The level of professionalism DACG has demonstrated in this project is outstanding.

Unilever and myself had very high expectations from DACG, and the company managed to exceed these expectations!
Chris Wolff
Unilever ESAP Communication, Training and Project Control Manager.

Solutions for people and technology

DACG Partners Unilever in European Growth Project

The Home and Personal Care Europe (HPCE) business group of Unilever one of the largest consumer goods businesses in the world has embarked on a three year programme to streamline its business and working processes to support profitable growth for the company. The development and implementation of its European Standardised Information and Processes (ESAP) system is being undertaken in partnership with DA Consulting Group (DACG), the worlds largest sole provider of end-user training services. Launched in 2001, the project will eventually involve the training of 5,000 employees across Europe, and has already won a Gold Award for Project of the Year from the Institute of IT Training. Unilever and DACG
Unilever operates two business groups, Unilever Best Foods Europe (UBFE) which includes brand names such as Flora, Lipton and Knorr. Unilever Home and Personal Care Europe (HPCE) whose broad range of categories includes fabric cleaning, deodorants, oral care, household cleaning and hair care, with brand names such as Dove, Domestos, Organics and CIF. Both these business groups are currently implementing SAP, and have chosen DACG to provide the education solution for the roll-outs across Europe. At its completion by the end of 2003, the system will have 5,000 users spread across the UK, Italy, Greece, Germany, France, Holland, Spain and the rest of western Europe, all of whom will need to have been trained in local languages to ensure the success of the project.

Unilever DACG Solution

An implementation of such scope and ambitious timeframe meant the remit and responsibilities of the training partner were broad and far reaching.The specification for the training programme alone comprised of the following elements: Training Needs Analysis, including Role Analysis and Localisation Analysis. Business Process Definition and Mapping. Business Process Training. Development of all end-user support materials including helpcards, system task documentation, and change communication materials. Provision of context-sensitive EPSS system DA Passport. Provision of web-based front-end solution The DA Learning Centre. Provision of System training and role based training using DACGs Reference Based Training approach. Translation and localisation of all materials required by the countries, including the Learning Centre. Training delivery in local language. Provision of a Change Communications strategy. Measurement of acceptance of training using a standardised evaluation programme. Ensure knowledge transfer so that Key Users obtained the skills to deliver training, co-train and support end users. This was achieved by the DiplomA Courses: Train the Trainer, Documenting for Business Systems, comprising of Material Maintenance Methodologies and Trainer Assessment. Close co-operation with training schedulers to manage scheduling and attendance. Thorough and in-depth Training Programme Management from conception to delivery, ensure consistency and high quality throughout all countries and companies.

The HPCE ESAP Project

In 2001 the HPCE division of Unilever took the strategic decision to streamline its business processes and to introduce common working processes in order to achieve quicker access to better quality information; to allow faster decision-making; and to increase the speed with which new products are brought to market. The initiative will also help to attain better cost-control and visibility of costs both of which are necessary to ensure a profitable future. The ESAP system is proprietary to HPCE, and is based on a customised SAP 4.6D system, which supports Financial, Manufacturing, and Sales systems. Its introduction is in two phases: Phase One implemented a new product specification system in the European Logistics business, while Phase Two involves the implementation of the full ESAP system, initially across the UK and Italy, then the rest of Europe.

IITT Awards 2002

Gold Award Winner: Training Project of The Year - Unilever

DACG and its consultants play a crucial role in the successful development and delivery of the ESAP processes to end-users, and the organisation was already engaged by Unilever FBE Eclipse, where they had scoped and delivered a successful and customised training strategy for the Phase 1 Netherlands implementation. It therefore made sense to contact DACG in order to maintain a level of continuity within Unilever. The HPCE ESAP project covers a wide scope with aggressive deadlines and a three year continuous implementation plan across Europe, said Chris Wolff, Unilever ESAP Communication, Training and Project Control Manager. In order to support the users we needed a flexible consultancy who would provide innovative training and support techniques, versatile and multi-lingual consultants providing cultural understanding and strong project management. DACG had proven that they were more than capable of this type of support with the UBFE implementation, and were therefore our chosen training partner for this project. DACGs part in the project began in March 2001, when consultants began working closely with the ESAP Master Information Specification process team to develop training material, business processes and documentation to support the implementation of the new Unilever Product Specifications system. After a pilot project for the Specifications group in France, this system was rolled out throughout Europe in a nine-month programme. DACGs experience and resources, including its ability to provide multilingual trainers, was a Key Success Factor in this area of the project, and will continue to be vitally important for the remainder of the overall programme. Following DACGs comprehensive Training Needs Analysis programme, DACG consultants worked with process teams in the areas of Finance, Manufacturing and Sales to develop training materials to support the Go-Live for the UK HPCE business group. The Change Communication strategy, developed at HPCE, tied into the phases of the project: Awareness, Understanding, Buy in, Commitment and Post go-live, with specific materials and specific messages developed for each phase and targeted at different audience groups. The range of materials varies from e-flyers, posters, competitions, games and ESAP lunch seminars.

It was important to align the Change Communication with the expectations of both the local managers and the users. Therefore all the material developed was adapted to the local needs and to the local language. Change Communication must be easy to understand, appeal to different audience groups and have immediate high impact at all levels and the strategy developed for Unilever reflected this principle.

DACG Consultants
With support from Unilevers own ESAP training team, DACG consultants trained over 500 Homecare users on four sites, and 400 Personal Care users on two sites. A comprehensive set of helpcards was also developed by the training team to support users as they start to use the new system.

The Learning Centre

Throughout the ESAP project, users in Unilever can easily access intranet-based training reference documentation via DACGs Learning Centre a central repository for all training and support documentation, including business process flows and transactional help. The content can be accessed through Unilevers Intranet or directly from the SAP application, providing task level, context sensitive support instantly. DACG has also customised the Learning Centre at Unilever to include: Training feedback forms that give attendees on courses the ability to comment on the training content and delivery. A link to Training Course materials for pre- or post- course additional study. A multilingual capacity, offering support materials in a selection of languages. A library of Frequently Asked Questions derived from the training courses and with answers supplied by the business. A communication platform for additional support materials such as Help cards. Online competitions designed to assist in the Change Communication process.