Background

Nestlé, the world’s largest food and beverage company, relies on SAP Ariba to manage critical procurement and supplier‑related workflows across its global ecosystem. From onboarding suppliers to managing contracts, the processes are highly interdependent, data‑driven, and essential for operational continuity.

As usage expanded, inconsistencies in data entry, unclear processes and guidance and reliance on manual steps created friction for users and downstream teams. Incorrect data, abandoned tasks, and rising support tickets were impacting cycle times, reporting quality, and the overall supplier experience.

Challenge

While SAP Ariba is a powerful platform, Nestlé’s teams were constrained by inconsistent data inputs and a lack of intuitive guidance within key workflows. Users were inadvertently submitting inaccurate information, navigating needlessly complex steps, or becoming stuck during critical tasks.

These issues weren’t just small inefficiencies - they were delaying supplier onboarding, extending contract approval cycles, and eroding confidence in the system. Downstream teams were spending increasing amounts of time correcting preventable errors, and user sentiment toward the platform was declining. A new approach was needed: one that clarified what users needed to do and made it easier for them to do it right the first time.

Solution

Charlton House partnered with Nestlé to deploy a targeted WalkMe intervention designed to simplify processes, reinforce data quality, and improve end‑to‑end user experience.

The team built 60+ WalkMe deployables, positioned carefully across key workflows to guide users at the point of need and accelerate adoption.

Key enhancements included:

• Point‑of‑need guidance: Contextual WalkMe prompts that guided users step‑by‑step through supplier onboarding and contract workflows.

• Automated field population: Reducing manual inputs and improving accuracy for high‑impact data fields.

• Enhanced validation: Ensuring users entered correct, complete data before progressing.

• Elimination of “empty clicks”: Streamlining interactions to remove unnecessary friction.

Collectively, these improvements simplified previously confusing tasks, reduced user error, and elevated platform confidence across the global user base.

Results

The impact of this intervention was immediate and substantial. User behaviour shifted dramatically, with critical field usage increasing by 250% - a clear indicator that both the content and the guidance strategy were working. The quality of data flowing through SAP Ariba improved, which in turn reduced the number of support tickets being raised by users encountering avoidable issues downstream.

Perhaps most importantly, the user experience fundamentally changed. Nestlé’s global Ariba NPS rose by 63%, reflecting renewed confidence in the platform and a smoother, more intuitive experience across the entire user base. Supplier onboarding and contract turnaround times also improved, driven by clearer workflows and fewer errors interrupting the process.

As Nestlé’s Senior Product Manager noted, the transformation has resulted not only in greater accuracy and efficiency but also in a more positive and reliable experience for suppliers and internal teams alike.