Tetra Pak Redefines ERP Modernization with a Clean Core Strategy

Global food processing and packaging leader Tetra Pak has embarked on a significant transformation journey — one that reflects a broader shift taking place across industrial enterprises.

After years of operating a heavily customized ERP environment, the company faced growing technical debt, escalating IT complexity, and slower transformation cycles. What had once enabled flexibility had gradually become a constraint.

Instead of continuing to build on customization, Tetra Pak chose a different direction: a clean core ERP strategy built around SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition, supported by SAP Signavio and SAP LeanIX.

The objective was clear — simplify the core, standardize processes globally, and create a scalable foundation for faster innovation.

From Custom Code to Process Discipline

At its peak, Tetra Pak’s legacy ERP landscape included more than 10 million lines of custom code. While originally designed to meet specific operational needs, over time this customization introduced rising maintenance costs and extended implementation timelines.

“We wanted to keep our IT investment levels the same but get far more out of them,” said Jeff DeWolf, Head of Global Process Office at Tetra Pak. “This meant reducing complexity, staying standard, and creating a foundation that would let us move fast and adopt innovations quickly.”

The clean core approach represented a deliberate shift away from modifying the ERP backbone and toward strengthening governance and standardization. Rather than embedding differentiation into the system itself, Tetra Pak focused on process clarity and architectural discipline.

Orchestrating Transformation Through Process and Architecture

Central to the initiative was process standardization across the enterprise.

With SAP Signavio, Tetra Pak began modeling, governing, and harmonizing processes across its three business units. Leveraging industry benchmarks aligned with the APQC Process Classification Framework, teams were able to redesign workflows while maintaining alignment with best practices.

At the same time, SAP LeanIX provided enterprise architecture visibility — mapping systems, dependencies, and integrations to guide strategic decision-making.

“The real power of using SAP Signavio and SAP LeanIX solutions isn’t that they’re integrated — they truly complement each other,” DeWolf explained. “SAP Signavio models and governs our processes, and SAP LeanIX gives us architectural clarity. Together, they create a foundation for faster, smarter transformation.”

This dual capability — process intelligence combined with architectural transparency — allowed Tetra Pak to coordinate change across both business and IT functions.

Tangible Results Across Global Operations

The outcomes of the transformation are measurable:

• 95% enterprise-wide process standardization, exceeding the original 90% target
• More than 50% reduction in process documentation volume
• 6,829 activities managed within structured workflows

“We’ve gone from more than 10 million lines of custom code to over 95% process standardization, proving that simplicity really does scale,” DeWolf noted.

Beyond metrics, the transformation has reshaped the employee experience. Instead of navigating fragmented documentation or relying on informal knowledge, teams now operate with clearly modeled processes and role-specific guidance.

“Having a single, integrated platform to model, govern, and guide our processes has completely changed how we engage the business,” DeWolf added.

Governance has shifted from being perceived as a constraint to becoming a proactive enabler of agility.

Building Toward an Intelligent Enterprise

With its first pilot site live and process harmonization well underway, Tetra Pak is now expanding its transformation roadmap.

The next phase includes strengthening process intelligence capabilities and building a connected knowledge graph linking roles, systems, training, and performance insights. By extending transparency across enterprise architecture, leadership aims to accelerate technology decision-making and reduce analysis cycles.

“Ultimately, we want to reduce the friction between people, systems, and information,” DeWolf explained. “With this foundation, we’re building not just process maturity but also a truly intelligent enterprise.”

Why This Matters for Industrial ERP Leaders

Tetra Pak’s journey reflects a broader reality in industrial manufacturing: customization-heavy ERP environments often accumulate complexity that slows innovation.

For large global organizations, clean core strategies offer a different path forward — one centered on:

• Enterprise-wide standardization
• Architectural transparency
• Process governance discipline
• Reduced technical debt

Rather than embedding competitive differentiation into ERP custom code, forward-looking enterprises are increasingly building flexibility through process design and architectural clarity.

Tetra Pak’s experience suggests that simplification, when governed correctly, does not limit agility — it enables it.

As industrial organizations navigate modernization pressures, the lesson is increasingly clear: sustainable innovation begins with a disciplined core.