Bewel partners with delaware for SAP implementation and upskilling of 2,200 workers
By partnering with technology consultancy delaware, Bewel implemented a comprehensive, integrated HR landscape centered on SAP SuccessFactors to transform employee development from merely a ‘box-ticking exercise’ into a strategic driver of growth and compliance.
Bewel, a 2,200-employees mechanical and industrial engineering company based in Belgium’s Limburg province, has successfully modernized its HR strategy to more effectively connect employee growth with day-to-day operational needs.
At the helm of this transformation was global consultancy delaware, which operates in 20 countries and boasts partnerships with SAP, Microsoft, Salesforce and OpenText. Bewet and delaware worked hand-in-hand from the very beginning of the transformation process.
“The project only worked because the focus stayed on people and their day-to-day work instead of just the technology,” says Kenny Gysemans, project lead at delaware.
This transformation revolved around implementing the SAP SuccessFactors suite of tools. This solution by SAP offers cloud-based human capital management (HCM) software modules, which are used by businesses to manage the entire employee lifecycle, from recruiting and payroll to performance, learning, and succession planning. It serves as a unified digital platform that helps organizations streamline HR processes.
Implementing solutions
Bewel recognized the need for a unified platform that both HR and operations could use to keep track of employee development and help inform decisions on staffing. The company had been facing challenges aligning employee growth with their evolving production needs.
In addition to internal pressures, Belgian law also requires annual reporting on employee development. It was clear that Bewel needed to enact a plan for continual development for their employees.
“Upskilling our workers is essential to our mission,” says Liesbeth Gerits, director of HR and organizational development at Bewel. “However, creating these employee development plans had turned into a box-ticking exercise. We needed a system that actually helped people grow.”
The various tools available in the SAP SuccessFactors suite were key to the transformation. For example, management and learning modules gave Bewel the ability to better manage personnel data, performance cycles, and development initiatives in a centralized and auditable way.
Another module, the SAP Datasphere, integrates HR and operational data into a single dynamic, analytics-ready tool that can help teams with better reporting, talent planning, and performance tracking.
There is also ‘the Growth Companion App’, which is a custom-made Competence App on the SAP Business Technology Platform. This was designed for Bewel’s floor supervisors to be able to log skills and behavior in real-time, all while aligning with delaware’s growth frameworks.
Overall, the new system aligns professional growth initiatives seamlessly with the demands of daily operations in this complex industry. HR, supervisory staff, and production teams now have a central, consistent overview of worker skills, which is vital for efficient staffing and focused talent development.
“We wanted to make competence tracking as easy as checking your phone. With this solution, team leads no longer need to guess who’s ready for what. They see it, they log it, and they can act on it,” added Gerits.
Belgium-headquartered delaware has over 15 years of experience in delivering SAP solutions around the world. Earlier this year, SAP named delaware as its leading digital supply chain partner in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The firm is a SAP global platinum reseller, meaning that it is a top-level partner authorized to sell and implement SAP products worldwide, recognized by SAP for excellence in expertise and customer satisfaction.
