Bekaert Layers Custom AI on SAP SuccessFactors to Boosts HR Data Quality

Belgian steel wire producer Bekaert recently implemented a custom AI assistant to improve data quality and streamline HR operations as part of its HR transformation. Through a partnership with Flexso and SAP, the company developed a custom AI Master Data Assistant that integrates directly with its SAP SuccessFactors HCM suite.  

The implementation has resulted in faster, more accurate employee data management and a more intuitive HR experience for managers, recruiters, and business partners.  

Addressing HR Data Quality Challenges at Scale 

Bekaert, whose operations span across 45 countries, faced challenges with maintaining clean HR master data across regions, processes, and systems. Even with SAP Success Factors in place, it was difficult to manually manage and ensure consistency in employee records and data, which is a familiar challenge for HR teams operating at this scale.  

In many cases, fragmented data in human resource management can open an organization to risks, including inaccurate reporting, compliance issues, inconsistent implementation of security protocols, and an overall lack of strategic insight into the workforce. 

As a result, this initiative was driven by Bekaert’s broader goal to become a more data-driven, people-centric organization. It combined SAP SuccessFactors, SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP), and generative AI capabilities via SAP AI Core to enable insights across its HR operations. 

A Layered Approach to Embedded AI 

Bekaert partnered with Flexso, an SAP AppHaus Network member, to design and build a custom AI Master Data Assistant on SAP BTP using SAP AI Core and generative AI models from SAP’s generative AI hub. 

The solution was layered onto the company’s existing SAP SuccessFactors platform via SAP Integration Suite, enabling HR teams to interact with the assistant through a conversational interface.  

Before this project, Bekaert relied on a stand-alone AI tool for HR data improvement that required manual data exports and imports. 

The AI Master Data Assistant uses AI to detect inconsistencies in employee data, recommend corrections, validate entries, and support daily HR activities through natural-language interactions. Users can ask questions, highlight anomalies, correct data, and receive intelligent recommendations in real time through chat-like conversations. 

Jorn Waterschoot, Global Head of HR Technology at Bekaert, said the company’s approach is to make AI accessible and practical. “At Bekaert, the goal is to make AI feel like a candy store: once employees experience its versatility, they are encouraged to explore it further,” he said. 

The assistant is designed to offer the organization the flexibility to swap new models over time. Currently, it uses a specific AI model from the generative AI hub in SAP AI Core, but it is not tied to only one model.  

David Pierre, AI practice lead at Flexso explained, “The AI world is developing so fast. So, the principle in our solution is that we are AI model agnostic. Today, we are using model GPT to support our use case. But if we have a better model in the future, then we can also switch to other models as they are all supported by SAP BTP.” 

What This Means for SAPinsiders 

Clean, reliable data is essential for AI initiatives. When organizations prioritize data accuracy, downstream HR processes, ranging from analytics to payroll, tend to run more smoothly. While SAP SuccessFactors provides the structured, governed HR master data environment, the AI Master Data Assistant built on SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) detects inconsistencies, proposes corrections, and prevents errors from propagating. Together, they establish a trusted data layer that enables more meaningful and reliable AI-driven insights. 

SAP BTP is a powerful layer for extending SuccessFactors with custom AI. Bekaert’s model-agnostic design shows how AI can be embedded safely and flexibly into HR ecosystems without disrupting existing operations. This demonstrates the core value of SAP BTP for SAP customers: it provides a secure, scalable foundation for experimenting with new AI models, building custom extensions, and enhancing cloud applications with enterprise-grade governance. 

Human-centered design accelerates adoption. By delivering AI through intuitive interfaces like natural-language chat, organizations encourage HR teams to embrace new capabilities quickly and confidently. This underscores SAP’s broader value of delivering AI that is not only technically powerful but also accessible, usable, and embedded directly into the work patterns of everyday users.