Esker transforms Lactalis Iberia

The Spanish subsidiary of the world’s leading dairy foods company Lactalis Iberia Group, is now automating and optimizing its Customer Service processes using Esker’s (www.esker.co.uk) leading AI-powered automation solutions to radically reduce the time it takes to manage customer orders, thereby giving greater organizational flexibility and improving supply chain efficiency.

In 2017, the company began its digital transformation of key business areas, including Customer Service, with the goal of moving from a purely administrative management structure to delivering value to customers and employees alike.  In 2021, Lactalis Iberia Group partnered with Esker to automate customer orders for three of its companies: Lactalis Forlasa (cheese), Lactalis Puleva (milk) and Lactalis Nestlé (yoghurts and desserts).  In 2023, a fourth company was added, Lactalis Food Service Iberia, serving the hotel, restaurant and café (HoReCa) channel.

The objective of the project was two-fold: increase efficiency and unify the processes of the four companies while maintaining the specificities of each one.

“Esker’s solution provides us with visibility and analysis capabilities via customized dashboards, where we can easily monitor results and progress for each manager,” explains Ángel Ventoso, Head of IT Applications, Lactalis Iberia Group.  “Each company has its own dashboard, and the security and confidentiality of the information is 100 per cent guaranteed.”

Using Esker’s solutions, over 85% of orders are automatically integrated into Lactalis Iberia’s SAP® system.  This has seen the time it takes the Customer Service to process an order drop from eight minutes to one, representing a total of 1,300 hours being saved each month.  Additionally, the elimination of manual order entry errors coupled with faster order handling time, has led to greater productivity in the supply chain – reducing stressors in each of its elements (stock, transport, warehouses, etc.).

“Automating our order process has generated significant time savings and, consequently, important cost savings for our order department,” says Patricio Corrales, Head of Customer Service, Lactalis Nestlé.  

Thanks to automation and the elimination of paper, Lactalis Iberia Group saves approximately 54,000 sheets per year and frees up the need for physical archiving space, 14,300 litres of water and 1,300 kg of CO2 that will no longer be emitted into the atmosphere.

In addition, the centralization of processes and procedures means that any user trained in the solution can take over at any time, giving Lactalis Iberia Group greater organisational flexibility.

“Esker has helped us improve processes and generate value, not only for us and our customers, but also throughout our supply chain, an area where we continue to invest through various partnerships,” comments Corrales.