How AB InBev is Using Data to Brew up the Best Customer Experience

AB InBev, headquartered in Belgium, is one of the largest fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies in the world with a diverse portfolio of well over 500 beer brands, including Budweiser, Corona, Stella Artois, Beck’s, Hoegaarden and Leffe.

When companies grow via external acquisitions, integrating the systems and data from acquired companies is always a challenge. For AB InBev, that challenge included a hybrid environment with both on-premises and cloud systems and a host of brewers operating as independent entities with their own internal systems. Also, like other alcoholic beverage producers, AB InBev must abide by strict regulations regarding gathering consumer information.

Integrating systems and data from acquired companies

AB InBev wanted to embark on a cloud journey, and Talend was built in that world. Talend extracts data from over 100 source systems, — real-time and batch, cloud and on-premises, ERP systems, data from IoT devices—and stores it in a data lake on Microsoft Azure. All data management work has to be done for multiple companies under the AB InBev umbrella and among the biggest benefits of the new IT architecture are simplification and reusability of processes to rapidly extract and provide access to data.

Selling the best beers and making people happy

Because AB InBev is leveraging reusable code, what used to take six months now takes six weeks. That translates into faster decisions.

Now, with Talend Data Preparation, internal users spend only about 30 percent of their time gathering data and can spend 70 percent analyzing it. Data helps understand drinker tastes and analyze new demands from consumers for low-calorie beers for example or determine preferences for beers according to seasonality. Data also helps improve store and bar experiences, supply chain optimization, product development and more. Learn more