Executive Summary
Coca-Cola Embonor S.A. produces and distributes The Coca-Cola Company portfolio in Chile and Bolivia. It also markets water, juices, and—in Chile—third-party alcoholic beverages, managing a portfolio of over 1,000 SKUs.
The company serves 8.5 million people across its operation zones, with 4 bottling plants, 27 distribution centers, and more than 68,000 customers. Its 24/7 operation runs at a pace that allows no downtime — every second without SAP means suspended delivery routes, delayed billing, and a halted supply chain.
In 2021, Embonor awarded Novis the complete outsourcing of its infrastructure (SAP IT services). In 2024, the company expanded the contract to include functional support (SAP AM services). Together, these services form the SAP AMS model — a fully remote service that ensures zero critical incidents, executive escalation, and frees Embonor’s internal team to focus on innovation.
The Context: Mass Consumption Leaves No Room for Error
Andrés Puente, CIO of Embonor, defines his mission as “optimizing business processes through technologies that generate value.” SAP solutions sit at the heart of that mission.
In a fast-moving consumer market, constant modernization and adaptation are non-negotiable. Customers demand change — eco-friendly packaging, direct-to-consumer e-commerce, dynamic promotions — while logistics must guarantee timely and accurate delivery across vast territories. Each new challenge requires that the SAP system remain available, secure, and up to date.
The Trigger: Migrating and Operating Without Disruption
In 2021, Embonor launched a tender for SAP infrastructure operations. Novis was selected for its technical-economic proposal, which stood out not just for pricing but also for expertise.
The services covered the ERP upgrade from SAP ECC to SAP S/4HANA, with NetWeaver (Basis) specialists, provision of the final SAP S/4HANA infrastructure for continuity, and a disaster recovery site.
“Price matters, but experience matters more,” Puente affirms.
“Novis’ proposal was clearly superior.”
The combination of cost-efficiency and senior talent made the difference — and the value has only deepened over time.
Building Trust: Comprehensive Support
After witnessing operational success, Embonor decided in 2024 to have the same partner take over functional support for all SAP modules, ensuring seamless knowledge transfer during ongoing projects.
This integration gives Embonor a single partner for both infrastructure and functional support (SAP AMS) — the same company that maintains the cloud also manages the business processes within SAP. Support is provided 100% remotely, through a ticketing system designed for fast response, with a defined escalation protocol for any critical situation.
“Novis’ people really get to know our company. They bring deep experience and keep adding value.”
That technical closeness is paired with agile service and an effective escalation process:
“I can reach multiple contacts at any time, and they’re very efficient at solving problems.”
As Puente summarizes, the relationship evolved from provider to partner — a crucial distinction for any CIO: “Look for companies that become your partners — people who understand your business, who support you, who are flexible and dynamic.”
24/7 Operation: Zero Downtime, Maximum Flexibility
In the consumer goods industry, availability is king. One hour without SAP means trucks stopped and sales lost. Since partnering with Novis in 2021, Embonor has not experienced any major business-impacting interruptions: “Since working with Novis, we’ve maintained uninterrupted operations.”
The support service includes ticket management with three escalation levels. For critical incidents, Novis convenes a war room involving technical leads, the incident manager, and the Key Account Manager (KAM) — who remains directly in touch with the client and ensures SLA compliance through regular meetings. Novis’ team also adapts to Embonor’s strict operational windows — performing maintenance during early Sunday mornings or holidays when production allows.
“They’ve adjusted to our intervention schedules — even working outside business hours when needed.”
Continuous Improvement and Proactive Action
AMS at Embonor is not just about keeping the lights green. When a database began to grow excessively, Novis proactively proposed an optimization plan. “They’ve been proactive, offering solutions to reduce database size, for example.”
Today, Embonor and Novis are jointly exploring new projects for system improvement.
Visible Results
- Availability: Two years without critical incidents; high-availability cluster implementation underway.
- Elastic scalability: Temporary server scaling during high-demand campaigns, with post-event optimization.
- Response time: Strong evaluations for ticket handling speed.
- End-to-end coverage: All SAP processes under a single, consolidated SLA.
CIO Takeaways
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Choose partners, not providers.
The difference lies in their willingness to anticipate and share risk.
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Understand your business peaks.
A good AMS adjusts infrastructure to match demand surges.
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Demand technological proactivity.
Beyond fast ticket resolution, your partner should drive continuous improvement.
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Maintain an executive escalation path.
When the business depends on the system, direct access to leadership accelerates solutions.
Conclusion
In an industry where demand shifts faster than a Coca-Cola bubble rises, technological stability is as valuable as innovation.
Embonor found in Novis a trusted technology partner that combines competitive pricing, expertise, and executive closeness.
The Embonor story proves that SAP AMS can be fully delegated to a specialized remote partner.
If your Latin American company requires absolute continuity and constant SAP evolution, Novis is ready to help. Let’s talk.
Written by Gilda Valderrama, Editor – Novis Newsletter
