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FMC Corporation accelerates multi-million dollar savings with SAP and IBM
Technology Category
- Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Data Exchange & Integration
- Functional Applications - Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERP)
Applicable Industries
- Chemicals
Applicable Functions
- Procurement
Use Cases
- Supply Chain Visibility
- Demand Planning & Forecasting
Services
- System Integration
- Software Design & Engineering Services
The Challenge
FMC Corporation, a specialty chemicals manufacturing company, was facing challenges with its indirect procurement processes. The company's decentralized approach to procurement across its global business units made it difficult to manage and control how employees purchased goods and services. This lack of visibility and operational efficiency prevented FMC from leveraging its global scale to negotiate better deals with suppliers, and made it difficult for the company to understand and manage total procurement spend effectively. The company needed a solution that would allow it to take control over global sourcing and spending, and manage global procurement more efficiently through standardized, automated processes.
About The Customer
FMC Corporation is a specialty chemicals manufacturing company headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The company operates its businesses in three segments: FMC Agricultural Solutions, FMC Health and Nutrition, and FMC Minerals. FMC serves customers through a network of business units within each of its geographic regions. This approach has served the company well for marketing, sales and product development, combining global scale with local knowledge and flexibility. However, the business model also led to decentralized processes around indirect procurement – the sourcing of goods and services for use by internal stakeholders – which dulled visibility and operational efficiency.
The Solution
FMC worked with IBM Global Business Services to implement a standardized source-to-pay process, built on SAP solutions, unifying the way employees in various locations procure supplies and services. The company created a center-led organization that would act as a hub for global sourcing and procurement. With the new organization in place, attention turned to introducing a standardized, scalable platform for managing the entire source-to-pay process, through the eProcure project. The new platform would allow FMC to manage global procurement more efficiently through standardized, automated processes. Additionally, the solution would drive greater spend visibility by offering a single picture of actual purchasing behavior, prices and suppliers across all FMC business units and regions. FMC took a phased approach to the implementation, working with IBM Global Business Services and other partners to roll out the source-to-pay system on a region-by-region basis.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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