CASE STUDY
Transforming tradition for a multinational food corporation
A global food giant’s smart, modern solutions for supply chain success
5-MINUTE READ
For more than a hundred years, a food manufacturer, known for its well-loved brands, thrived as a global leader. However, their rapid growth and acquisitions have outpaced their supply chain systems, which struggled to manage the increased scale and diversity of operations. The food giant also lagged in technology and data maturity, with teams still relying on Excel sheets instead of modern solutions.
This gap led them to a pivotal question: What if legacy systems could be replaced with high-tech innovations, and traditional methods could give way to cutting-edge approaches to supply chain management? Inspired by this vision, the company set a bold plan to drive greater growth by reinventing multiple aspects of their business. With the support of their 20,000 team members worldwide, they are leveraging technology, data and AI to achieve this goal.
Managing complex operations involving over 10,000 supply items, such as ingredients and package materials, to create thousands of distinct products for consumers in multiple countries globally is no small feat. The challenge was further compounded by production facilities worldwide with independent systems, which created inefficiencies, and hampered agility and scalability. To stay competitive, the manufacturing giant recognized the need to simplify operations, enhance technology and leverage data more effectively across their supply chain.
Accenture’s Next Stop, Next Gen report reveals that
80%
of companies expect to scale up digitization across supply chain operations and integrate high-quality data within two years, the company wants to go even further by transforming and modernizing their processes, product portfolio and the way they create value with their people.
The multinational food corporation partnered with Accenture, tapping into our expertise in supply chain, sourcing, purchasing, research and development, advanced manufacturing, and data technology. Together, we enhanced their production system at scale by leveraging data, AI, automation and new ways of working to streamline operations. This collaboration improved production and supply chain processes, increased employee engagement, and resulted in a significant boost to operating income.
Accenture, as a trusted partner, transformed the company’s operations to be more data-driven and responsive. Firstly, the team thoroughly reviewed the entire supply chain, from raw materials to production and shipping, assessing maturity, capability and productivity.
We ditched old systems and set up a strong data foundation by building a new data office and moving all data to Google Cloud. By adding smart tools to this data layer, we are helping the company use AI for better planning and forecasting, aiming to boost productivity and generating over half a billion dollars in value to self-fund the reinvention. For example, the food manufacturing giant is using gen AI to predict inventory risks, such as product damage, and suggest solutions, already saving millions yearly. Plus, we created an AI-based platform that helps supervisors and workers communicate clearly, cutting down errors caused by language barriers.
Food manufacturing is central to the company’s supply chain, so we developed a comprehensive manufacturing vision and practical playbook. This system standardizes work processes and ensures team members receive timely information for better decision-making. Now used in all the company’s factories, the system is constantly improved with targeted site training to boost effectiveness.
To prioritize people and culture, a change management team supported new processes, technology, and organizational shifts, ensuring the workforce adopted new ways of working sustainably. Accenture trained the entire sourcing and procurement team, delivering 14 courses over 20 weeks, with each person averaging 21 hours of learning.
We believe that technology and people are inseparable. By merging advanced AI and automation with the client's dedicated workforce, we create a synergy that boosts efficiency and innovation.
Adheer Bahulkar / Managing Director – Consumer Goods & Services, Supply Chain & Operations, Global Lead
Leading through reinvention
By embracing a tech-driven supply chain and industry best practices, the food manufacturer’s teams continuously create value in planning, purchasing, producing and distributing products.
With majority of households having at least one of their brands, the company optimized business processes to deliver the right product to the right region at the right time, boosting customer satisfaction, profitability and efficiency.
They also transformed procurement efficiency by 25%, enabling it to meet market demands faster. As a data-driven organization, they grow sales using new business intelligence to identify the most effective marketing promotions.
In the first quarter of fiscal 2025, the company reported volume-led growth from their flagship and rising brands. They also achieved their safest year on record in fiscal 2024. Additionally, their modernization initiatives have significantly enhanced their ability to support communities. For example, in Q1 of fiscal 2025, they donated over thousands of food items for hunger relief.
Throughout the transformation, the food manufacturer’s people not only learn and grow but also help propel a company with a rich legacy into a modern era of innovation and excellence.
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