GRUMA + HP

By 1997, GRUMA® had firmly established itself as the worldwide leader in corn flour and tortilla production, with operations in Mexico, the United States and both Central and South America. But from this tremendous growth arose tremendous logistical challenges, especially with Y2K rapidly approaching.

To adequately prepare its applications for Y2K, GRUMA recognized it needed to do more than rebuild its network; it needed to implement SAP, a large–scale business software package, across its entire 15,000–person enterprise. Deploying an SAP system on such a massive scale presented its own dilemma, especially since GRUMA wanted it done without any disruption to its daily operations. Pulling off such a task was the equivalent of rebuilding a world–class race engine while the car was still on the track. But GRUMA knew that even the slightest disruption could damage its hard–earned market shares.

When searching for the right SAP partner, GRUMA had plenty of well–known names from which to choose, including IBM, Deloitte & Touche and EDS. GRUMA chose HP over all of them, due in large part to HP's proven prowess in drafting solid, non–disruptive SAP game plans, then backing those plans with the right array of outsourcing, consulting and hardware services.

Working closely with HP, GRUMA successfully migrated its entire system to a Unix–based SAP platform featuring Intel–distributed servers. As promised, the first stage of implementation was executed with no discernible disruption to GRUMA's day–to–day operations–and well ahead of the company's Y2K deadline.

But GRUMA wasn't finished just yet. In August 2000, the company initiated the next step in its long–term technology renovation project: migrating its Unix–based SAP system to a Windows NT® environment. Again, hardware vendors were thoroughly evaluated, including IBM and Unisys, and again, HP was chosen. A SAN solution was introduced in this round of upgrades, and, combined with the new Windows NT platform, now allows GRUMA to pool its widely dispersed HR, manufacturing and accounting resources into one uniform view. Seamlessly connecting these many facets allows each department to quickly share mission–critical data. The result: better informed decisions made in a shorter amount of time.

Building upon the newfound efficiencies and cost savings made possible by its HP–powered SAP solution, GRUMA is now expanding its operations into the wheat flour business–and bolstering its role as a leading provider of the products that help feed the world.

GRUMA® is a registered trademark of GRUMA S.A. de C.V. Windows NT® is a U.S. registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation.