Global Leader in Spirits, Beer & Wine

Business Challenge

Continued global expansion was straining the IT systems and infrastructure of a company that was already lacking standardization in many aspects of product lifecycle management. Limited visibility and access to product information slowed specification approvals, supplier collaboration, and production. It also made regulatory and compliance checks inconsistent and difficult to execute.

With a mix of paper forms, spreadsheets, and homegrown systems feeding product development, this global producer of premium beverages and spirits found itself challenged with:

• Product and brand inconsistencies
• Regulatory nonconformance
• Material redundancy
• Financial loss from wasted time and effort

Solution

With the help of partner Linx-AS to deliver the implementation know-how, the company embarked on a global initiative to replace its legacy systems and manual processes with SAP Product Lifecycle Management (PLM). The program was designed and executed with a user-centered approach and PLM best practice process models to standardize product information and make it accessible to users on a global scale.

The scope of the solution included:

• Specifications (raw materials, formulas, and packaging)
• SAP Recipe Management with enhanced user experience in SAP Enterprise Portals
• Document Management System
• SAP Workflow
• Collaboration via cFolders and Adobe Interactive Forms
• Integration to create Material Masters and BOMs
• Automated regulatory & compliance checks
• Product Data Migration
  • 140,000+ specifications
  • 9 million+ property value data points
  • 25,000+ recipes
  • 80,000+ documents

With the new system in place, the multinational alcoholic beverages company was able to realign its product development budget and resources to focus on innovation, including a reformulation of its very iconic, very Irish beer.