Emballator Group is on a clear growth journey across Northern Europe. To support long-term expansion, improve coordination and establish a modern digital foundation, the group is consolidating its operations on a shared cloud-based business platform from SAP. The ambition is to build a more unified Emballator where common processes and better data create new opportunities internally and in collaboration with customers.
Emballator is part of the family-owned industrial group Herenco and manufactures packaging solutions for a wide range of industries and products — from metal and plastic buckets to tubes, caps and other everyday packaging. The group employs approximately 900 people, is headquartered in Ulricehamn and operates across several Northern European markets.
For many years, several companies within the group ran an older SAP system originally installed in 1999. Over time the environment became increasingly customized locally. Different companies developed their own ways of working, new entities joined through acquisitions, and some operations continued using legacy systems with limited support.
It became clear to Emballator that the group needed a common, more future-proof platform.
“We needed to move away from a situation where the companies worked as islands. Our goal is to operate cohesively as one Emballator with shared processes, greater transparency and a system that can scale with us,” says Thomas Ekström, Head of IT and Business Systems at Emballator Group.
A cloud strategy for a growing group
The decision to move to a cloud-based solution was made in 2021 as part of Emballator’s overall IT strategy. For the group, this was about reducing vulnerability tied to an aging system landscape and creating better conditions for growth, security and continuous development.
They chose the cloud-based business system SAP Cloud ERP. The group’s prior experience with SAP provided confidence in building on a global platform that supports regulatory requirements, standardized processes and new digital capabilities.
Implementation is carried out together with SAP partner Implema. For Emballator, working closely with a partner who understands both the technology and the group’s way of working has been essential.
The initial project covers seven companies within the group. Two companies are already live and further rollouts will happen in phases. During the transition, the team is also evaluating how smaller companies can be connected to the platform in a way that keeps administration manageable.
From local practices to shared standard processes
The new platform covers core business areas from sales and production to billing. A key principle for Emballator has been to adhere to standardized processes as much as possible. That marks a significant change for organizations that previously relied on many local practices, manual workarounds and informal shortcuts outside the ERP. Yet this shift is where much of the value lies.
“In a cloud solution you need to follow the defined processes. When people work outside the system in Excel, traceability is lost. But by using the system we gain better transparency, stronger analytics and reduced dependence on individual knowledge held by single employees,” says Thomas Ekström.
For Emballator, the change is therefore not only technical. Equally important is establishing common ways of working and encouraging collaboration across company boundaries.
“This is a central part of our long-term development. We want a modern, secure and future-proof environment that helps us work more collaboratively and supports our ambition to grow sustainably across Northern Europe,” says Maria Backlund, Head of Marketing and Sales Processes at Emballator Group.
Improved collaboration with customers
Over time, Emballator also sees clear opportunities to create greater value for customers. Several of the group’s larger customers run SAP themselves, which enables more efficient system integrations, improved information flows and enhanced transparency in partnerships. This can range from simpler integrations to better inventory visibility, faster forecasting and more accurate joint decision-making.
Emballator aims for the business platform to support a more cohesive, data-driven and scalable way of working. It should also lay the groundwork for future use of AI in areas with clear business benefit, such as forecasting, financial closing, supplier invoices and other recurring administrative processes.
Building the foundation for the future
Emballator’s slogan is “Always create future.” For the group, that means working long-term and future-proof across products, sustainability and digital development.
The new business platform is part of that direction. Before advancing to areas like AI and more advanced automation, the foundation must be stable, shared and reliable.
“We are still building the foundation. When data, processes and systems are connected, we unlock entirely different opportunities. We want to proceed step by step and focus on initiatives that deliver real business value,” says Maria Backlund.
About SAP
As a global leader in enterprise applications and business-driven AI, SAP (NYSE:SAP) connects business operations with technology. For over 50 years, organizations have relied on SAP to succeed by unifying critical functions such as finance, procurement, HR, supply chains and customer experiences.