Unisys > Case Studies > Henkel's Successful Migration to Remote Work: A Digital Transformation Case Study

Henkel's Successful Migration to Remote Work: A Digital Transformation Case Study

Technology Category

Cybersecurity & Privacy - Endpoint Security
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) - Hybrid Cloud

Applicable Industries

Cement
Consumer Goods

Applicable Functions

Logistics & Transportation
Product Research & Development

Use Cases

Construction Management
Personnel Tracking & Monitoring

Services

Cloud Planning, Design & Implementation Services
Training

The Customer

Henkel

About The Customer

Henkel is a global leader in the chemical and consumer goods industries, operating on almost every continent. Over the past 145 years, the company has demonstrated resilience, innovation, and growth, adapting to changing environments and overcoming unexpected obstacles. Henkel's success can be attributed to its ability to leverage digital transformation to strengthen connections with its 53,000 employees and consumers. In 2018, the company quickly relocated over 46,000 non-essential staff to work from home, demonstrating its agility in adapting to shifting landscapes.

The Challenge

Henkel, a global powerhouse in the chemical and consumer goods industries, faced the challenge of accelerating its digital transformation to strengthen relationships with employees, customers, and consumers, while reducing the cost of provisioning and supporting workplace technology. The company aimed to provide smooth and accessible workplace technology to support productivity among its thousands of employees. The situation became more critical when the COVID-19 pandemic forced the company to move its more than 46,000 non-critical employees to work from home while maintaining the high-performing services staff enjoyed in the office. Achieving successful digital transformation required changes that enabled employees to adapt to new processes and resources in any situation.

The Solution

Henkel partnered with Unisys to deploy Digital Workplace Solutions, including a service desk with desktop management and support, on-site Tec-Stop (support and IT learning center) at three of the company’s locations, and a virtual Tec-Stop service to deliver critical aid and device distribution for employees working from home. Unisys also provided Cloud, Applications & Infrastructure Solutions, including data center transformation advice and engineering, endpoint security, and managed network services. The entire project was completed within Henkel’s service level agreement, with no network or application services degradation. Unisys also launched a virtual Tec-Stop service that provided device support and distribution for remote workers and on-site staff, ensuring that critical operations remained uninterrupted.

Operational Impact

The partnership with Unisys enabled Henkel to successfully transition its global workforce to remote work in just two weeks, enhancing security in the multi-endpoint environment necessary for remote work. This increased employee productivity and satisfaction, improved ticket-resolution rates, and reduced service-delivery costs by providing secure, fast, and innovative support. The stability in network performance while using these secure services immediately improved employee satisfaction and productivity. Unisys' strategy for managing organizational change, centered on identifying critical success factors, fostered better technology adoption and usage that benefited employees in the long run. This approach was instrumental in driving productivity improvements at Henkel and among remote workers, ensuring its products could continue to reach customers globally. It also laid the groundwork for Henkel’s swift transition to a work-from-home model in under two weeks.

Quantitative Benefit

Transitioned a global workforce to remote work in two weeks
35,000 completed inquiries a month with 24/7 support in 13 languages
80% of Henkel’s new applications migrated to secure cloud-ready or cloud-native sessions