bluewaveSELECT  is a certified SAP Partner

bluewaveSELECT appointed
exclusive SAP recruitment
partner for £40 million
business transformation
programme.

Greggs plc is the UK’s largest bakery chain, with an annual turnover of over £1bn. Headquartered in Newcastle upon Tyne, Greggs has over 1,700 retail outlets across the UK and over 22,000 members of staff.

Our team has worked with some of the world's most recognisable brands

The challenge:

Greggs selected a complex SAP solution to transform its manufacturing, logistics and retail operations; as well as its key head office functions of Finance, Procurement and HR/Payroll.

Because this was a Greenfield programme, Greggs needed to recruit an entire team of North East based SAP professionals. This team would be required to deliver the programme and to manage Greggs’ chosen SI, as the business had no existing SAP skills in-house.

Greggs needed to source and hire multiple permanent and contract SAP professionals in challenging time parameters, within a specific region of the UK where SAP people are not always easy to find.

Why bluewaveSELECT?

To select a single supplier to deliver against all of its SAP needs, Greggs had to be convinced that their chosen partner had the ability to deliver the sheer volume of local SAP hires, without sacrificing quality.

After reviewing several recruitment businesses, bluewaveSELECT was chosen as Greggs’ exclusive SAP recruitment partner. This decision was based on bluewaveSELECT’s exclusive focus on SAP, as well as a track record of success in challenging areas of SAP recruitment, pricing transparency and a clear cultural fit with Greggs’ own leadership team.

The solution: 

Greggs engaged with bluewaveSELECT during project launch with a brief to build its in-house capabilities of up to 40 people across manufacturing, logistics, retail, finance, procurement, HR and Payroll.

bluewaveSELECT mapped out the local SAP community, meeting all potential candidates either face to face or via Skype, in order to hold in-depth briefings and discussions around their SAP capabilities – as well as their cultural fit with Greggs’ team.

From here, the bluewaveSELECT team undertook an in-depth approach to sourcing and briefing candidates, conducting all first stage interviews, prior to submitting CV’s. Greggs’ leadership team only saw short lists of suitable candidates who were motivated to join their teams, greatly reducing their time commitment to the process and leading to excellent interview to hire ratios. 

The result:

Working in partnership with Greggs’ leadership team, bluewaveSELECT successfully recruited more than 30 SAP professionals across all phases of the 3-year programme.

With a team of experienced SAP professionals in place, Greggs now has the capabilities to represent itself on the direction of its programme, to build long term sustainability and to robustly question solutions put forward by its SI.

Greggs have made significant cost savings and now enjoy greater control over project scope and timelines, by using its newly established SAP team.

bluewaveSELECT continues to provide a single point of accountability and to give Greggs the ability to enjoy the economies of scale that an exclusive agreement allows.

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