Client Background
Client: Multinational chemical manufacturing company
Industry: Chemicals
Products/Services: Client operates through three Strategic Business Units – Petrochemicals, Agri-Nutrients and Specialties – and one standalone organization, Metals. They support customers by identifying and developing opportunities in key end markets such as construction, medical devices, packaging, agri-nutrients, electrical and electronics, transportation and clean energy.
Area of Operation: Middle East
Challenge
A key component of financial success for a major global manufacturing company was knowing when, where, and how much to produce or stock a given product– and which end-user market offered the most potential profitability. To effectively identify and capitalize on new opportunities, the company sought to optimize its end-to-end sales and operational planning cycle.
This strategic initiative would replace manual processes and the need to rely on individual experience with a more automated, intelligent, and dynamic solution across the value chain – and enable the chemical manufacturer to make more accurate predictions in a fluctuating market and better connect its planning and execution.
Approach & Solution
Over several weeks, Wipro conducted extensive research and analysis and collaborated with a wide community of stakeholders to create a more intelligent solution to sales and operational planning. This effort involved three broad steps:
The critical element of Wipro’s approach was the application of artificial intelligence and machine learning. This was key to delivering a robust optimization solution that could model various scenarios, dynamically replan in real time, and, ultimately, provide the most profitable sales and operations plan.
Ultimately, Wipro designed a modular end-state solution that would deliver the features and functionalities of an AI-enabled user journey for sales and operational planning. Wipro also developed a five-year implementation roadmap and release strategy, identifying and articulating more than 100 functional and technical requirements. This plan included requirements for a minimal viable product so that the customer could quickly see a proof of concept.
Business Impact
Through this strategy-focused engagement, Wipro has created a solid foundation for the client through clearly identified solution objectives and business requirements along with a deep understanding of data readiness. Wipro also delivered a solid business case to deliver $100 million in operating margin benefits over three years for the initiative and gave the client a good jump-start on transforming its sales and operations planning function through the application of artificial intelligence and machine learning.