Company’s recent investment in cloud-based systems continues to improve its entreprise resource planning, says report
Kiwifruit marketer Zespri is apparently making the most of its new online customer claims portal, part of a broader effort over the past few years to convert its enterprise resource planning from manual systems to fully integrated, cloud-based operations.
According to an article published by IT Brief New Zealand, the group uses the self-service digital platform to process more than 40,000 quality claims worth a combined NZD$70mn per year – a figure understood to be about one per cent of overall sales.
It told the publication that the new system can handle more than a thousand deliveries in under two minutes, and receive outcomes “in seconds”.
“By combining intelligent automation with human expertise, we’ve built a platform that reinforces our brand promise and sets a new industry standard for service,” said Rahul Badge, head of in-market supply chain, Zespri.
“As a result, we have been able to meet our customers’ need for a simpler, faster, and more transparent experience, and give our assessors the tools to reduce manual input and share expert insights across the business. We now see each claim as a chance to show our commitment to service, quality and openness.”
Digital transformation
As Eurofruit reported in April, at the heart of Zespri’s digital transformation is an ambitious project called Horizon, which aims to scale the group for new growth, reduce risk, and secure productivity gains.
“We needed modern, scalable platforms,” explained Dave Scullin, Zespri’s chief digital officer. “Our industry was operating on systems that were 20 years old and designed for an industry that’s way smaller than what we are now.”
Since late 2022, Zespri has focused on switching its enterprise resource planning to SAP’s S/4Hana system, starting with its off-shore supply chain, finance, business planning, in-market inspections, and customer claims. “It was a challenge,” Scullin admitted. “We spent probably 12-18 months just embedding it and fine-tuning it – it was a lot to take on.”
A second wave of changes now underway focuses on grower applications, on-shore supply chain management, and sustainability reporting.
As a result, the company hopes to generate more useful and more immediate business intelligence – for example, automatic calculation of carbon impacts throughout its supply chain so it can more easily meet new reporting regulations.
“We’re now able to observe how our business is performing in real time,” says Scullin. This opens up new possibilities to feed that information into cutting-edge applications, from instant translation of foreign invoices to AI-powered analysis of sales data and market research reports.
“Historically, it would have taken a lot of time to consolidate KPIs into spreadsheets, with many people in different markets. We want to look as it happens, to tune our supply chain and optimise it on a day-to-day basis.”
