How BASF Replaced Every Paper Workflow at Its Catalonia Plant in Under Six Months

BASF is one of the world's leading chemical companies. In 2017, the production and logistics teams at its agrochemical plant in Tarragona, Catalonia, set out to replace paper-based planning with real-time digital management. Working with implementation partner IThinkUPC, they connected SAP to Businessmap. More than seven years later, the system is still running and has been rolled out to another BASF site.

The challenge: Paper boards were slowing down production

The plant planned and tracked its work on physical Heijunka boards, a lean tool for leveling production, and printed schedules. Across several production and bottling lines, this manual system created three problems:

• Paperwork: a large share of the teams' time went into administration instead of production.
• Delays: tasks and delays were hard to track across the lines.
• Decisions: managers had no real-time data to act on.

The goals were to eliminate paper, digitize planning and logistics, and give everyone, from the control room to the shop floor, a live view of operations.

What changed: Integrating Businessmap into BASF's Transformation Journey

BASF uses Businessmap to digitize and optimize its planning and logistics processes in chemical production plants. The implementation began with their facility producing agrochemical products and was later expanded to another BASF site.

Two pilot teams, one connected flow

The production team runs manufacturing and bottling. The logistics team manages storage, supplies raw materials to the production lines, and loads finished goods onto trucks. Both started on Businessmap together, so the handover from production to distribution is visible in one flow.

SAP schedules become shift-ready task boards

Production schedules flow from SAP into Businessmap automatically, with Excel uploads to update them when needed. At the start of each shift, the Businessmap API fills the digital boards with the orders to produce. Recurring steps such as heating, mixing, bottling, and cleaning are created from templates, and custom wizards guide operators through each task. Operators pull work from the board, carry it out, and update progress in real time. Logistics uses its own workflows for bottling and storage, with inventory reserved and truck-loading tasks assigned automatically.

Lean habits made the digital switch fast

The teams had already worked with lean methods on physical boards, so the principles were familiar. Going digital changed the tool, not the way of working. That is a large part of why the first phase, which digitized every workflow, took under six months.

KPIs and dashboards in real time

The teams built KPIs to track production delays and efficiency. Dashboards show metrics and bottlenecks live, both in the control room and on the shop floor, and delay indicators arrive at every shift change.

The Processes BASF Manages with Businessmap

Production Line Operations:

• Digitization of manual processes previously managed through physical boards and paper.
• Integration with SAP to import production schedules and transform them into visual tasks (cards) in Businessmap.
• Automated task creation using templates for recurring production activities, such as heating, mixing, bottling, and cleaning.

Real-Time Task Management:

• Operators visualize tasks through digital boards, execute them, and mark progress in real time.
• Push system to fill digital boards with the orders needed to be produced during the shift through the Businessmap API.
• Pull system implementation to prioritize and manage tasks effectively.

Bottling and Storage:

• Custom workflows for managing bottling processes and storing finished products.
• Automated inventory reservation and task assignments for loading trucks.

Performance Tracking:

• Development of KPIs to monitor production delays and efficiency.
• Visualization of metrics and bottlenecks using tailored dashboards integrated with Businessmap.

The impact: A model BASF is now repeating at other sites

Beyond improving operations at BASF’s chemical plant, the partnership with Businessmap has also brought key results to other areas of the business.

The plant achieved:

• All workflows digital in under six months.
• 20% fewer administrative tasks, with paper and much of the manual work gone, cutting indirect costs.
• Faster incident response. Real-time data lets teams resolve incidents and anomalies much faster than before.
• Better communication between production, logistics, and the control room.
• Scale. The system handles more than 1,000 tasks a day.
• Less paper, in line with BASF's sustainability commitments.

Lessons learned and next steps

After the plant's success, BASF rolled the system out to another site, building on lessons from the first phase. Next, it plans to use Businessmap's expanded API to optimize operations further.

Phased transition to digitization

Introducing manual lean systems before digitization allowed employees to internalize key principles, ensuring smoother adoption of digital tools.

Sustainability

Eliminating paper usage aligns with BASF's commitment to sustainability and operational excellence.

SAP integration challenges

Establishing a robust interface for seamless data flow between SAP and Businessmap required careful planning and iterative improvements.

Future focus

Continuous improvement of digital tools and workflows, leveraging the enhanced API capabilities of Businessmap to further optimize operations.