Barry Callebaut Forms AI and Cloud Partnership With Microsoft to Drive Digital Transformation
Chocolate and cocoa manufacturer Barry Callebaut has been progressing on its digital transformation goals. As part of this, the company is securing a partnership with Microsoft to use artificial intelligence and cloud-supported data and analytics tools to simplify and digitize its front and back ends and introduce efficiencies across the value chain.
The next step in Barry Callebaut's strategic investment program, BC Next Level, involves using these collaborative technologies to streamline production, optimize its supply chain, and elevate customer experiences through increased speed to market.
Amr Arafa, Barry Callebaut’s chief digital officer, said BC Next Level aims to foster simplicity and digitalization, and the partnership will help unlock possibilities along the digital transformation journey.
More About BC Next Level
The company’s transformation program was first introduced last year. At that time, Barry Callebaut said it would be investing $559 million over the next two years in core customer areas such as innovation, service, sustainability, and quality to boost efficiency across the organization.
Barry Callebaut created a new customer supply and development organization focused on elevating product delivery and expediting innovation at scale. Also, a core component of this strategy involves a new operating model that increases the company’s regional footprint from three to five — Western Europe, Central & Eastern Europe, North America, Latin America, and Asia Pacific Middle East & Africa — supported by globally standardized and digitized processes.
To support these efforts, Barry Callebaut hired Clemens Woehrle as its chief customer supply and development officer last October. He joined a more focused executive committee that reduced from nine members to six. The company also hired Arafa as part of this strategy to lead digital innovation efforts in the newly created role of chief digital officer.
As a result of these changes, the company expects to deliver savings of $279 million per year related to an optimized manufacturing footprint, streamlined functions, shared service centers, and end-to-end supply chain transformation.
