In recent years, global agri-food producers have been affected by market forces, including the impact of drought, which significantly increased the cost of grain, the instability of global markets, the complexity of government regulations, and persistent high inflation. More than ever, profitable food production businesses must focus on the efficiency and productivity of their operations.

As a Canadian leader in producing, processing and marketing pork and poultry meat, with a presence in Quebec for more than 32 years, Olymel has demonstrated its ability to face evolving market conditions through a deep commitment to adaptation.

“Olymel’s ongoing cultural and technology-driven transformation will allow us to improve operational efficiency today, while paving the way for future opportunities,” said Martin Juneau, Vice-President - Finance, Olymel. “Redesigning our IT environment enables us to better streamline and standardize our business processes.”

Olymel has chosen to adopt industry-leading practices by teaming with IBM for its technical and business expertise as it deploys SAP S4/HANA across the company. For the first phase of this transformation, Olymel and IBM focused on finance and indirect procurement processes, allowing Olymel to simplify and standardize its business processes and generate higher productivity. A key area of transformation included reducing their current chart of accounts, as well as optimizing their indirect procurement spending.

“IBM Consulting is proud to partner with Olymel, a Canadian leader in the global agri-food industry,” said Laurent Benamou, Partner, IBM Consulting Canada. “With our talented team in Quebec and across Canada, we are committed to helping Olymel transform its business operations so that it continues to make quality pork and poultry products in Canada, distributing to more than 65 countries around the world.”

Olymel has grown its business significantly over three decades through both organic growth and external growth to reach CAD$4.7B of revenue in 2023. This growth has created a demand for new operational and technology platforms as Olymel’s business model continues to evolve.