Building Success: Supporting Global SAP Training for a European Food Company

Our relationship with a world leader in sustainable nutrition for the food, beverage, and pharmaceutical markets began when they reached out to us for support based on our reputation for providing The Right Talent. Right Now. They were seeking five SAP FICO trainers to support Organizational Change Management (OCM) and training for their global greenfield SAP ECC implementation. We quickly supplied the individuals they needed, and our partnership flourished from there.  

After the initial success, the client saw the potential of extending our partnership across their broader SAP landscape. Their Systems Integrator (SI) was unwilling to support the training aspect of their implementation, which created a challenge. However, because they knew they were able to reach out to us at a moment’s notice to find the right trainers, they recognized the value of our contributions and regularly started contacting us every time there was a need. They also recognized our ability to partner with their SI to achieve the desired outcomes. Over time, we became the primary contact for them because of the speed of our response, the quality of consultants we provided, and the relationship we built with them. We supported them with a wide range of trainers in supply chain, warehouse management, quality management, production, sales, distribution, Master Data, and the whole suite of SAP programs. What began as a one-time project evolved into a trusted, long-term partnership as our team expanded its role in helping this client navigate the complexities of their SAP journey.

Global Reach: Sourcing Consultants from Around the World

In addition to various SAP programs, our consultants were placed in several countries, including the United States, Africa, Saudi Arabia, Oman, South Africa, Malaysia, Thailand, Panama, Costa Rica, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Quebec, and China. 

Roles included:

• Supply Chain Trainers 
• Logistics Trainers 
• Production Trainers 
• Transportation Trainers 
• Procurement Trainers 
• Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S) SMEs  
• Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S) Consultants 
• Maintenance Planners/Schedulers  
• Maintenance Reliability Engineers
• SAP Trainers across various modules: 
  • WM
  • SRM
  • QM
  • FICO
  • PP/PP-PI
  • MM/SD/LE
  • PEX
  • PM
  • MDG
  • APO
  • Coupa
  • SAP Preventative Maintenance & Manufacturing

Because the trainings were across so many locations, each trainer customized the training to address cultural nuances, language differences, and the varying skill levels of end-users. The master training document was rolled out and usually in English, so our trainers would have to be fluent in English and the language that they were providing the training in. Languages covered included French, Arabic, Portuguese, Spanish, Malay, Thai, and Mandarin. The eight-week training program included two weeks of prep work for the trainers and six weeks of end-user training, delivered online or in person, depending on each location. This process of document creation, translation, and training delivery was repeated for 25 of the clients’ local go-lives, supplying training to over 15,000 end-users.  

To accommodate our client’s dynamic needs, the trainers were flexible in their schedules and trained in different time zones and shifts. In some cases, we supported 16- or 24-hour shifts. The adaptability of the consultants helped ensure the client’s SAP system was fully adopted in every corner of their business. 

Over the years, we provided more than 350 unique consultant placements to this client, providing them with reliability and a sustainable partnership.

Because we had our bench of consultants ready to go, onboarding times were reduced, and some consultants were placed with this client more than once, meaning our client was confident in their experience levels and the quality of talent we were providing. They also benefited in that they did not have to maintain a full-time global training team, and could onboard and offboard trainers as needed.  

Sustained Trust: A Partnership Built on Reliable Delivery

Our commitment to excellence and flexibility has driven long-term success for the client. Every training initiative, whether large or small, has been completed within the required timeline, supporting 25 local go-lives across 13 countries and 15,000 end-users. This track record of consistent success solidified our role as a trusted partner, helping the client achieve their goals and optimize their global SAP operations. 

This ten-year journey underscores the power of collaboration, adaptability, and trust. From a single project to hundreds of successful deployments worldwide, our partnership has enabled this European food company to master SAP’s full potential across continents, industries, and cultures. 

SAP Training can be a nuanced and complex process to undergo, especially if your organization does not have the in-house experience to support all the necessary activities. That’s where Oxford comes in. We can support your SAP OCM needs, no matter the size or location of your project. 

 

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