+90K
Employees worldwide
Merging Operational Excellence and Digital Transformation to Generate Multimillion Savings: Turning Manual Operations Into Digital Excellence at Scale
Industry: Food & Beverage
Service: Digital & Ai
Service: Manufacturing
Service: Operational Excellence
Service: Operations Strategy and Transformation
Service: People and Organization
Our Client
The company is one of the world’s largest snack companies and operates across more than 80 countries with a portfolio of iconic confectionery and snack brands.
Its European operations encompass 60 manufacturing sites running established operational excellence programs called “I Love Success”, based on integrated lean Six Sigma principles. The company maintains a strong commitment to continuous improvement while navigating the complexities of high-volume food production.
+120
Factories globally
+$30B
Annual turnover
20
Sites in transformation program
The Challenge
The organization recognized that traditional operational excellence alone was no longer delivering the improvements needed for future competitiveness.
- Slowing improvement trajectory: Year-on-year cost reductions were diminishing despite continued OpEx efforts, signaling the need for a step-change in approach
- Fragmented digital initiatives: Initial investments in digital data collection systems had not delivered effective returns in KPI results or productivity improvements, with technical partners lacking operational excellence expertise
- Data quality gaps: The company identified a critical need for improved data granularity, quality and visibility to support decision-making, but previous digital tool implementations had faced adoption challenges
Real Results Achieved Together
The integration of digital tools with operational excellence fundamentals transformed shop floor performance across pilot sites. This unified OpEx4.0 approach demonstrated how connecting data visibility with established improvement methodologies drives sustainable operational gains.
+25%
Line OEE improvement
$15M
Initial investment
18
Months payback period
$6M
Savings per site
Transformation Impact
- Achieved strong adoption of digital tools by both operators and process leaders through effective change management
- Managed variations in OpEx and Digital Maturity across sites through customized support approaches
- Established full digitalization of OpEx methodology with adaptations supporting digital work methods
Our Approach
We introduced the 4Ps framework to guide digital transformation:
- People-oriented adoption
- Progressive complexity from basic to advanced tools
- Partnership between digital and operational excellence
- Profitable returns on investment.
The implementation began with four pilot sites in the UK, Germany, Spain and Poland, each deploying four specific digital tools through “digital sprints” methodology.
EFESO’s blend of OpEx, human dynamics and digital expertise enabled effective adoption alongside the client’s connected worker platform. We addressed natural resistance by demonstrating how digital tools save time while improving efficiency.
The approach emphasized marrying digital capabilities with the existing “I Love Success” program, ensuring tools enhanced rather than replaced established practices. Knowledge transfer became key, as we transitioned from direct implementation to teaching internal teams to deploy solutions independently across the remaining sites.
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Facing Similar Manufacturing Transformation Challenges?
- Struggling to accelerate improvements despite strong operational excellence programs already in place
- Seeking to connect digital investments with tangible shop floor results and measurable productivity gains
- Ready to unite your teams around tools that enhance rather than replace proven methodologies
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