Hershey's trade promotion management transformation yields sweet rewards

SOLUTION

Unwrapping success with SAP S/4HANA and PwC Managed Services

PwC and Hershey collaborated with SAP to develop a TPM system capable of accurately handling massive amounts of data efficiently and at speed. User adoption was one of the key focuses in the design. TPM implementations often fail because of what some call “the adoption spiral of death” — when technology is too slow or inefficient, users learn to work around it, reverting to ad hoc processes and offline spreadsheets. Before you know it, your expensive, state-of-the-art TPM platform has become a burden rather than an asset.

Integration amid a move to SAP S/4HANA

To avoid that problem, the team implemented the newest version of SAP trade management, a technology designed to help drive faster, more predictable system performance. Using in-memory databases, the SAP-based platform was well-equipped to handle massive simultaneous data aggregations and segregations across Hershey’s many products. And as the amount of data in the system grew over time, the platform could accommodate the increased complexity.

Throughout the build, PwC, SAP and Hershey continued to work in lockstep, developing a range of critical features which then influenced SAP’s standard TPM offerings. PwC shared observations about capabilities that would help Hershey merchandise more effectively with retail partners like grocery and convenience stores, enabling SAP’s product team to tailor the solution to Hershey’s needs in real time. With enhanced speed and purpose-made technical improvements as key ingredients of the new platform, Hershey aimed to keep user satisfaction high and process breakdowns low.

The one-team approach

Following successful implementation, Hershey folded the ongoing maintenance of the platform into a larger enterprise contract with its existing managed services provider. However, the complexity of managing a TPM platform makes maintenance an especially delicate process. Hershey realized that to keep the platform running at its fullest potential, it needed a team of highly specialized SAP TPM professionals with a deep understanding of both its technology and its business process. Having helped with the technology implementation and upgrade, PwC’s Managed Services team was fully equipped to lead the day-to-today management of Hershey’s TPM operations.

PwC’s dedicated one-team approach helps Hershey have a direct line of backup for any problems that are unusually complex and dedicated support to make continuous improvements. For example, after observing Hershey’s yearly challenge of rearranging product organization hierarchies on New Year’s Eve, PwC’s Managed Services team created a process efficiency program to help automate the arduous process of making master data changes. A consistent provider across design, implementation and management can keep the platform running effectively and stabilize day-to-day incidents quickly, taking pressure off the company’s business and IT teams and improving operations companywide.

The triangular collaboration between Hershey, PwC and SAP continues to prove mutually beneficial. Hershey receives swift, targeted support as PwC manages an industry leading TPM platform, including innovating solutions specific to its needs; SAP garners valuable, real-time client feedback, allowing it to continuously enhance its products; and PwC enjoys direct access to industry leading SAP technology as it’s developed.

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RESULTS

A solution chock-full of efficiencies

The new platform helped transform the sales and trade planning process to drive improved trade efficiency and TPM operations from front to back. Unifying disparate processes onto a single cloud-based platform dramatically improved TPM data accuracy, reducing the friction and complexity of day-to-day operations while enabling more data-backed decision-making. Meanwhile, PwC’s Managed Services support helped keep the platform running smoothly, resulting in a more than 50% reduction in incidents in TPM system operations. With fewer incidents and more efficient processes, employees were able to spend less time on administrative work related to weekly volume and promotion updates, assortment maintenance, process constraints, incident management and reporting. Instead, they were able to reinvest that time in more meaningful areas — including a deepened focus on driving customer attraction and loyalty.

Outcomes obsessed = sweet results

Hershey’s new TPM platform has helped to drive significant bottom-line benefits. By injecting another level of analytical rigor and insight into its TPM system, Hershey compels employees to demonstrate, in granular detail, how their plans are built toward company goals. Advanced data analytics tools like A/B testing deliver deeper insights about consumer shopping behaviors, driving more efficient, impactful trade promotions such as customized candy displays and engaging environmental retail design. As an added benefit, Hershey can work with its retailers to create win-win-win promotions: where the customer, Hershey and the retailer all benefit from incremental volume while offering its sweet treats at lower prices.

The advanced analytics also enable more effective financial decision-making and revenue growth management. Hershey has experienced significant benefits from the program within its first five years, with consistent growth in customer return on investment (ROI). As the company looks to the future, its accurate, efficient, well-run TPM continues to deliver value and enable Hershey to do what it does best: delivering sweet experiences and moments of goodness to customers everywhere.

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