Packaging specialist Hoffmann Neopac wanted to innovate at speed, respond to consumer trends, meet regulations, and cut waste. How could it find and explore its data to optimize operations?

Hoffmann Neopac worked with IBM Gold Business Partner WAGNER AG to move to SAP S/4HANA in a private cloud environment built on high-performance IBM Power Systems servers and IBM FlashSystem storage.

If you squeeze a tube of lotion or open a tin of luxury cream, you may be using a Hoffmann Neopac packaging solution. Serving the food, pharmaceuticals and related specialist sectors, the company invests heavily in research, development and innovation to create new products that offer both optimum functionality and attractive design.

Frank Werdermann, CIO at Hoffmann Neopac, takes up the story: “All of our packaging solutions must be aesthetically pleasing, comply with stringent hygiene and safety regulations, and be super-easy to use. However, consumer tastes and trends are constantly changing, as are industry, government and environmental regulations, which means we must be able to adapt fast.

“Our ultimate goal is to be able to anticipate what customers want, and produce innovative packaging solutions that perfectly meet their needs and solve problems that they didn’t even know they had. To understand packaging trends, and to support more accurate demand forecasting and planning, we wanted up-to-the-second insight into the business. We wanted to optimize manufacturing, reduce our waste, and promote a more sustainable society, while also reducing costs.”

With its SAP landscape now running in the WAGNER AG cloud, Hoffmann Neopac has embarked on an exciting new chapter in the company’s long history.

Frank Werdermann says: “In the past, maintaining the relevant IT skills in-house to support 24/7 operations was a challenge. Now, WAGNER AG’s team of highly skilled experts takes care of our complete SAP landscape. The managed service saves us a great deal of time and effort, while also keeping total cost of ownership low. It means that our small IT team can focus on adding value to the business, not just keeping the lights on.”

The IBM infrastructure delivers round-the-clock availability and high performance—top priorities for Hoffmann Neopac, with production sites in five countries across ten time zones. WAGNER AG guarantees a service-level agreement (SLA) of 99.9 percent uptime and response times of 350 milliseconds or less.

“In daily operations, response times are under 100 milliseconds 90 percent of the time, thanks in large part to the impressive performance of the IBM Power Systems and IBM FlashSystem storage,” says Frank Werdermann. “Most of our customers need just-in-time delivery of our products, so high availability and geographically dispersed resiliency are essential. Since moving to the WAGNER AG cloud, we have experienced 100 percent availability, ensuring 24/7 operations of our mission-critical SAP applications.”

Supported by WAGNER AG, Hoffmann Neopac will also take full advantage of the increased agility and speed of insight provided by SAP S/4HANA.

Frank Werdermann explains: “Real-time analytics powered by SAP S/4HANA will enable us to measure business performance faster and more accurately than ever before. SAP S/4HANA will also allow us to achieve a higher level of automation, so that we will be able to react to changing market conditions, consumer trends and packaging regulations in a more agile manner. Because we will be better able to identify and understand these trends, we will be able to make smarter, data-driven strategic plans.

“Real-time operational insight will also help us to avoid production errors and reduce waste. The introduction of barcode scanners into production and logistics processes will further reduce rejection rates, lowering the number of defects and improving the quality of our output, which in turn will increase customer satisfaction.

“We also expect the SAP S/4HANA solution to make life easier when it comes to proving compliance with customer and industry regulations, since we will have an end-to-end audit trail of all production processes. For example, we will be able to prove that packaging contents are not exposed to any contaminants during production. This will significantly reduce the manual effort taken to complete audits while also building customer trust.”

Furthermore, by harnessing SAP S/4HANA like many of its customers, Hoffmann Neopac will achieve closer integration with their business processes, boosting efficiency. For example, the company is planning to offer vendor-managed inventory services with automated planning and ordering processes, streamlining supply chain operations for both Hoffmann Neopac and its customers. Closer integration with customers’ business processes will also enable Hoffmann Neopac to better anticipate spikes in demand and shorten development cycles.

Frank Werdermann concludes: “Deploying SAP S/4HANA in the WAGNER AG private cloud based on IBM Power Systems will enable us to digitize, automate, streamline and accelerate many of our core business processes, helping us to build a leaner, greener packaging business—setting us up for further success in the years to come.”

Hoffmann Neopac (link resides outside of ibm.com), headquartered in Thun, Switzerland, produces high-quality tins and tubes for some of the world’s leading pharmaceutical, cosmetics, and consumer goods companies. Still a family corporation, Hoffmann Neopac employs more than 1,000 people worldwide, and operates manufacturing sites in five countries.

WAGNER AG (link resides outside of ibm.com) is one of Switzerland’s leading IT services providers, offering a wide range of infrastructure, outsourcing and cloud services. An IBM Gold Business Partner, WAGNER AG draws on years of experience and technical expertise to deliver a first-class service for its clients.