Due to the doubling of production capacity at its factory in Nyirbator, Hungary, Unilever had to commission a new local, larger warehouse. With a new warehouse management system (wms). Once again, the food group's choice fell on Extended Warehouse Management (EWM) from SAP.
Unilever already uses SAP EWM satisfactorily in other European automated warehouses. Therefore, the decision to implement EWM in Hungary too was quickly made, but it had to be the 'very latest version'. That became SAP S/4HANA EWM 2020 in Microsoft Azure, with SAP Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) as an add-on. SAP offered implementation assistance as a partner.
The Unilever Home Care division uses the Hungarian plant for household products; from detergents and fabric softeners to all-purpose cleaners and dishwasher tablets. 'Once our finished products arrive at the warehouse, the wms has to ensure correct registration, placement, order picking and shipping,' says Ayush Kumar, top executive at Unilever. But Unilever had more requirements for the new system. For instance, it had to integrate seamlessly into the fully automated ecosystem. In practice, this meant complex integration with about ten local and global systems.
The new solution also had to enable direct delivery from the factory to the customer, in addition to delivery to distribution centres. For Unilever, this is a key issue. Kumar says: 'Direct delivery helps in reducing supply chain costs, optimising logistics processes and reducingCO2 emissions. More efficient logistics means fewer trucks on the road. This is important for achieving our sustainability goals.'