The Customer
Nutrien
The Project
Nutrien wanted to enhance their SAP Analytic Cloud planning usage, by adding to their existing planning environment. With this new development, they wanted to add more complex planning mechanisms, in order to replace their legacy planning system, and better integrate it to the SAP based environment.
Overview
Nutrien is the world's leading provider of crop inputs and services. With a vast array of Producing Locations scattered across North America, Nutrien looked into Improving to help them expand their SAC footprint, for a more efficient, scalable, and detailed planning solution.
Challenges
An extensive planning process, requiring multiple teams involved in distinct tasks within the planning cycle.
A complex planning requirement for production costs based on Bill of Material planning. The current planning solution was not very transparent, and execution timing was extensive.
The current process required users to work with separate systems, from legacy planning software, Excel spreadsheets and external systems.
Lack of a centralized approach to planning, which made consolidation reports hard to generate
Our Solution
Working with Improving, a new planning solution was implemented through the course of 13 months. This solution was highly customized to address Nutrien needs:
A highly detailed solution, covering all aspects of their planning cycle, from Sales Data, Fixed and variable Costs to reporting and data exports to their consolidated data lake foundation.
An improved Production calculation costing mechanism, which brought down the execution timing from the legacy solution of about 6 hours to 15 minutes in SAC.
Enhanced collaboration and agency from users. With provided training, the users became key champions of the solution within the company, with knowledge and comfort to customize certain aspects of the solution without dependence on other areas such as IT.
The Business Benefits
Centralized Planning Hub: A unified platform streamlining all planning activities. With optimized planning rules and a more intuitive interface, users complete tasks faster and can easily implement adjustments when needed.
Seamless Integration: Fully integrated with SAC’s consolidated planning framework, including smooth data exports to the company’s warehousing layer. This ensures timely data availability across the broader solution ecosystem.
Accelerated Calculation Performance: Execution times for complex calculations were dramatically improved — from over 6 hours in the legacy system down to just 10–15 minutes in SAC. This empowers users to run more scenario simulations and devote more energy to insightful data analysis rather than manual input tasks.
Robust System Documentation: Comprehensive documentation equipped the client with a clear understanding of the system’s capabilities. This transparency increased their confidence in system ownership and fostered a stronger trust between Nutrien and Improving.
Why Improving
As seasoned experts in the SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC) space, Improving forged a long-term partnership with Nutrien to deliver a highly tailored and high-performing planning solution. Beyond implementation, the team provided continuous training and user guidance, ensuring the system was not only adopted but fully understood across the organization. Built on a foundation of trust, Improving’s role extended beyond technical delivery. They acted as strategic advisors, helping shape key planning decisions to maximize the value and impact of the system. This collaborative approach ensured that the final solution was aligned with Nutrien’s business goals and delivered measurable planning outcomes.
