : “ We now fully utilise the entire Microsoft ecosystem of tools : Microsoft Teams for collaboration , M365 , Azure , D365 and the Power platform to bring about rapid development , solutions and RPAs to automate work that was once manual . At the heart of this journey , it ’ s about simplifying the application footprint , and using the native integrations of the Microsoft ecosystem , to create a digital thread connecting all areas of the business together in a unified manner . It improves maintenance , drives cost out and improves the user experience .”
With a lean technology team , G & J Pepsi has been able to quickly align itself with this strategy to combat the different challenges it faces . Balzer believes having this team front and centre lends itself to the success of the company ’ s strategy : “ Some of the brightest and highest-paid people are in the tech industry . I don ’ t want the company spending dollars on using those resources
EXECUTIVE BIO
INDUSTRY : CONSUMER GOODS LOCATION : CINCINNATI US
In his role as VP , Digital Technology
& Business Transformation , Balzer is passionate about developing talent , leading transformation across all business areas , and using technology to advance the company . In addition to this , he seeks to create value in numerous unique ways and simplify user experiences . He firmly believes in the benefits of collaboration , continually striving to improve , and generating a positive culture - in fact , they are the keys to G & J Pepsi ' s success as a team !