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Philip Morris International Engineering

To deliver a smoke-free future by building innovative technologies that transform the tobacco industry for a healthier world.

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To deliver a smoke-free future by building innovative technologies that transform the tobacco industry for a healthier world.

Strengths

  • INNOVATION: Industry-leading R&D capabilities with $495M annual spend
  • SCALE: Global manufacturing footprint across 38 production facilities
  • TALENT: Strong engineering expertise in product development lifecycle
  • INFRASTRUCTURE: Robust digital systems supporting global operations
  • QUALITY: ISO-certified manufacturing processes ensuring consistency

Weaknesses

  • LEGACY: Technical debt from supporting conventional product lines
  • TRANSFORMATION: Uneven digital capabilities across global operations
  • INTEGRATION: Siloed systems hampering cross-functional collaboration
  • SPEED: Lengthy product development cycles averaging 24-36 months
  • SKILLS: Gaps in emerging technology expertise (AI, IoT, data science)

Opportunities

  • DIGITALIZATION: Accelerate digital transformation of manufacturing
  • AUTOMATION: Implement Industry 4.0 technologies across operations
  • DATA: Deploy advanced analytics for product and process optimization
  • PERSONALIZATION: Create tech-enabled customized user experiences
  • SUSTAINABILITY: Engineer eco-friendly products and processes

Threats

  • REGULATION: Increasing technical compliance requirements globally
  • COMPETITION: Rising technological innovation from industry rivals
  • TALENT: Intense competition for engineering and digital talent
  • CYBER: Growing cybersecurity threats to operational technology
  • STANDARDS: Evolving technical standards for smoke-free products

Key Priorities

  • TRANSFORM: Accelerate digital transformation across all operations
  • INNOVATE: Reduce product development cycles by 40% through agility
  • INTEGRATE: Unify technology platforms to enable cross-functional work
  • TALENT: Attract and develop next-gen engineering and digital talent
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To deliver a smoke-free future by building innovative technologies that transform the tobacco industry for a healthier world.

TRANSFORM

Accelerate digital transformation across all operations

  • CLOUD: Migrate 90% of remaining on-prem infrastructure to cloud with 99.9% availability by Q4
  • AUTOMATION: Implement continuous deployment pipelines for 85% of engineering teams by Q3 end
  • PLATFORMS: Launch unified product technology platform supporting all smoke-free products
  • ANALYTICS: Deploy real-time manufacturing analytics dashboard across 100% of production lines
INNOVATE

Accelerate product development lifecycle by 40%

  • AGILE: Implement agile methodology in 100% of engineering teams, reducing cycle time by 35%
  • PROTOTYPING: Reduce prototype development time from 6 to 3 weeks across all product lines
  • TESTING: Automate 80% of quality testing procedures, cutting QA time from 8 to 3 weeks
  • DIGITAL TWINS: Implement digital twin simulations for all new products, reducing physical tests 50%
INTEGRATE

Unify technology platforms for seamless collaboration

  • ARCHITECTURE: Implement microservices architecture supporting 100% of new product development
  • APIS: Create comprehensive API gateway with 95% of systems accessible through standard APIs
  • DATA: Launch unified data platform with single source of truth for all engineering metrics
  • DEVOPS: Achieve level 4 DORA metrics across 90% of engineering teams by quarter end
TALENT

Build world-class engineering and digital capabilities

  • SKILLS: Train 100% of engineering staff on cloud, AI and automation technologies by Q3 end
  • HIRING: Recruit 75 specialized engineers in AI, IoT, and cloud technologies by end of Q2
  • RETENTION: Reduce engineering talent attrition to below 10% through targeted programs
  • AI COE: Establish AI Center of Excellence with 25 dedicated experts supporting all teams
METRICS
  • SMOKE-FREE REVENUE: 50% of total revenue by end of 2025
  • DEVELOPMENT SPEED: 40% reduction in product development cycle time
  • DIGITAL MATURITY: Level 4 (out of 5) on industry digital maturity index
VALUES
  • Excellence
  • Innovation
  • Customer Focus
  • Integrity
  • Sustainability
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Align the learnings

Philip Morris International Engineering Retrospective

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To deliver a smoke-free future by building innovative technologies that transform the tobacco industry for a healthier world.

What Went Well

  • GROWTH: Smoke-free products revenue grew 20.8% to reach 36.4% of total
  • INNOVATION: Successful launch of IQOS ILUMA in 38 markets globally
  • EFFICIENCY: Manufacturing automation drove 12% improvement in output
  • DIGITAL: Successfully migrated 65% of core infrastructure to cloud
  • QUALITY: Reduced product defect rates by 18% through process improvements

Not So Well

  • INTEGRATION: Post-acquisition tech integration delays impacted timelines
  • CYBERSECURITY: Three significant incidents requiring extensive remediation
  • TALENT: Engineering talent attrition rate increased to 14.3% annually
  • TECHNICAL DEBT: Legacy system maintenance consumed 38% of IT resources
  • COMPLIANCE: Regulatory tech compliance costs exceeded budget by 22%

Learnings

  • AGILITY: Cross-functional teams outperformed traditional structures by 30%
  • STANDARDIZATION: Common technology platforms reduced integration costs 25%
  • DATA: Centralized data governance improved analytics project delivery by 40%
  • CLOUD: Cloud-native development reduced time-to-market by average of 35%
  • AUTOMATION: DevOps implementation reduced deployment failures by 60%

Action Items

  • PLATFORM: Establish unified product technology platform by end of Q3 2025
  • TALENT: Launch engineering excellence program to reduce attrition to <10%
  • SECURITY: Implement zero-trust architecture across all technical systems
  • DATA: Deploy enterprise data platform supporting all engineering functions
  • AUTOMATION: Increase CI/CD pipeline coverage to 85% of all code deployments
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To deliver a smoke-free future by building innovative technologies that transform the tobacco industry for a healthier world.

Strengths

  • RESEARCH: Established AI research programs for product innovation
  • FOUNDATION: Core data infrastructure supporting AI deployment
  • LEADERSHIP: Senior technology leadership committed to AI adoption
  • INVESTMENT: Dedicated funding for AI initiatives ($50M annually)
  • PILOTING: Successful AI pilots in manufacturing and quality control

Weaknesses

  • TALENT: Limited AI expertise across global engineering teams
  • INTEGRATION: Fragmented AI initiatives lacking strategic alignment
  • DATA: Data quality and governance issues hampering AI effectiveness
  • ADOPTION: Cultural resistance to AI-driven decision making
  • SCALE: Difficulty scaling successful AI pilots to production

Opportunities

  • PREDICTION: AI-powered predictive maintenance to increase uptime
  • QUALITY: Computer vision for enhanced quality control processes
  • PERSONALIZATION: AI-driven product personalization for consumers
  • INNOVATION: Generative AI for accelerated product design cycles
  • EFFICIENCY: Process optimization through AI in manufacturing

Threats

  • ETHICS: Mounting concerns about ethical AI use in consumer products
  • REGULATION: Emerging AI regulatory frameworks limiting applications
  • COMPETITION: Industry rivals making aggressive AI investments
  • BIAS: Risk of biased AI systems impacting product development
  • SECURITY: Vulnerabilities in AI systems exposed to attacks

Key Priorities

  • PLATFORM: Develop unified AI platform for engineering applications
  • EXPERTISE: Build AI Center of Excellence to support all departments
  • PROCESS: Integrate AI into core product development workflows
  • GOVERNANCE: Establish robust AI ethics and governance framework