CASE STUDY
How did Nutricia gain control over the production plan and raw material availability?
about project
We implemented an advanced production planning system for Nutricia Poland, a leading baby food manufacturer and part of the global Danone Group. Nutricia operates one of the largest plants in the region, producing a broad portfolio that includes dairy products, semi-finished goods, and pasteurized jarred food.
The project extended beyond the production plant to cover external warehouses and cold storage facilities for raw materials such as vegetables and meat. With a multi-stage production process – from raw materials to semi-finished goods and final products – the complexity of operations was a key challenge.
Project objectives and challenges
Production optimization
Reducing machine changeovers and cleaning operations to minimize overall production time.
On-time delivery
Achieving timely order fulfillment with reliable and efficient production planning.
Resource optimization
Maximizing the efficient use of raw materials, packaging, and production capacity.
Production constraints
Factoring in production limitations, particularly allergens and natural colorants, which often require frequent machine changeovers.
Complex production process
The multi-stage semi-finished production system had to support both the Polish plant and other regional factories lacking in-house capacity.
Frequent changeovers and cleaning
Adjustments for allergens (such as milk proteins) and natural colorants led to additional downtime and made scheduling more complex.
Logistical constraints
Coordinating the production plant, warehouses, and cold storage facilities demanded precise transport planning and inventory management.
Meat quality control
Production planning needed to incorporate inspections by independent veterinary authorities, requiring alignment with quality control processes.
Our approach and solution
Setup matrices and production rules
We created a detailed changeover matrix that addressed key constraints, including allergens and natural colorants.
By applying rules to minimize changeovers between product batches, we reduced downtime and limited the need for machine cleaning.
Advanced SAP PP/DS implementation
We applied advanced heuristics in SAP PP/DS to efficiently generate optimal production schedules that considered resource availability, production capacity, and market demand.
We integrated production scheduling with inventory management across external warehouses and cold storage facilities, optimizing both transport and raw material allocation.
Considering key production parameters
We implemented mechanisms to secure minimum batch sizes and optimize the use of raw material units, such as big bags.
We balanced semi-finished product usage, enabling continuous production at the Polish plant while meeting the requirements of other factories in the network.
Logistics process integration
We developed a production call-off system that streamlined transport between the warehouse, cold storage, and the production facility.
By integrating with SAP SNP, we ensured seamless management of material flows and transport scheduling.
Key achievements
32%
reduction in changeovers, significantly shortening production time
5%
increase in machine utilization for dairy products
7%
increase in machine utilization for pasteurized jarred food
14 days
Stabilized two-week production plans, improving raw material management and reducing transport between warehouse, cold storage, and factory
Key business benefits
Reduced downtime
Fewer changeovers and cleaning cycles led to improved production efficiency.
Better resource utilization
Higher machine utilization enabled greater output in shorter production cycles.
Greater predictability
A stable production schedule made it possible to manage inventories more effectively and improve supply chain planning.
Compliance with quality standards
Production processes adhered to strict requirements for allergens and raw materials, supported by independent veterinary inspections.
Conclusion
By implementing an advanced SAP PP/DS system integrated with SAP SNP, Nutricia Poland achieved full optimization of production scheduling. A critical success factor was the development of changeover matrices and production rules, which reduced downtime while addressing constraints linked to allergens and raw materials.
Any questions?
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Łukasz Krukowski
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