Unlocking Growth Opportunity through Data Science-driven Network Portfolio Optimization

The Hershey Company

Challenge

• A disconnected process to manage production portfolios and scheduling decisions
• Today’s decision–making process is siloed and time consuming (8–10 weeks)
• Limited scalability; too many networks to assess (20+ production networks)
• Current manual solution only works with simpler networks; missing opportunities from complex network

Solution

• Scalable mathematical optimization framework to quantitatively assess the feasibility and financial impact of a multitude of production decisions across many manufacturing networks
• A comprehensive data module to standardize the attribution process of any network, centralize all network data, and allow for ML–driven imputation with stakeholder validation
• UI application hosted on the SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP) through SAP BTP, Kyma runtime for machine learning deployments enabled through SAP Fiori, SAP Business Application Studio, and SAP Analytics Cloud

Outcome

• An end–to–end process where business users can change how they work, unify goals across networks, and make data–driven decisions faster
• A connected, fast, and scalable solution to solve our manufacturing problems across many networks
• Unlocking trapped capabilities in complex networks faster, through quantitative trade–offs and discovery of additional sales growth opportunities
• Output reports for scenario analysis, supply plan, production schedule and comparisons

manufacturing networks modeled globally resulting into optimized product mix and increased network utilization

SAP data sources are integrated solution to be scalable for additional data sources as needed

reduction in data analysis efforts with increased efficiency

The company uses advanced analytics and AI to help find hidden capacity. We did that with our KitKat production network of six production lines, and as a result, found opportunities in schedule and item changes that found $35 million of capacity just sitting there that didn’t require a whole lot of investment to get after.

Will Bonifant, VP Supply Chain Strategy & Manufacturing, The Hershey Company

Incture went above and beyond, not only delivering on scope but proactively suggesting innovate components like a data quality control module. They proposed additional SAP BTP capabilities that elevated our product and consistently impressed us with their deep technical expertise – turning every challenge into an opportunity for growth.

Xiao Yang, Director of Data Science, Incture LLC.

originally published on SAP Innovation Awards 2025 entry page.

Contributing Partner

Bengaluru

Based in Bengaluru, India, Incture’s AppHaus offers a delightful creative space for innovative customer collaboration. Aside from a large workshop room, the space encompasses meeting rooms, a large cafeteria as well as outside areas offering many opportunities for meetings, break-outs or any type of working sessions.

Customer

The Hershey Company

Headquarter
: Pennsylvania, U.S.
No. of employees
: approx. 17k employees
website
: https://www.thehersheycompany.com/

Hershey Company, American manufacturer of food products, chiefly chocolate and sugar–based confections, was founded on February 8, 1894.
Their vision is to be an innovative snacking powerhouse and anchored in four interconnected strategies:
• Driving growth by capturing more snacking occasions
• Profitable and sustainable international expansion
• Operating with best-in-class capabilities and partnerships
• Investing in people and communities
• Hershey’s Centered Innovation Approach
Hershey leverages advanced consumer intelligence, retail insights, and trends to enhance shopper experiences and support retailer growth.