HEINEKEN France, with support from TNP Consultants, has embarked on its “data transformation” journey in alignment with the HEINEKEN Group’s strategic vision. This initiative focuses on establishing robust data management foundations, developing analytical use cases, and fostering team acculturation.

A subsidiary of the HEINEKEN Group, the leading brewer in Europe and second-largest worldwide beer distributor, HEINEKEN France is striving to become the premier connected brewer and distributor in the digital era through its EverGreen 2025 strategy. To realize this vision, the Group has initiated a global program to harness data as a key competitive advantage.

HEINEKEN France engaged TNP’s expertise to define and implement its data strategy, aiming to bolster data governance, enhance data comprehension and quality, and expand data utilization across the organization.

A Pragmatic Approach Anchored in Three Pillars

The strategy entailed four pillars: establishing sustainable data governance, iteratively implementing operational changes via analytical use cases, fostering change management and staff acculturation, and integrating data management into ongoing projects. This approach facilitated foundational progress in data management while swiftly delivering tangible outcomes to secure buy-in from business units.

Louis Houngavou, Associate Director at TNP and project manager, elucidated, “To propel HEINEKEN France toward the Group’s ambitious data objectives, we embraced a pragmatic approach focused on people and value creation.”

The initiative prioritized use cases with immediate value potential, particularly in supply chain, sales, and customer service. Simultaneously, rigorous attention was devoted to critical data elements: documentation, catalog integration, quality assurance, and implementation of quality indicators (KQIs).

Emeline Fabre, Head of Data Management & Advanced Analytics at HEINEKEN France, underscored the significance of connecting data management with business needs through analytics use cases, citing it as a key tenet of the program’s success.

In under two years, the project has addressed 12 use cases, documenting nearly 400 critical data items and measuring quality through over 600 KQIs, resulting in a reference data quality of 99.8%. Additionally, nearly 40 analytical use cases have been operationalized.

Navigating the Human Aspect: A Key Transformational Challenge

HEINEKEN France encountered a significant challenge in humanizing data usage across the organization to align with the Group’s democratization goals. This involved preparing data managers and fostering data literacy among all staff. TNP collaborated with HEINEKEN France to implement a multi-channel awareness, communication, and acculturation plan, including initiatives like a data competition to foster engagement and identify champions.

This multifaceted project, spanning data management, analytics, and change management, demanded considerable commitment, facilitated by senior management sponsorship at HEINEKEN France and the Group’s receptiveness to innovative approaches.

Emeline Fabre expressed satisfaction with the program’s progress, noting, “Through this data initiative, we’re driving profound change, navigating resistance with tailored strategies. At HEINEKEN France, the data momentum is palpable.”

Indeed, business units are increasingly proposing ambitious and innovative use cases, signaling the dynamic shift towards data-driven decision-making within the organization.