Consumer confidence demands precision and excellence. From Loctite superglue to an array of products for laundry, home care, and hair styling, Henkel values reliability, accuracy, and speed. It’s one reason Henkel adopted a hybrid cloud strategy. Now, with insights at the edge, data in the cloud, and compute on-premises, Henkel can visualize its production to adjust product formulations in real time, move inventory more efficiently, and drive the next innovations in consumer convenience.

Overseeing processes with data

It takes dedication to make a product that customers choose over and over. To build that trust over time takes a commitment to excellence and a production line that ensures accuracy. It’s a discipline that Henkel has practiced continuously in its nearly 150-year history. And these days, data play a crucial role.

“We look at data to understand what consumers are doing, but also to understand how our supply lines are working, how our manufacturing lines are working, and how our people themselves are working,” says Keven McCammon, head of digital infrastructure services at Henkel. “The importance of data and connectivity has reached a whole new level for us.”

With locations around the world and 48,000 employees from 124 nations, Henkel needs visibility into its factories to keep production on schedule and on point. “We have production lines that make real-time decisions based on what’s happening from a quality perspective. The mix of the product is a good example.” McCammon explains. “If something gets out of alignment in a mix, that’s immediately notified and we’re able to readjust that mixture so that we’re delivering quality products out to our users and our consumers.”

Relearning core values

But things weren’t always like this. To get products right in real time, Henkel needed to build its technology environment around connectivity, data speed, and insights. “We started on this transformation journey by outsourcing a lot of our technology,” McCammon recalls. “But we had reached a point where outsourcing became more of a hindrance than a help.”

Ultimately, Henkel wanted more integration and transparency to leverage its manufacturing and data. “We spent a lot of time in the past few years developing strong technical skills and asking the right questions such as ‘Can we do this smarter? Or more efficiently?’”

It meant a lot of reevaluations. “We thought about our business from the standpoint of where our workloads should be,” McCammon recalls.

Hybrid strategies

After four years of evaluating and learning, McCammon and team had reached a new level of clarity. “There are things that work really well in the public cloud, and then there are things that have to be in a private cloud. And there are elements that have to be on the edge because they have to operate in real time.”

The result was a wave of insourcing. “Now, we’ve brought a lot of that technology and knowledge back in-house because we know our business better than anybody else,” McCammon says. “And a big part of it was discovering where our journey with HPE GreenLake and HPE Aruba could take us.”

For McCammon, the path forward was clear: the most direct route to visibility. “If we can see our entire infrastructure in one location, that means we can automate it, and that means our team is not looking at logs every day,” McCammon says. “Instead, they’re out there helping the business become more successful.”

Partners for innovation

The first steps of the transformation journey were all about finding the right guide. “Finding the partnership with HPE has been the key for setting the stage. Their ability to understand what we’re trying to accomplish from an enterprise standpoint was a big part of why we’re where we are today,” McCammon says.

“The importance of data and connectivity has reached a whole new level for us.” – Keven McCammon

Head of Digital Infrastructure Services, Henkel

Through HPE GreenLake, Henkel leverages HPE ProLiant servers, HPE Apollo data storage server systems, and HPE Alletra Storage. Its network is delivered through HPE Aruba Networking Central, HPE Aruba Networking ClearPass, and HPE Aruba Networking EdgeConnect SD-WAN through HPE Aruba Networking wired and wireless switching. “What we’ve been able to do with this partnership with HPE is create a standard platform across the public and private cloud that is progressing towards visibility into our entire infrastructure,” McCammon says.

Data at speed

For Henkel, it means the flexibility to get the most value out of each service. “We may have a need to put some things in public cloud because of the ability to share that data out easier,” McCammon says. “But on the production side, we may have a business need that says realtime decisions are going to drive this, so the speed becomes the main factor.”

On the factory floor, speed is of the essence. “At the edge, we need to compute and process in the private cloud and then provide real-time data back to the production line to make decisions,” McCammon explains. “For us, that’s invaluable.”

It means Henkel can perform product quality checks and automate the sampling process for its manufacturing lines.

Fast data at the edge also gives Henkel visibility into logistics. “It could be something as simple as a problem with a lift truck. If we’re manufacturing at speed, that means nobody will be able to move the product off the line. So, now we can actually slow down our manufacturing processes so the truck will have time to catch up and get the items moved,” McCammon says. “It’s all about making sure we’re delivering a consistent product every time.”

Unlocking vision

Henkel has also gained unprecedented oversight of its network health. “I have visibility into 93% of our network, and the great thing about HPE Aruba Networking Central is that the tool actually gives me suggestions on how I can make that better,” McCammon says.

It means McCammon and team spend far less time diagnosing issues and more At the edge, we need to compute and process in the private cloud and then provide real-time data back to the production line to make decisions. For us, that’s invaluable.”– Keven McCammon, Head of Digital Infrastructure Services, Henkel time innovating. “When I have visibility to that network, I can leverage data from a predictive analysis standpoint to diagnose and resolve problems faster,” McCammon says. “It’s really unlocking creativity for my team because now we’re looking at what’s next and asking, ‘How can we make things better?’”

Moving toward that single view of everything, McCammon and team are also leveraging OpsRamp to unify and simplify system-wide alerts. “OpsRamp gives me the opportunity to not only continue our journey as far as that single pane of glass, but it gives us an opportunity to integrate the entire business into the understanding that they no longer have to worry about technology—because they can actually visually see it anytime they want.”

McCammon believes sharing that kind of visibility—and confidence—is crucial. “I want our team to be the creators of the next technology, especially around AI. We really believe that with AI and predictive analysis through partners like HPE GreenLake and HPE Aruba Networking, we will set a new stage for enterprise networks globally.”