dsm-firmenich

About dsm-firmenich

dsm-firmenich is a world leader in providing sustainable, science-based solutions in nutrition, health, and beauty that meet the consumer’s need for innovative products as well as the planet’s need for sustainability. The company is organized across 4 businesses: Perfumery & Beauty; Taste, Texture, and Health; Nutrition & Care; and Animal Nutrition & Health.  

With headquarters in both Maastricht, The Netherlands, and Basel, Switzerland, dsm-firmenich was established in 2022 after the merger of Dutch business DSM and Swiss business Firmenich. Combining the Dutch entrepreneurial spirit and the Swiss precision, this merger allowed dsm-firmenich to have the best of both worlds. Currently, dsm-firmenich is active in over 60 countries worldwide and has about 30.000 employees worldwide.   

Their motto: ‘bring progress to life’ emphasizes that innovation and sustainability are deeply embedded in their DNA. dsm-firmenich is aware of increased tension between what society needs, what people as individuals want, and what the planet demands. To meet these evolving needs, dsm-firmenich reinvents, manufactures, combines, and continuously innovates using nutrients, flavors, and fragrances.  

Business Needs

As a world leader in providing sustainable, science-based solutions, dsm-firmenich is always looking to innovate, work faster, and work more efficiently across departments. dsm-firmenich is always on the lookout for new ways to automate and optimize business processes and to act quickly in an ever-changing market. Therefore, in 2016, the decision was made to work with Mendix followed by a collaboration with among others The Orange Force in 2023.  

Solution

Initially, dsm-firmenich developed a handful of applications focusing on automation in the Manufacturing department. These applications were used to drive a faster, more efficient workflow and they also proved the added value of working with Mendix. “What followed was a surge in new business ideas and a proliferation of the development of new applications across all departments. To regain control over our Mendix landscape we need to streamline the development process. That is why we focused on structure and making sure that all developers do everything the same way”, Anouke Tielens-Coenegracht, Chapter Lead of dsm-firmenich’s Digital & Tech Low-Code Chapter, explains.   

Shortly after that, The Orange Force joined forces with dsm-firmenich, since then continuously providing some of our best developers to create impactful applications that support dsm-firmenich’s mission. A notable recent success for our developers is the Fortified Kernels application, developed for dsm-firmenich’s sales teams in Asia. This tool enables representatives to demonstrate how dsm-firmenich enriches rice with micronutrients, resulting in more nutritious products. The application provides detailed information on compositions and permissible claims per country and highlights and learnings generated with specific products.  

Another successfully executed idea in October 2024 was a Mendix and generative AI (GenAI) hackathon to improve shop floor safety. dsm-firmenich had been thinking about the use cases of generative AI for quite some time. After a brainstorming session with The Orange Force, the idea of organizing a GenAI hackathon for dsm-firmenich’s developers was born. Around 15 developers, split into three teams, took part in this hackathon, which focused on preventing incidents with machines on the shop floor  

First, they received training on Mendix and GenAI by Mendix Product MVP and Architect at The Orange Force, Freek Brinkhuis. The GenAI services were provided by Amazon Web Services (AWS) and were easily incorporated into both existing and new Mendix applications. After this, the three teams were ready to get started with the hackathon making sure their developed applications brought real business value.  

After a full day of intense development in Mendix and GenAI, all three teams came up with innovative solutions that provided both immediate value and opened the door to countless other use cases yet to be explored. The Business stakeholder from Operational Excellence, representing the Manufacturing community, that was present during the hackathon, was impressed.  

Tielens-Coenegracht elaborates how she clearly sees the role TOF played in helping dsm-firmenich execute the hackathon. “The hackathon contributed greatly to our drive to innovate. We already had the idea of doing something with GenAI but TOF brainstorming with us, helping to bring it closer to our stakeholders, and having one of their experts provide training, has made it the success it clearly was. TOF has given us that final push to execute our ideas.”  

Results

After over eight years of successfully working with Mendix and working with The Orange Force since 2023, dsm-firmenich now has its own in-house developer team and an extensive Mendix landscape of over 135 applications. Various TOF developers have proudly contributed to this vast multi-app landscape that plays a key role in dsm-firmenich’s ambition to further drive sustainability and innovation. Mendix allows developers to iterate quickly, build prototypes, and implement complex functionality without requiring extensive technical knowledge from end-users. This results in applications that are not only technically robust but also seamlessly align with dsm-firmenich’s needs. 

Mendix has become a vital part of dsm-firmenich’s business. It enables colleagues in almost all departments to do their work as fast and efficiently as possible saving time and costs. “Working with Mendix provides a solid foundation for developing and presenting your own solutions within your business and to your customers. I think Mendix is a very easy and accessible way to get things done fast”, Tielens-Coenegracht adds. The extra time that working with Mendix saves is invested in dsm-firmenich’s innovation journey by, for example, implementing GenAI alongside Mendix.   

And for businesses wanting to start their Mendix journey but still unsure of the added value, Tielens-Coenegracht has one final piece of advice. “Just try it. You can start very small with Mendix. But just start and see what value it adds and which perks it can give you. There are plenty of experts and partners that can help you, this is not a journey you have to go on alone.”