Kraft Heinz has announced that it is joining forces with Microsoft to develop solutions to accelerate digital transformation and build a more resilient supply chain.
The initiative is one of Kraft Heinz’s biggest technology investments to date. It will also be key driver of the company’s ambitious AGILE@SCALE approach, the company said in its statement.
Kraft Heinz will migrate a majority of its global data centre assets to Microsoft's cloud platform, Azure, and its enterprise resource planning (ERP) software to SAP on Azure.
Kraft Heinz expects to reimagine its day-to-day operations through this move and create a more collaborative supply chain.
It also hopes to enhance consumer experiences by using real-time predictive analytics for better inventory transparency and forecasting consumer and channel demand.
The efficiencies created through the adoption of digital tools from Microsoft are expected to allow the company to reinvest into its business.
Carlos Abrams-Rivera, executive vice president and president of North America at Kraft Heinz, said, “Our collaboration with Microsoft is a critical piece of our transformation strategy, providing us with the machine learning and advanced analytics to drive innovation and efficiencies across the supply chain so we can get products into the market faster, better serve our customers and, ultimately, deliver on the sustained and growing consumer demand our iconic brands continue to experience.”
Read More: Kraft Heinz Beats Sales Estimates On Higher Prices, Robust Demand
Connected And Collaborative Networks
During the past two years, extreme pressure on end-to-end supply chains have highlighted the need for more connected and collaborative networks between suppliers, buyers, retailers and other parties along the value chain.
Kraft Heinz is focusing on a digitised approach to shift the company to a more predictive strategy and rapid response model to better address supply chain disruptions.
Judson Althoff, executive vice president and chief commercial officer of Microsoft added, “The past two years have highlighted the urgent need for digital-first supply chain solutions across every industry. Through this collaboration, we’re working shoulder to shoulder with Kraft Heinz, applying the power of Azure, data analytics and the industrial metaverse to co-innovate and create hybrid experiences that will ultimately put goods in the hands of retailers and consumers when they need and want them.”
Supply Chain Innovation
The project will see the creation of a ‘Supply Chain Control Tower’ for Kraft Heinz, which will provide real-time visibility into plant operations and automation of its supply chain distribution across Kraft Heinz’s 85 product categories.
Powered by Azure’s AI, IoT and data analytics capabilities, it will enable the company to distribute its products to more than 2,500 US retailer and food service customers and millions of consumers in a swift and cost-effective manner.
Kraft Heinz will create ‘digital twins’ for its 34 manufacturing facilities in North America to help test and improvise solutions and processes before applying them on ground.
The technology will help predict outcomes that identify optimal product capacity and reduce mechanical interruptions by proactively addressing issues before they occur.
It will ensure that the products that reach store shelves and consumers are the highest possible quality.
The collaboration will also include the creation of a joint Digital Innovation Office to co-engineer new solutions that will help the company reimagine digital manufacturing and drive efficiencies with the help of hybrid experiences.
© 2022 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest technology news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
