Case study: how Hilton Foods Holland strengthened supplier management

In the fast-paced, highly regulated world of protein manufacturing, procurement teams are under pressure to act quickly — without compromising on quality or compliance. Here’s how Hilton Foods Holland addressed the challenge by digitising their operations with Foods Connected.

About Hilton Food Group

Hilton Foods Holland is part of the wider Hilton Food Group – a leading international food packaging and supply chain business. Based in the Netherlands, the Holland division supplies high-quality meat and seafood products to major retailers across Europe. Operating in a highly regulated and fast-moving environment, Hilton Foods Holland (HFH) is known for its strong commitment to food safety, innovation, and supplier collaboration.

At Hilton Foods Holland,  managing supplier relationships and procurement activities was becoming increasingly challenging. With complex supplier networks and multiple touchpoints, manual processes were creating visibility gaps and slowing the team's ability to respond effectively to issues

Managing procurement with spreadsheets wasn’t sustainable

Before introducing Foods Connected, Hilton Foods Holland were managing procurement using spreadsheets, emails, and siloed systems. The fragmented nature of this setup made it hard to access accurate data, track supplier performance, or respond quickly to issues.

The procurement team faced difficulties including:

• Limited visibility across the supply chain
• Inconsistent and manually updated documentation
• Delayed responses to quality and compliance issues
• Increased risk due to lack of centralised data

With more suppliers, more products, and increasing compliance requirements, it was clear that manual processes were no longer fit for purpose.

A connected approach to supplier and procurement management

Hilton Foods Holland turned to Foods Connected to streamline and digitise their procurement operations. The team adopted a suite of tools designed to improve visibility, collaboration, and control across the supply chain.

These included:

• Supplier Manager: A centralised hub for up-to-date supplier data and documentation, enabling consistent oversight and faster issue resolution. 
• Product Check Manager: Real-time tracking of quality issues and rejections at intake, ensuring immediate visibility and faster corrective action. 
• Product Development: Configurable, stage-gated workflows that streamline innovation and hold teams accountable at every step. 
• Strategic Purchasing: Open-book costing models that provide transparency on yield pricing and negotiation terms, ensuring optimal value for compliant products. 

Together, these tools helped HFH standardise workflows, automate key admin tasks, and provide a single source of truth for procurement activity.

Driving visibility, collaboration and faster decisions

The impact of the changes was clear. With one connected system in place, Hilton Foods Holland gained:

• Full visibility across their supply chain
• Better communication and accountability across teams
• Reduced admin through digital workflows and automated reminders
• Improved audit readiness with centralised, real-time data

With more accurate data and clearer oversight, the procurement team can now make faster, more informed decisions — while continuously improving how they manage supplier performance and risk.

If you'd like to discover more about how Hilton Foods Holland transformed their procurement supplier management you can get your own copy of the full case study here.

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