Deploying SAP QM as a Global Solution

Lessons Learned
Stephanie Cunningham, Carl Dunlap & Colin Roney

About Unilever
We work to create a better future every day.
We help people feel good, look good and
get more out of life with brands and
services that are good for them and good
for others.

Leading consumer products company

400+ brands sold in more than 180
countries
2 billion consumers worldwide use a
Unilever product on any day
More than 171,000 employees
Worldwide turnover was 51.3 billion in
2012

About QMS
Largest Pure Play QM & Manufacturing Consulting Company in
North America
Unparalleled experience in SAP Quality Management
Focus on using SAP to meet Quality & Regulatory
Deep Industry Experience

Discrete Industry
Medical Devices
Semiconductor & High Tech Electronics
Aerospace & Defense

Process Industry
Consumer Products, Food
Pharmaceutical & Biotech
Chemical & Industrial

Learning Points
Learn how to deliver a Global QM design that encompasses
category, region, and site differences.
Learn how to construct master data that can be global in
nature, but specific enough for a factory site.
Learn how planning, communication & coordination were
handled across diverse sites with independent systems.
Most importantlyLearn from our experiences.

In the business
world, the
rearview
mirror is
always clearer
than the
windshield.
Warren Buffett

Windshield View Versus

Rearview Mirror View

In the Beginning..Systems
Our custom Specification System was not well utilized
Different sites had varying levels of Quality Systems in place

No uniform system for recording data from the Quality Systems

No visibility into the Quality Systems by interested parties

In the Beginning..Culture
Culture Change Desired by Top Leadership

Too Much Acceptance of the Status Quo Within the

Business
Weve Always Done It This Way
Nothing Is Going To Change
Program of the Month
Cross-functional Understanding and Ownership Of
Overall Quality System and Elements by Research &
Development, Procurement, Regional Quality, Global
Quality, Regulatory, and the Production Sites Was Not In
Place

On Our Way
SAP QM was chosen as the foundation for the project as part of a
larger program of consolidating the global to one SAP platform by
Key Sponsors
SAP QM Implementation was mandatory for all the Unilever
plants in the Americas
The implementation was to harmonize the QM functions of all the
plants within the region and to match the previous Global
programs
Common procedures and KPIs was to make tracking of plants,
suppliers and materials across the region synchronized

Effective Communication
Strategy
Initial Site Interviews to Explain the Program All Sites Needed to Be
Involved

Meetings Every Three Weeks with the SAP QM Community, Monthly

with Plant Leadership, and Weekly with Project Leadership
Engagement of R&D, Procurement, Go-To-Market Quality, and
Technical Innovation Management in the Project
Alignment by Category
User Group Website

Important Messages Need

to Be Delivered Multiple
Times

Plan for Life After the Project

Director Level
Involvement For Resource
Commitment Needed to
Start Earlier
Dont Text
and Drive

Data Cleansing
Extraction of Every Single Inspection Plan Requirement for Every
Material from the Corporate Specification System
Initial Review by the Manufacturing Facilities

Alignment on the Correction of Data by Category

Secondary Review by the Research and Development Community

Distribution of Corrected Specifications to Suppliers by

Procurement

Underestimated the
Scope, Complexity, and
Resource
Requirements for this
Effort

Engagement and Ownership of Specifications by All Aspects of the

Business

Structure of QM Data - Goals

Simplify QM Master Data Creation & Maintenance
Map to current Global Specifications System
Allow flexibility for Inspection Plans Specifications by Plant,
while maintaining integrity of Global Specifications

Design for Quality Data Format

Master Inspection Characteristics Setup Once in Plant C000

Inspection Methods Setup Once In Plant C000

Test the Functionality and
Security in the Production
System With Enough Time
to Make Changes

Usage Decision Codes Maintained in One Global List

Design for Quality Data Format

Language specific descriptions maintained as needed for Future
Rollouts

Have a Plan for Who Will Add to and Change

These Elements After the Project is Over
Ownership and Responsibility
Security
Training and Resource Materials

Structure for Inspection Plans

Inspection Plans are Plant Specific

and based on the Unilever Global System

Confidential
Information

Confidential
Information

Structure for Inspection Plans

Inspection Plans Operation Overview
Linkage Between the
Structure of the Corporate
Specification System and
the Operation Overview

Inspection Plans Characteristic Overview

Confidential Information

Request to Change the

DMRs to the Characteristic
Level versus the Plan Level

Resources Needed to
Manually Maintain the Plans
Was Underestimated

New Interface Between Corporate

Specification System and SAP QM
Developed to Ensure Automatic Update of SAP QM When the
Corporate Specification System was changed
Inconsistencies in specification structure made interfacing to
SAP challenging

SAP Netweaver Process Integration (PI) was used as the

application integration software.

Drove the Behavior

Desired by the Quality
Community In the
Business

Complexity In
Coordinating the
Development of a 3 Part
InterfaceR&D, PI, and
QM

Need for New Functionality for

Consumer Relevant Quality Standards
Global Initiative to Standardize Measurement of Finished
Product Quality, based on a Three Color Visual Assessment

Packaging Standards Not Included in the Global Specifications

System
Needed To Move Assessment and Data Entry to the Production
Floor, driven by the Production Order

Need for New Functionality for

Consumer Relevant Quality Standards
Manual Addition of the Consumer Relevant Quality Standards as
a New Operation to Existing Inspection Plans

Global Catalogs, Maintained By a Central Business Function

Entry of Number of Samples and Defects with Automatic Closure
When No Defects Are Founds

Global Reporting and Consolidation for All Regions

Training Strategy
End-to-End User Training
Training Modules and Software Simulations

for Independent Use

Super User Training By Category

Test System with Live Data By Site

Onsite Support for Training Prior to and During Go-Live
Follow Up Sessions During the Go-Live Week

Ongoing Community of Practice Meetings

SAP QM 101 for Functionality
Long-Term Plans for Knowledge Transfer

Help Desk Support Structure

Key Learnings
Get the right people with the right background on your team
Communicate, Over-communicate, and More Communication
Listen to Concerns from Non-SAP Users Novel Solutions
Training, Training, and More Training
Stakeholder Buy-in
Category Alignment

Contingency Plans for Contingency Plans

Robust Processes for Peripheral Business Changes Global Perspective
Long Term Plans for Life After Go-Live

Questions?????

THANK YOU FOR PARTICIPATING

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