Explore Mabe’s supply chain transformation journey with SAP
A producer of household appliances, Mabe S.A. de C.V. was using manual means to collaborate with direct materials suppliers on production planning, inventory, and quality processes. As part of a digital supply chain transformation, Mabe streamlined these processes using SAP Business Network for Supply Chain to collaborate with its trading partners more quickly and efficiently.
| Industry | Region | Company Size |
| Consumer products | Mexico City, Mexico | 20,000 employees |
suppliers using SAP Business Network.
trading partners transacting by project completion.
Project Manager and Digital Transformation Leader, Mabe S.A. de C.V.
Moving from manual to automatic processes to improve operational efficiency
Mexican appliance manufacturer Mabe makes washers, cookers, and refrigerators for customers in more than 70 countries worldwide. The company was using manual processes, such as e-mail and Microsoft Excel spreadsheets, to retrieve information from its ERP system and send it to suppliers. Mabe’s products consist of hundreds of parts, so these manual processes were inefficient and negatively impacted service levels. Mabe sought the capability to share data automatically and obtain supplier confirmations in a consistent manner.
When it embarked on this journey four years ago, Mabe focused on demand planning, logistics, and manufacturing, as part of a wider supply chain transformation initiative. The business analyzed the information within these areas to see which tools would best help it streamline processes.
Project Manager and Digital Transformation Leader, Mabe S.A. de C.V.
Fostering greater collaboration with a stronger supply chain network
Mabe deployed the SAP Business Network Supply Chain Collaboration solution, enabling enhanced collaboration on planning, subcontracting, quality, consigned inventory, and related supply chain processes with trading partners, including direct materials suppliers and logistics and services providers. The company can share information with its suppliers, providing a single source of truth and greater efficiency. For example, some suppliers can now use the solution to create invoices automatically, which means there are fewer errors and less manual creation and management of invoices. This frees up time for the company’s accounts payable department.
Collaboration on forecasts, for example, was previously done using e-mail and Microsoft Excel. Now, with SAP Business Network integrated with the SAP Integrated Business Planning (SAP IBP) for Supply Chain solution, the company can more easily evaluate demand, make production plans, share those plans with suppliers, and obtain suppliers’ commitments. Using SAP Business Network, suppliers can view Mabe’s demand forecasts within a 40-week horizon, commit to a production level, and adapt their production accordingly. This early visibility helps the whole network improve efficiency and customer service levels.
Project Manager and Digital Transformation Leader, Mabe S.A. de C.V.
Increasing visibility and assurance of supply through supplier collaboration
SAP Business Network for Supply Chain is proving very popular at Mabe, as it allows users to make more-informed business decisions by analyzing real-time data. It centralizes collaborative supply chain information, so there’s less need for paperwork and manual tasks for both Mabe and its suppliers. Efficiency and productivity have therefore been improved, and the advance notice created in the network means the company has good knowledge of the supply status quo. Supplier commitments can be shared through planning collaboration, which provides Mabe with even more visibility. And as Mabe improves visibility into supply by using the network, its own inventory can be reduced.
Agility is also increasing. For example, the business network shares updated material requirements plans with suppliers automatically and lets them respond to Mabe in a very flexible and consistent way. This automated process is much faster, more consistent, and more accurate than the manual collaboration with which Mabe previously engaged its suppliers.
One of the key challenges for the company was to get buy-in both internally and externally on the need for digital transformation. This has made change management an important aspect of Mabe’s transformation. The company’s change management team has created a series of communications and tools, including videos, to help educate employees and train suppliers about the merits and functionalities of the network.
Expanding the network and looking at logistics
Mabe plans to finish implementing SAP Business Network for Supply Chain with 600 suppliers in Mexico before rolling the network out to an additional 2,000 suppliers in other countries, such as Argentina, Colombia, and Ecuador. In addition to working with suppliers of raw materials and finished goods, the company is investigating the possibility of engaging with some suppliers from which it buys spare parts.
Mabe also intends to implement a new logistics model that includes tools such as the SAP Transportation Management application while expanding its use of available-to-promise capabilities to add value for customers on an outbound basis.
By deploying the SAP Business Network Freight Collaboration solution, Mabe can extend these processes to trading partners to provide planning and collaboration capabilities in freight and transportation.