Explore Ferrara’s journey with SAP
Ferrara knows exactly what its customers want – sweet treats and new fun flavors to rock their tastebuds. With access to real-time data and insight from SAP solutions, the sweet snacking company now has a single source of truth to better understand what customers want, so it can consistently deliver data-driven deliciousness.
35
+
diverse and delicious brands.
94
%
reduction in its data storage footprint.
50
%
increase in overall efficiency.
SAP HANA and SAP Analytics allow us to move quickly when it comes to analyzing information and making decisions.
The Challenge
Needing speed and visibility while growing through mergers and acquisitions
Ferrara is an undisputed leader in sweet snacking, with iconic brands like SweeTARTS, Trolli, and Laffy Taffy. The 112-year-old candy giant continues to grow through mergers and acquisitions – such as Nestlé USA Inc.
“There are always challenges as you integrate two companies together,” says Matt Kustes, director of inventory management at Ferrara. From Kustes’ experience, it was critical that the data from the two merging companies match. Doing so allowed the company to react to demand changes and give consumers exactly what they want.
As vice president and CIO George Lesko says, “You want to get the consumer insights, the retail information, and the supply chain all in one place so that consumers don’t have to wait.”
Vice president of Sales Operations & Integration Patrick Degnan agrees with Lesko, adding, “If there are areas where a brand isn’t performing up to expectations, we can’t go weeks, months, and years without knowing that.”
In a prior acquisition, it took us over a year to have access to sales data. SAP HANA allowed us to do that within weeks.
The Solution
Integrating consumer insights with retail and supply chain information
When you acquire an iconic brand like SweeTARTS, integrating all its consumer insights, retail information, and supply chain information in one place is crucial. The SAP HANA database and SAP Analytics solutions allowed the candy giant to do this faster than ever before – “Ferrara Fast.”
Ferrara also invested in Qualtrics XM Platform to really understand customers and the sweet treats they will be craving next. Through projects like flavor studies, the team can gather important customer feedback that details insights into customer attitudes, informing their overall product road map.
“Taking that data from the SAP environment and generating insights and the knowledge to make effective business decisions has been a big win for Ferrara,” acknowledges Kustes.
Meanwhile, with SAP Customer Data Platform, Ferrara has a centralized data foundation to ingest, process, and share customer data in real time, allowing it to double down on targeting. And with SAP Emarsys Customer Engagement, Ferrara can target at a granular level, ultimately paving the way for hyperpersonalized customer experiences that resonate with brand fans.
Making delicious decisions with Qualtrics from SAP
Find out how SAP HANA and Qualtrics XM Platform help Ferrara understand consumer behavior, identifying what customers want through consumer insights and driving decision-making.
The Result
70% reduction in development costs
Today, Ferrara’s data landscape and its ability to extract value from data is a major competitive differentiator. With a consolidated foundation in place, the company’s IT team can deliver results like never before, and the executive team can make decisions based on clear, objective data, eliminating boardroom debates about names and packaging.
Real-time insight is also valuable to the sales teams at Ferrara. It pinpoints where problems may exist, so the company can fix them quickly.
As Ferrara moves forward, SAP HANA and SAP Analytics will continue to play vital roles. “The business users love us now because we can respond to issues immediately,” says Gene King, senior manager for SAP Business Intelligence and App Development at Ferrara. “We’re adding so much value very quickly.”
We’re consumer-driven, so we need as much information as possible. We need to understand behaviors for the people that go into the store… and we need to understand what they want from us next.
Sweetening customer engagement across brands
Find out how Ferrara is building relationships with fans across its iconic brands by creating a modern omnichannel experience with customer data solutions from SAP and the SAP Emarsys Customer Engagement solution.
SAP helps Ferrara run better
Key business outcomes and benefits
Featured solutions and services
About Ferrara
Ferrara is an undisputed leader in sweet snacking. It believes in sharing delight in every bite through high-quality products, superior innovation, and a portfolio of beloved brands.
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