dsm-firmenich: Reimagining post-merger systems and processes with cloud-based solutions
Supporting growth and innovation with cloud transformation
A world-leading innovation partner in nutrition, health, and beauty, dsm-firmenich is undergoing a merger and carve-out in order to continue to meet consumers’ dynamic needs at the intersection of what is essential, desirable, and sustainable. The company wanted to integrate the fragmented technology landscape that had resulted from the reorganization. With a continuously forward-thinking mindset, the company has achieved business continuity while unlocking significant cost savings and future-proofing its operations with SAP’s flexible cloud transformation approach. Now, it can leverage post-merger synergies and integration, reduce risk exposure, and prepare for AI and cloud technologies.
| Industry | Region | Company Size |
| Consumer products | Maastricht, Netherlands, and Kaiseraugst, Switzerland | 28,000 employees |
unified IT landscape, unlocking cost savings.
reduction in financial closing time.
Chief Digital and Information Officer, dsm-firmenich AG
Harmonizing fragmented systems and processes post-merger
Powered by purpose, people, and pioneering science, the businesses of dsm-firmenich AG span nutrition, health, and beauty. The company provides essential, desirable, and sustainable consumer goods, such as plant-based burgers, dietary supplements, and perfumes. With more than a century of world-class scientific leadership, its mission is to bring progress to life.
Following a series of acquisitions, the merger of DSM and Firmenich resulted in fragmented systems and processes, including several ERP backbones, a high and increasing cost of running and maintaining legacy systems, and accumulating technical debt. And multiple commercial contracts with vendors created management complexity and slowed down transformation and innovation opportunities.
As part of its multiyear digital strategy, dsm-firmenich wanted to build a unified, agile, and future-proof technology foundation that would not only deliver post-merger synergies, scalability, and simplification, but most importantly, would advance its mission of bringing progress to life. It wished to optimize costs and transform potential merger opportunities into a competitive advantage for sustainable business growth. dsm-firmenich sought to adopt a “business suite” mindset that would allow it to get the basics right in the areas of financial reporting and consolidation as well as HR and procurement.
Chief Digital and Information Officer, dsm-firmenich AG
Transitioning to cloud-based solutions with flexibility
With a 20-year-plus partnership, dsm-firmenich was already using SAP software, including SAP Ariba, SAP Fieldglass, SAP SuccessFactors, and SAP Commerce Cloud solutions. To harmonize its complex post-merger environment, the company selected several cloud solutions within SAP Business Suite, taking a two-tier approach to process simplification. It deployed public cloud offerings in one of its businesses, allowing it to embed independent and standardized processes early on. For the rest of the company, dsm-firmenich chose the RISE with SAP journey, providing a unified commercial framework and enabling flexible adoption of cloud platforms and an SAP Cloud ERP Private solution. This helped ensure business continuity during its transformation journey. The business is also now consolidating its financial processes with the SAP S/4HANA solution for central finance.
The single commercial framework gave dsm-firmenich predictability in cost levels and flexibility to use SAP S/4HANA Cloud Expertise Services as needed. The team provided specialized technical knowledge in managing the complicated IT integration scenarios and multiple migration paths, including greenfield, brownfield, and bluefield. Also, the “no-regret” strategy allowed dsm-firmenich to begin its digital transformation journey while preserving future flexibility. The company was able to adopt new IT operating and commercial models that supported a transition to new systems and processes at its preferred pace without disrupting business continuity.
Implementing solutions as part of SAP Business Suite provides dsm-firmenich with a modular suite of applications that can be customized and scaled according to its business priorities, adapted at its own pace, and extended to maximize business value. By bringing together applications, data, and AI, dsm-firmenich can address challenges in multiple lines of business and achieve smooth integration across them. The company can use the comprehensive solutions and connected applications to gain visibility into its activities and optimize its enterprise functions in line with its specific business needs.
Chief Digital and Information Officer, dsm-firmenich AG
Standardizing processes to enhance efficiency in operations
Deploying the cloud-based solutions has allowed dsm-firmenich to simplify, modernize, standardize, and harmonize its processes and tools. The company is taking advantage of the future-ready solutions that embrace industry trends such as AI-infused business processes, cloud ERP, IT landscape rationalization, and modular architectures.
For example, harmonizing SAP S/4HANA for central finance with SAP SuccessFactors has improved its finance and HR operations, respectively. Its unified IT landscape provides one way of working in the merged entities, which simplifies communication across its business units. As a result, the company is fostering a unified culture and a more satisfying, engaging, and positive work experience for its employees. It has also standardized its order management process and reduced its time to close by two days. The business has enhanced efficiency in its supply chain, warehouse management, and customer-facing activities.
In addition, dsm-firmenich has streamlined vendor management, delivered immediate cost savings, and reduced its technical debt. Creating a stable, secure, predictable, and cohesive IT landscape helps position the company to easily adopt emerging technologies, such as AI and generative AI. And it can be more agile in adapting to market changes and capitalizing on new business opportunities.
Chief Digital and Information Officer, dsm-firmenich AG
Continuing business transformation beyond cloud ERP
dsm-firmenich is continuing with its cloud ERP transformation, anticipating improvements in on-time in-full performance, reduced operational spend, faster financial closing cycles, and lower inventory levels and write-offs. It also plans to deploy other financial management and sustainability solutions in the future.
dsm-firmenich will look to SAP as its strategic partner in providing guidance, robust support, access to innovation, flexible commercial models, enablement resources, and measurable business value through continuous collaboration. An area of keen interest for dsm-firmenich is generative AI, which it believes can offer deeper insights into customer needs and industry trends. It hopes to use the technology to develop tailored solutions, transform product development, further enhance operational efficiency, and enable more-empowered employees. dsm-firmenich would also like to integrate SAP SuccessFactors solutions with the Joule copilot to provide topic guidance to its customer service agents.