Grupo Multilaser: Engineering a future-proof foundation to support complex business operations and ambitious growth plans
Adapting to the needs of the modern marketplace
Grupo Multilaser, a leading Brazilian electronics company, sought a new IT infrastructure to keep pace with its fast-growing and complex operations. The RISE with SAP journey allowed the business to combine competent technical leadership, a structured methodology, strategic partners, and a best-practice approach to help build a solid foundation for the future.
| Industry | Region | Company Size |
| Consumer products | São Paulo, Brazil | >4,500 employees |
to process e-commerce orders, down from 2.5 minutes.
reduction in IT infrastructure size.
reduction in resource consumption.
Chief Technology Officer and Chief Experience Officer, Grupo Multilaser
| Industry | Region | Company Size |
| Consumer products | São Paulo, Brazil | >4,500 employees |
to process e-commerce orders, down from 2.5 minutes.
reduction in IT infrastructure size.
reduction in resource consumption.
Chief Technology Officer and Chief Experience Officer, Grupo Multilaser
Modernizing ERP to enable complex operations and future expansion
Grupo Multilaser is one of the largest technology and consumer goods businesses in Brazil, with an annual turnover of roughly R$4.5 billion (US$826 million). Over 35 years, the company has built an extensive portfolio of more than 5,000 products in 15 categories. These include electronic devices, audio and video equipment, home appliances, automotive accessories, and toys, as well as products in the sports, home and garden, and health and wellness segments. Multilaser manufactures and markets its products under the brands of Multi, Blue, Litet, Multikids, Wellness, Pulse, Atrio, and Warrior, among others. It represents Razer Inc. and DJI while also making goods for large brands such as Toshiba Corporation, Hisense Group Company Limited, Oppo, and Royal Enfield. With a strong national presence, the company uses several distribution channels, namely, large retail outlets and e-commerce, offering 40,000 points of sale and 90 marketplaces that serve millions of consumers countrywide.
Multilaser’s previous back-end system had met its needs for years, but it presented limitations in keeping up with the growth and complexity of operations. So, the business launched a large-scale ERP implementation project to create a future-proof foundation. The project had to address challenges such as the billing-impact adjustment period, initial system stabilization, and the complexity of integrating multiple sales channels. The company also needed to adjust its on-premises infrastructure while reducing a large volume of customizations to meet specific operational requirements.
Chief Technology Officer and Chief Experience Officer, Grupo Multilaser
Digitalizing with a structured approach and strategic partnerships
To begin its digital transformation, Multilaser embarked on the RISE with SAP journey anchored by RISE with SAP Methodology, which offered guidance on the transformation process, including comprehensive self-guided and assisted services and tools. Multilaser began by stabilizing and optimizing its IT environment. Next, it worked on refining the implementation of cloud ERP, reducing its customizations in a planned way, implementing the correct workflows and processes aligned to best practices, and adopting a continuous back-to-standard approach.
Multilaser marked a significant milestone in little more than a year, when its IT environment was able to support 25% of its monthly sales in a single day. The electronics business then migrated from a 1.5 TB on-premises environment with more than 190 integration interfaces to SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition in three and a half months, two weeks ahead of schedule. Its specialized internal team carried out the project and engaged with the SAP Enterprise Cloud Services team. Multilaser relied on the SAP team for guidance in ongoing services and support, technical and infrastructure-related topics, activity management, and contract replacement. The SAP team supported the project from the outset, identifying key roles in the journey, escalating queries, leading postprocessing activities, clarifying necessary steps, and overseeing timelines. The team also conducted weekly checks with Multilaser during the project and still provides follow-up services.
In preparing for the go-live event, Multilaser also took advantage of the continuous quality check for business process improvement, as well as best practices for straightforward and timely communication and to understand the minute-by-minute task requirements.
The company attributes its successful solution implementation to several key factors, including the methodological preparation, a precise and structured methodology, effective and efficient technical leadership, and a focus on change management. In addition, there was a mindset change in accepting the strict governance and core business focus brought about through the RISE with SAP journey. Multilaser has integrated SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition with its other SAP solutions and third-party applications, as shown in the diagram.
IT Executive Manager, Grupo Multilaser
Achieving system stability and enabling a focus on innovation
The RISE with SAP journey has brought significant technology benefits to Multilaser. For example, it has helped reduce the size of its IT infrastructure by up to 20% and its resource consumption by 33%, improving performance. The company has minimized latency through optimized mission-critical processes, and it has enhanced security with structured governance and improved access profiles. Delegating the technical operations to strategic partners, including 24x7 monitoring by SAP Enterprise Cloud Services, has enabled a stronger business focus. And the scalability of SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition allows Multilaser to support processing spikes across multiple business units.
The business and operational results have also been substantial. Multilaser has decreased the processing time of both its e-commerce orders and reinvoices by more than 90% and its customizations by 20%. Further, the company has successfully implemented the back-to-standard approach for its key processes, using core functionality spanning warehouse management, materials management, production planning, and sales and distribution.
Having achieved system stability, Multilaser can now focus on innovation, such as using drones for inventory control and automating counts and reconciliations between the target and physical inventory. The company is currently upgrading to the latest release of SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition and is able to focus on new business initiatives without infrastructure concerns while also considering the use of AI in the future. Multilaser is now well positioned to continue its innovation trajectory and leadership in the Brazilian market.
IT Executive Manager, Grupo Multilaser