Unilever has extended an SAP enterprise resource planning rollout to North America, including integration with its supply chain management system.
The consumer goods company, which makes brands including PG Tips tea, Persil washing powder and Bertolli olive oil, recently told investors it had “successfully completed” the rollout in the run up to Christmas. The US represents a third of its €11 billion (£9.6 billion) global revenues.
Its Western European SAP rollout, where the project began, was completed in 2008. Unilever said two years later that the system was significantly improving “operational execution” and efficiency, as well as dramatically cutting complexity.
The rollout of standardised SAP ERP, with Accenture, is a key part of the One Unilever programme, aimed at unifying business processes. Total savings from all continuous improvement efforts, including IT, had hit €1.5 billion (£1.2 billion) since 2008, Unilever said last week.
Unilever is able to access real time information from its supply chain and procurement systems, which are based around SAP ERP.
