🚀Episode #2
NESTLE
CONTINUOUS
EXCELLENCE
LEAN the Nestlé way
SWIPE
In memory of José Lopez
Five years after his death
One of the greatest leaders I have
ever worked for
01/09
A New Challenge
In 2008, Nestlé had completed the
GLOBE transformation, harmonizing
processes & IT systems across all markets.
✅ 1B CHF savings per year
❌ But profitability was still lagging behind
competitors in the Food & Beverage
industry.
❌ Operational performance varied
significantly across the 460 factories.
KEEP SWIPING
02/09
The Insight
José Lopez, EVP Operations, observed that
Nestlé factories around the world had 🌍
independently implemented Lean, TPM &
Continuous Improvement practices.
💡 These initiatives delivered outstanding
results in safety, quality, cost efficiency, and
employee morale.
💡 What if Nestlé scaled these best practices
globally?
KEEP SWIPING
03/09
The Birth of NCE
2008 Nestlé Continuous Excellence (NCE) was
introduced as a global initiative:
🔹 A structured, behavior-driven approach to
operational excellence.
🔹 Rooted in best-in-class methodologies:
TPM, Lean, Six Sigma & Bold Leadership
🔹 Aimed at eliminating waste, reducing
variability, and driving continuous
improvement.
🔹 Designed to standardize excellence across
all factories and beyond.
🔹 A key principle: engaging employees at
all levels, from shop floor to leadership.
KEEP SWIPING
04/09
3 C’s Objectives
The NCE’s vision is encapsulated in the 3Cs:
🎯 Delight Consumers By ensuring product
quality & availability.
🎯 Deliver Competitive Advantage
Through cost optimization & operational
efficiency.
🎯 Excel in Compliance By maintaining the
highest safety, quality & environmental
standards.
🔹 People-centric approach: Developing
problem-solving skills at all levels.
KEEP SWIPING
Deploying NCE
05/09
🏭 Pilot implementations began in selected
high-performing sites to refine the
methodology. 🛠 A structured roadmap was
developed:
Foundation phase: Training, leadership
engagement, cultural shift.
Implementation phase: Standardized tools,
daily performance reviews, and problem-
solving techniques.
Advanced phase: Deep integration of TPM,
Lean, and Six Sigma methodologies.
📈 Results were measured through KPIs, and
sites had to pass maturity gates before
progressing to advanced practices (LEAN &
TPM)
KEEP SWIPING
06/09
2 years down the road
🏭 In 2010, 300 factories in 15 countries
adopted NCE.
📈 Significant improvements in safety, quality,
cost, delivery, and employee engagement.
💰 Over 1.5B CHF additional savings realized.
🔥 Operators and employees gained a
stronger sense of ownership and pride in
their work.
🔄 Continuous Improvement became
embedded in the company culture.
KEEP SWIPING
07/09
Beyond Operations
From 2010, it expanded across the entire
value chain:
✔️ Supply Chain: Optimizing logistics,
warehouse management & procurement.
✔️ Shared Services: Finance, HR, and IT
applied Lean to streamline workflows &
eliminate inefficiencies.
✔️ R&D & Marketing: Leveraging data-driven
decision-making and customer-centric
process improvements.
💡 NCE demonstrated that Lean &
Continuous Improvement could be applied
beyond manufacturing.
KEEP SWIPING
08/09
Lessons Learned
🔑 80% mindset, 20% tools
Success depended on leadership
engagement & employee buy-in.
🔑 Leadership & empowerment: Managers
shifted to a coaching role, fostering
autonomy & problem-solving skills.
🔑 Standardization enabled scalability: The
NCE model ensured a common language
and approach across all markets.
🔑 Sustainable change required discipline:
Sites followed a structured progression, with
maturity gates preventing backsliding.
KEEP SWIPING
09/09
New Growth Strategy
🚀In 2025, Nestlé's CEO Laurent Freixe
extends his “virtuous circle” model to the
entire group. It aims to “Fuel the growth” by
generating savings for reinvestment.
💰 2.5B CHF savings targeted by 2028.
💡NCE at the core, eventually boosted by
digitalization, and innovations 🤖
Exciting developments ahead! 🌍✨
KEEP SWIPING
Produced with care ✨ from my personal archives and public sources
✨ I had the privilege of spending 20 years
working on these 3 exceptional business
transformation programs at Nestlé (GLOBE,
NCE, NBE), and I have never seen anything
like them elsewhere
💡 This is the story and the learnings I want to
share with you in an upcoming series of posts.
👋 I’m Nicolas Jourdain, I ve founded OpEx
an independant consulting business, helping
companies improve performance through:
Operational Excellence 📈
Human Capital Development 🏆
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