SAP Supports Nestlé’s Digital Transformation

Nestlé, a giant present in Romania and globally, sells over a billion products each day, with a portfolio of over 2,000 brands spread across 188 countries. Operations of such magnitude require robust support, and Nestlé has chosen SAP for the digitalization of its company, from advanced analytics and customer experience to sustainability and human resources management.

Nestlé’s business models and market access strategies are continuously evolving, customer expectations vary, and digital commerce is accelerating rapidly. Nestlé understands that the core of a successful company lies in a solid IT infrastructure designed to utilize data and provide insights that aid decision-making.

Present in Romania since 1995, starting with a representation of just six employees, Nestlé acquired the JOE brand in 2000, one of the most popular and appreciated in the market. Currently, Nestlé Romania’s portfolio includes a wide and diverse range of products. Among these, JOE wafers and Nesquik, NESCAFÉ 3in1 specialties, and Maggi mustard are produced in Romania.

Transformation through an uninterrupted journey to the cloud

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To ensure a smooth, uninterrupted transition to a more dynamic, reliable, and scalable infrastructure, Nestlé chose RISE with SAP – a comprehensive ERP software offering designed to help companies leverage cloud computing in their core systems. Nestlé is now able to automate business processes within its operations, create innovative business models on a global scale, and achieve greater agility and resilience. Furthermore, all 275,000 Nestlé employees benefit from a single access point to all SAP applications, reducing the time and effort needed for IT systems management.

With SAP Services and Support, including SAP MaxAttention services and the SAP Solution Delivery Center group, Nestlé closed nine data centers and over 10,000 servers. This enabled the migration of thousands of applications, 300 SAP software instances, and more than 1,200 TB of data to the cloud. Beyond the project’s complex nature, it was delivered on time, within budget, and without disrupting the business.

Optimizing processes from recruitment to retirement

The transformation of human resources systems was a priority for Nestlé, which chose SAP SuccessFactors to automate and standardize processes supporting the entire endeavor, from recruitment to retirement. Additionally, Nestlé uses SAP Business Technology Platform to provide custom extensions of SuccessFactors for specific situations, such as massive seasonal hiring. The company now has a faster hiring process and a chatbot that speaks 20 languages and answers thousands of candidate questions weekly, all without HR professional intervention.

“In the past, failing systems took about six hours to recover. That meant an unwanted 6-hour break in factories and distribution centers. Now, our platforms recover in less than 10 minutes, so most end-users don’t even know there was a problem,” explains Ralf Huebenthal, Global Head of IT Platforms at Nestlé.

Transforming customer experience with a one-stop shop

Nestlé is also improving its B2B customers’ experience by streamlining order placement, tracking, and billing processes. The company replaced traditional telephone contact processes and implemented a global platform based on SAP Commerce Cloud, which provides real-time order information.

Through its digital self-service portal, Nestlé enhances order and payment processes, allowing retailers and distributors to acquire products more quickly and easily. The company recognizes the importance of offering a unified digital experience to customers to remain competitive and meet increasingly complex consumer demands. Moreover, implementing the platform with SAP Commerce Cloud not only benefits customers and optimizes internal processes and flexibility but also supports sustainability efforts by eliminating paper invoices and more efficiently tracking orders.

“Our customers are constantly innovating and transforming; they are also increasingly collaborating through digital platforms and solutions. Therefore, it was a logical decision for us to provide a unified and improved digital experience,” says Pablo Nill, Senior Product Group Manager Customer Service Information Technology at Nestlé.

By simplifying its global IT infrastructure, Nestlé increased system availability to 99.97%, and downtime reduced from six hours to seven minutes. With SAP BTP, the company’s digital assets can be used ten times faster than before. Also, 15,000 managers in over 100 countries now use a common solution in the human resources area, automating 95% of review processes.