Lactalis Iberia Group Transforms Customer Service Processes With Esker

Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong. — October 3, 2023 — Esker, a global cloud platform and a leader in AI-driven process automation solutions for Finance, Procurement and Customer Service functions, today announced that Lactalis Iberia Group, the Spanish subsidiary of the world’s leading dairy foods company, is automating and optimising its Customer Service processes with Esker. Thanks to AI-powered automation, Lactalis Iberia Group has significantly reduced the time it takes to manage customer orders and, as a result, has achieved greater organisational flexibility and improved 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 (yogurts and desserts). And this year, 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 customised dashboards, where we can easily monitor results and progress for each manager,” said Ángel Ventoso, Head of IT Applications at Lactalis Iberia Group. “Each company has its own dashboard and the security and confidentiality of the information is 100 percent guaranteed.”

Esker Order Management, part of Esker’s Customer Service solution suite, has made it possible to digitally process and integrate all orders regardless of format (spreadsheets by email, orders in the body of the message, PDF, HTML, etc.).

Lactalis Iberia Group is already reaping the benefits of automation. Today, over 85 percent of orders are automatically integrated into its SAP® system. As a result, it takes the Customer Service team only one minute to process an order, down from eight minutes previously, totaling 1,300 hours saved per 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.).

Lactalis Iberia Group also benefits from greater organisational flexibility. The centralisation of processes and procedures means that any user trained in the solution can take over at any time.

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

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

About Lactalis Group

The Lactalis Group, a world leader in dairy products, is a family-owned company with a presence in Spain since 1983. Globally, it is present in 150 countries, has 85,500 employees, operates more than 270 factories and aims to offer consumers an increasingly wide range of healthy, tasty, safe and sustainable dairy products.

In Spain, Lactalis Iberia Group has a firm commitment to creating value in the regions in which it operates. The company has eight factories, six of which are located in towns with populations of less than 25,000.  Lactalis Iberia Group employs 2,500 people and collaborates with more than 1,700 farmers. It is the Spanish dairy company with the most farms certified in Animal Welfare. Lactalis Iberia Group is committed to the circular economy, care for the environment and the Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations, and has improved the sustainability of its packaging and reduced the water and carbon footprint of its production chain. Some of its brands include: Puleva, Lauki, RAM, El Castillo, Gran Capitán, Flor de Esgueva, El Ventero, Chufi, Galbani and Président. For more information on Lactalis Group, visit www.lactalis.com.

About Esker

Esker is a global cloud platform built to unlock strategic value for Finance, Procurement and Customer Service professionals, and strengthen collaboration between companies by automating the cash conversion cycle. Esker’s solutions incorporate AI technologies to drive increased productivity, enhanced visibility, reduced fraud risk, and improved collaboration with customers, suppliers and employees. Founded in 1985, Esker operates in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia Pacific with global headquarters in Lyon, France, and U.S. headquarters in Madison, Wisconsin. For more information on Esker and its solutions, visit www.esker.com.sg. Follow Esker on LinkedIn and join the conversation on the Esker blog.