Deloitte, Zag and Sysdoc lead SAP driven overhaul at Zespri
Zespri International has embarked on a major SAP-driven supply chain transformation, delivered in collaboration with partners Deloitte Consulting, Accenture and Sysdoc. Once completed, Zespri will be able to pride itself on the fact that it will be one of SAP’s first customers globally to leverage the SAP S/4HANA private cloud edition.
Facing a major market opportunity – global demand for kiwifruit is forecasted to boom from 164.4 million trays in 2019/20 to around 280 million trays by 2030 driven by a growing number of health-conscious consumers – New Zealand-based Zespri International (already the world’s largest marketer of kiwifruit) has set its sights on further growth.
Underpinning its growth strategy is a four-year Horizon transformation programme, which aims to help the grower-owned company reap the fruits from state-of-the-art technology. By adopting a mix of best practice business processes in supply chain and logistics, on the back of several systems and apps, Zespri International aims to “both become more efficient and increase sales.”
At the heart of the transformation is the shift to SAP S/4HANA, private cloud edition and the implementation of several SAP Digital Supply Chain applications including SAP Global Trade Services, SAP Integrated Business Planning, SAP Logistics Business Network, and SAP Analytics Cloud.
The Mount Maunganui based company currently runs its SAP environment on Microsoft Azure public cloud, which will be migrated to the SAP S/4HANA private cloud edition. Zespri will continue to use Azure for its enterprise infrastructure, “bringing the best of Microsoft and SAP” to the table, said Zespri’s Chief Digital Officer Dave Scullin.
“Zespri is a large and fast-growing business and we need mature processes and systems to fuel our next stage of growth. The Horizon programme will transform the way our company operates, replacing legacy systems and processes that were designed 20 years ago.”
“Moving to the cloud has been a key strategic decision for us, providing greater flexibility, scalability, and faster innovation cycles. The new cloud-based SAP environment will transform the systems and processes across our business, from finance and supply chain to grower enablement and engagement, sales, and business planning. This will strengthen our capabilities for decades to come.”
According to Damien Bueno, President and Managing Director at SAP Australia and New Zealand, the SAP S/4HANA solution will also enable Zespri to integrate the latest technologies “from the internet of things to predictive analytics.”
The implementation program consists of several phases, with the first Digital Core build phase kicking-off this month. This project focuses on finance and supply chain processes, and subsequently will shift its attention to integrated business planning and sales enablement.
Working with consultants
The overhaul is led by a consortium of consulting firms, spearheaded by Deloitte Consulting, IT firm Zag (an Accenture subsidiary) and change management specialist Sysdoc.
Commenting on the work, Gareth Glover, a partner at Deloitte and consortium lead, said: “We are delighted to be working on this strategic project with of our nation’s most iconic brands.”