As a global leader in pet food manufacturing, Nestlé Purina has several factories located throughout the globe.

Sales staff are required to stay on top of the latest manufacturing innovations that Nestlé Purina deploys to ensure they can properly communicate the value proposition that only Nestlé Purina can deliver on.

Challenge

Nestle Purina historically relied on factory tours and in-person training to educate its sales team. Factory tours for the sales staff require significant advanced planning and the allocation of factory staff for explanation and safety. Additionally, factory visits require costly travel.

The client needed to find a better way to educate its sales team and needed to reduce the hard and soft costs associated with its training program.

The Solution

Kopius* was engaged by Nestlé Purina to design and build a mobile virtual reality application, enabling sales staff to experience virtual tours of factories, immersing them in the environment with 360-degree views, and taking them step-by-step through the manufacturing process.

The process began with user research, UX design, and information architecture. The design team addressed personas of different user types and explored the key moments in the training process to identify key moments and interactions to recreate in the experience.

Next, the engineering team partnered with the design team to execute the concept, developing a virtual reality application.

Results

By using virtual reality, Kopius helped Nestlé Purina train its staff on the latest manufacturing processes at scale, at a lower cost, and with more efficiency.

Nestlé Purina was able to asynchronously train employees, maintain the manufacturing staff’s focus on production, and dramatically save on time and travel costs.

Employees who used the VR training reported higher engagement, and higher retention of material, making the case that the VR training was both cheaper and more effective.

*Kopius performed this work under its previously known business name, Valence.