How Howdens Modernized Production with SAP DM
In this customer success story, our experts share how Engineering Industries eXcellence supported Howdens, one of the UK and Europe's largest kitchen manufacturers, in transforming their manufacturing operations with SAP Digital Manufacturing (SAP DM). Facing a strategic shift from make-to-stock to make-to-order production, Howdens needed a modern, scalable solution that could handle customized kitchen offerings — including color personalization — while minimizing waste and complexity.
Engineering Industries eXcellence guided Howdens through the selection and implementation of SAP Digital Manufacturing, focusing on three core drivers: enabling business transformation, leveraging the cloud for easier IT management and ensuring seamless integration with SAP Enterprise Resource Planning (SAP ERP). The first implementation at a paint customization site was a success, paving the way for continued rollout across 140+ production sites. Thanks to this collaboration, Howdens now benefits from streamlined operations, improved agility and a scalable IT environment.
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Full Video Transcript
Today we're diving into a great customer success story where Engineering Industries eXcellence helped Howdens successfully implement SAP. Joining me today is Graham from Engineering Industries eXcellence to share the details of this collaboration.
First, can you describe your collaboration with Howdens and the business challenges you addressed together?
Graham explains that Howdens went through a major business transformation a few years ago, aiming to shift a large part of their production from a make-to-stock to a make-to-order model. As one of the largest kitchen manufacturers in the UK and parts of Europe, Howdens wanted to offer more customized kitchen products — including personalized colors — to stay competitive and meet customer demands. To reduce waste and increase efficiency, this shift to make-to-order was essential.
Now let’s talk about the solution you implemented. What SAP solution did Howdens choose and why?
Graham shares that Engineering Industries eXcellence supported Howdens through the consulting and selection process, ultimately helping them implement SAP Digital Manufacturing. Rollouts began in 2023 and are ongoing across 140 production sites. The choice to go with SAP Digital Manufacturing was driven by three main factors. First, it enabled the business transformation Howdens needed, helping synchronize complex production processes and resources to support customized kitchen manufacturing. Second, they wanted a cloud-based solution to simplify IT management and streamline the deployment of updates across sites. And third, they needed tight functional and technical integration with SAP ERP to create a seamless process from sales order through to customer delivery.
What are some of the benefits Howdens has achieved after implementing SAP solutions with your help?
Graham explains that Howdens has been able to meet their transformation goals. Choosing the right solution for a transformation can be risky, but in this case, the implementation delivered. The first go-live was at a paint customization site, which handled the personalized color offerings. It performed as expected, and based on that success, Howdens began rolling it out to additional sites. Beyond enabling transformation, the move to the cloud also made IT management more efficient and simplified scaling the solution to other locations.
It’s great to hear about the impact. It’s clear that Engineering Industries eXcellence played a key role in Howdens’ SAP transformation. To learn more about how Engineering Industries eXcellence can help your business, visit their website. Thanks for joining us, and we’ll see you in the next one.
