ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel selects IBM Consulting for transformation
ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel – a joint venture between steel manufacturers ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel – is working on a multi-year digital transformation program.
Established in 2019, ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel is a steel manufacturer with over 600 steel grades. From its manufacturing plants in India, the company services multiple industries and key markets including India, Indonesia, and the United Arab Emirates.
With capacity expansion plans in full swing, ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel’s management team recognised the need to modernise and scale its core business processes and IT infrastructure. At the heart of the transformation is the upgrade of existing SAP systems to the SAP S/4 HANA platform.
Working together with IBM Consulting, ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel is upgrading its older SAP platforms into a single SAP S/4HANA instance. The upgrade runs in parallel with a process re-engineering workstream, which aims to optimise and streamline processes for manufacturing and back-office functions.
“This transformation will provide ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel more financial transparency, and operational agility to help us chart the next crucial phase of growth,” said Amit Harlalka, Chief Financial Officer at ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel.
Commenting on the collaboration, Kamal Singhani, Country Managing Partner of IBM Consulting in India, said: “We are delighted to work with ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel on such a pioneering large-scale transformation initiative. This collaboration has leveraged our deep knowledge of the steel industry and expertise in high-impact SAP migrations & technology transformations, driven by our robust ecosystem partnerships.”
The scope of the project focuses on the organisational entities of ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel in India, Dubai, and Indonesia.
Hinting at a relationship that extends beyond the current program, Singhani remarked, “Going forward, we intend to support ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel as a trusted digital transformation partner jointly driving efficiencies and innovations as they expand in India and beyond.”
In October last year, ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel commenced a massive expansion of its capacity in India with a project in its Hazira plant. Once completed, the upgrade in Gujarat (cost: $7.2 billion) will see its crude steel capacity jump from the current 9 to 15 million tonnes per annum.
A strategic upgrade for India, the project will help India reduce steel imports, which are used in various sectors such as defence, infrastructure and automotive.
In the mid to long term, ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel aims to increase its national crude steel capacity to 30 million tonnes per annum, which would contribute to India’s National Steel Policy, which targets 300 million tonnes per annum of domestic capacity by 2030.
