Cost-Saving Ideation Success

Global FMCG Powerhouse

Leader in their industry seeking transformative innovation.

Lead in Europe as the first BU to consistently deliver over 3% cost savings year after year
Create superior products that consumers love and build a more sustainable future

Aligned the European leadership team on a non-negotiable target: Reduce COGS by 3% (€12M) annually for 3 years without impacting product taste.

Analyzed 5 years of procurement data and manufacturing logs to pinpoint 'waste hotspots' in packaging, energy use, and raw material yield.

Discovered that 40% of secondary packaging weight added no structural value, and energy spikes correlated with outdated shift patterns.

Launched the 'Waste Hunters' campaign: A gamified app where 500 factory workers submitted 1,200+ photos of waste, tagging them with solution ideas.

Clustered the 1,200 ideas into 15 'Big Bet' workstreams (e.g., 'Lightweighting', 'Energy Flex') and assigned a 'Savings Owner' to each.

Owners performed 'Quick Validations' on top 50 ideas, calculating precise ROI and running small factory trials to ensure no quality degradation.

The Steering Committee approved a portfolio of 38 high-impact projects, locking in €35M of risk-adjusted savings into the 3-year financial plan.

Confidential