Case Study

Building the Digital Backbone: RHI Magnesita’s Journey to Operational Excellence

See how RHI Magnesita is building a future-ready digital backbone to drive operational excellence, scalability, and AI-enabled innovation.

RHI Magnesita, the global leader in refractory solutions, partnered with BCG and BCG Platinion to redesign its digital core and establish a future-ready operating model built for scale, resilience, and AI-driven innovation.

The Challenge  

Operating across mining, manufacturing, and highly complex international supply chains, RHI Magnesita’s technology landscape had evolved over time to support a diverse set of business entities, regional requirements, and operational processes.  Magnesita recognized an opportunity to further harmonize systems, processes, and data across the enterprise while building a stronger foundation for transparency, efficiency, and innovation.

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To hear directly from RHI Magnesita and BCG and BCG Platinion leaders about the transformation journey, watch the client success story below.

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The Transformation

What began as a systems modernization initiative evolved into a broader business transformation program, with RHI Magnesita, BCG, and BCG Platinion developing a digital roadmap focused on process harmonization, ERP transformation, and long-term growth.

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At the heart of the transformation sits a two-tier ERP architecture that balances global standardization with operational flexibility. SAP S/4HANA Cloud, Public Edition serves as the strategic foundation for the future application landscape, while SAP S/4HANA Private Cloud supports entities with more complex operational requirements within the same harmonized process framework.

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The transformation also introduced centralized governance and a unified enterprise data model, creating an AI-ready foundation that connects operations, supply chain planning, manufacturing, and production data across the organization.

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The transformation was enabled by an integrated approach spanning strategy, business processes, technology, and data—ensuring that organizational change and system modernization progressed hand in hand.

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The Outcome

Today, the transformation is establishing a harmonized digital backbone across RHI Magnesita’s global operations, including:

  • Harmonized global processes spanning more than 300 business processes
  • Almost all processes standardized globally
  • A two-tier ERP architecture built on Public and Private Cloud
  • Centralized data governance and an enterprise-wide data foundation
  • End-to-end visibility across manufacturing and supply chain operations

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Beyond operational improvements, the transformation has created the foundation for the next generation of industrial AI. With standardized processes, harmonized data, and real-time transparency embedded across the enterprise, RHI Magnesita is now positioned to scale advanced analytics, intelligent automation, and AI-driven decision-making globally.

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The result is a future-ready digital backbone designed not only to support the business today, but to power the next era of industrial operations.


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