For nearly 170 years, Wedel has crafted premium chocolates and confectionery that bring joy to millions of people. But as the company grew to more than 1,000 employees, their internal processes struggled to keep pace.
“People were using Outlook and Excel files to manage complicated processes,” says Cezary Cholewiński, IT Specialist at Wedel. “It was challenging.”
Wedel knew their manual processes needed to evolve to stay agile and competitive. With the help of trusted implementation partner Fabrity, they found Nintex Automation K2, an on-premise workflow automation solution that could manage and automate operations across the entire organization.
When manual processes can’t scale
Email chains and Excel spreadsheets had worked well enough in Wedel’s earlier days. But as the company expanded, these tools couldn’t handle the complexity of their operations.
The team at Wedel faced several specific challenges:
- No audit trail or accountability. With processes living in email inboxes or Excel files, there was no reliable way to track what happened, when, or why.
- Loss of institutional knowledge. “When everything is in email, and someone leaves the organization, you lose the history,” says Cholewiński. “There’s no central database of what was done in the process.”
- Version confusion. Multiple versions of the same Excel file floated around the organization, with no way to identify which one was current. Budget files were particularly problematic — every department maintained its own spreadsheet, and no one knew which numbers were actually up to date.
- Inefficient workflow approvals. “Since workflows happened offline in Outlook or on paper, you had to print documents and walk them to someone for approval,” notes Cholewiński.
Wedel’s IT team realized they needed a platform that could both digitize workflows quickly and give every department the tools to manage their processes effectively.
Rapid digitalization with Nintex
K2 Wedel turned to Nintex K2’s on-premises workflow automation platform. The on-premises setup gave Wedel full control over their data and infrastructure, allowing them to meet their security requirements while still getting powerful automation capabilities.
In addition to security, Nintex K2 was the perfect fit for Wedel due to its
- Integration capabilities: The platform connects to SharePoint, SAP, SQL Server, and other key systems. This meant Wedel could automate complete processes without forcing departments to abandon the tools they already used.
- Speed and flexibility: Empowered the organization to quickly digitize and automate workflows, delivering greater agility and faster results than traditional enterprise application development.
- Customizability: Using K2, the IT team could meet with business users, turning manual processes into digital workflows that meet their exact requirements. That meant no design compromises or workarounds that might invite shadow IT.
With guidance from Fabrity, Wedel began building applications across the organization — around processes like budgeting, project management, and data management. Each application eliminated the hassle of email and Excel while giving departments better visibility and control.
The results: 180 days and counting
The impact of Nintex K2 at Wedel was measurable and immediate. “After we started using one application, we saved about 180 working days,” says Cholewiński. That’s a majority of a year of productivity returned to the business from a single workflow.
But the transformation extended far beyond one workflow. With more than 80 K2 applications now deployed across the organization, Wedel achieved several other improvements:
- Centralized, reliable data. Department budgets moved from scattered spreadsheets into unified apps where everyone accessed the same up-to-date information. No more version confusion or conflicting data.
- Preserved institutional knowledge. With workflows and process history stored in a central system, Wedel no longer loses critical information when employees move on to new roles.
- Faster time to value. Developed applications in as little as an hour, helping business units benefit from automation almost immediately and speeding the delivery of compliant business solutions.
Building on a foundation of automation
Perhaps the most telling sign of success is that Wedel’s departments keep coming back for more — a testament to the value K2 has delivered.
“There’s still a list of new applications requested by the business,” says Cholewiński. “There’s a lot more to do.”
The company’s goals remain consistent: continue driving efficiency and make sure every department has the digital tools they need to work smarter. With the foundation now in place and the partnership with Fabrity providing ongoing support, Wedel is well-positioned to keep building on their automation success.
