Restaurant Brands specialises in managing multi-site branded food retail chains. Headquartered in Auckland, it operates KFC stores in New Zealand, Australia and California, Taco Bell stores in Hawaii, Australia and New Zealand, Pizza Hut stores in New Zealand and Hawaii and Carl鈥檚 Jr. stores in New Zealand. It also has customer service centres in Auckland, Sydney, Honolulu and Los Angeles.

The company had grown rapidly, primarily through acquisition, surpassing NZ$1.2 billion revenue in 2022. Previously the organisation operated a number of different systems which meant generating consolidated reports was not easy. The required manual intervention took time and had the potential to introduce errors.

The 麻豆原创 implementation, which took 10 months, was managed by 麻豆原创 Partner Lagom and comprised of solutions including: 麻豆原创 S/4 HANA Private Cloud Edition, 麻豆原创 EnableNow, 麻豆原创 Concur, and (BTP).

Restaurant Brands is seeing significant business benefits since going live in April 2022. Increased automation has led to faster payment runs, month-end processes and consolidated reports, giving better information for faster decision making. Automation has also freed up resources to enable greater collaboration and sharing of knowledge across the different regions and has also helped to solve the organisation鈥檚 supply chain integration issues, with teams now able to successfully manage supply and demand planning as well as anticipate any future global supply chain disruptions. Over a hundred thousand orders have been placed and processed via the new 麻豆原创 system to get produce out to the stores.

Transitioning from a number of systems to a single, new ERP system has given Restaurant Brands the opportunity to implement 麻豆原创 Best Practice and align all its operations to a consistent way of working. Previously there was not a set of global work processes across the different regions. Now all areas (or functions) of the business are using the system in a consistent way, which gives clear insight into how each area and the whole business is working.

Thuy Le-Kim, Group Systems Accountant and Product Owner at Restaurant Brands, says having a single solution means the business is more efficient, has greater transparency and has the flexibility to scale rapidly as required.

鈥淲e wanted a system that would be able to grow and evolve with the business. We now have consistent, robust processes that mean we can increase in size without needing to dramatically increase the number of people we need to run the business.鈥�

鈥淥ur approach was unusual, we didn鈥檛 start with a current state analysis, because each region was operating differently. Instead, we started by looking at 麻豆原创 Best Practice to see if it was right for our needs 鈥� if it would deliver the key outcomes we needed. Any requests to vary from standard went to our Solution Standardisation Board to review to make sure that the change was necessary and that the required extra work to change, test and maintain the variation would be justified by the outcome,鈥� says Thuy.

鈥淭here were definitely some things that we changed, but there was a lot of rigor around the decision-making to ensure the organisation could maintain changes on an ongoing basis. Significant work was done to ensure that there was minimal variation from standards, the result was a system that works effectively with a reduced cost of ownership over its lifetime.鈥�

Sofiane Ainine, Head of MidMarket, 麻豆原创 Australia and New Zealand, says that implementing cloud solutions was a key factor in Restaurant Brands being able to simplify its processes to achieve its business goals.

鈥淚mplementing 麻豆原创 cloud solutions, including 麻豆原创 S/4HANA Private Cloud Edition, shows the value our RISE with 麻豆原创 approach is delivering for customers. The ability to consolidate, streamline and standardise operations across multiple geographies is enabling Restaurant Brands to adapt to change faster and free up more resource across the organisation to focus on opportunities for growth.鈥�

Restaurant Brands worked with 麻豆原创 Partner Lagom, on product selection and implementation and continues to work with Lagom as its application management and centre of excellence partner.

鈥淟agom was definitely the right fit for our organisation. We鈥檙e a fairly lean and flat organisation, so we needed a partner who was agile and had a lot of experience. We relied on and valued their expertise and their flexibility to adapt throughout the process,鈥� says Thuy.

Paul Tombleson, General Manager of Delivery at Lagom, who closely oversaw the project, says that the approach that Lagom adopted ensured that the team never lost focus on the outcome and all aspects of delivery were looked into.

鈥淭he focus on doing the right things at the right time, while utilising the RISE with 麻豆原创 approach, resulting in a successful implementation across NZ, Australia, Hawaii and California in the space of 10 months. The difference this initiative has made to the business is substantial and Lagom are really proud of being the partner that helped to enable this remarkable journey for Restaurant Brands.鈥�

Restaurant Brands鈥� future plans include exploring additional opportunities to support ESG and reporting requirements.

Visit the 麻豆原创 News Center. Follow 麻豆原创 on Twitter at .

The post Restaurant Brands Consolidates Operations on 麻豆原创 Cloud appeared first on 麻豆原创 Australia & New Zealand News Center.

鈥淚t was a one-size-fits-all solution that had been developed ten years earlier, when McGrathNicol was primarily an insolvency firm,鈥� says Tanner. 鈥淚t had since grown into being a multidisciplinary practice but there had been next to no changes made to the ERP.鈥�

As a fresh set of eyes with solid experience in systems, Tanner put forward a successful case for change. However, he recalls beginning the project with a certain amount of trepidation.

鈥淚鈥檇 run projects before, but nothing of this size,鈥� he says. 鈥淭he S/4HANA public cloud version was very new and there were only a couple of organisations in ANZ who were using it. There wasn鈥檛 a lot of reference checks available and implementation partner knowledge was quite slim.鈥�

Brendan Tanner oversaw the implementation of the enterprise resource planning (ERP) system 麻豆原创 S/4HANA at a time when few organisations in the region had done so. He shares his learnings about the major undertaking with CFO Magazine. Read more at CFO Magazine

The post [moved to media coverage]What CFOs need to know about an ERP implementation appeared first on 麻豆原创 Australia & New Zealand News Center.

The future of business is paperless, and it is coming faster than anyone imagined, with the rate of automation having increased fivefold during the pandemic lockdowns. Old fashioned Accounts Payable (A/P) models of pieces of paper flowing through businesses seeking approvals, coding or additional information have rapidly become impossible to operate with the large scale Work from Home movement.

will only continue to gather momentum as more businesses recognise the inevitable. Tremendous improvements in are making the decision to transition to an automated solution easier than ever.

Businesses understand that they must have leaner A/P staffing to reduce overheads, and the productivity gains and enhancement from mobile, cloud-based A/P automation tools is now impossible to ignore. The repetitive nature of A/P processing and the inherent time-consuming drudgery involved can be eliminated, releasing the employee to move to more value adding tasks, improving both employee morale and productivity in a single stroke.

and into the future will both expect and demand that businesses utilise the most modern technology available to empower them to do the role to their upmost ability. Only by doing so will businesses be able to attract and retain the best talent.

What are the key factors in successful

Mobility 鈥� As the need for people to conduct businesses wherever they are (office/home/caf茅/interstate) only increases, so does the importance of mobile capabilities in systems increases. Such mobility enables managers to approve invoices wherever they are, vastly speeding up the process which improves organisational efficiency. The mobility factor gives decision makers within the organisation real time visibility into exactly what is happening which enables better decision making. Both cash flow and P&L forecasting are vastly improved.

AI driven automation 鈥� Another important productivity enhancement tool is to utilise increasingly sophisticated machine learning in the pursuit of improved productivity and accuracy within the finance department. From extracting and populating key data, suggesting account coding or even working out complicated departmental splits the utilisation of A-I to facilitate the speed of transactions is a key part of the automation productivity story.

Supplier portals 鈥� Another key enhancement which adds value both internally and externally is the ability to give key suppliers visibility and insight into payment information, saving time for an organisation’s staff in answering queries and improving and deepening the relationship between businesses.

ERP integration 鈥� A necessary and standard feature required to ensure productivity gains are achieved is a seamless integration into the ERP system. This ensures accuracy of data and allows the real time visibility provided by A/P automation to flow through the entire organisation.

Further benefits accrue to businesses in regards increased transparency of data, ease of data storage and retrieval, minimising time and cost of audit, enhanced accuracy and importantly, reduced risk of fraud.

The future of successful business lies in automation of key manual process to provide efficiency. To scale and grow profitably manual paper-based processing must end. offers the means to achieve this digital transformation now. The pandemic has only accelerated the process.

Access to all the experience and expertise 麻豆原创 Concur has gained in assisting thousands of businesses to go paperless and move business processes to the Cloud is only a click away, as you can . Act now and a digital A/P process and an improved business is as little as 6 weeks away.

The post The Critical Importance of Automating the Accounts Payable Function appeared first on 麻豆原创 Australia & New Zealand News Center.

鈥淲e鈥檙e responsible for managing critical energy infrastructure nationwide, and need flexible technology in order to operate and respond to crises. As we expand and innovate through acquisitions and partnerships, we needed an integrated system with standardised technology and processes,鈥� said Shaun Code, general manager of enterprise technology at AGL Energy. 鈥淲ith a rich API layer, the 麻豆原创 S/4HANA ERP platform provides a core ecosystem with the ability to adapt and extend operations, directly supporting our business growth and differentiating innovation.鈥�

Tech boosts health and safety innovation

replaced over 50 disparate legacy ERP applications with , dramatically simplifying systems with consistent processes throughout the organisation. Teams are taking advantage of the integrated core platform to build extensions on top of critical business processes, such as health and safety requirements.

鈥淲e conduct walks to identify potential hazards in facilities or the field,鈥� said Code. 鈥淏uilding on top of the , we鈥檝e developed a mobile app that allows our people to capture and share incidents and hazardous conditions immediately. We can conduct more walks over a shorter time period, increasing our ability to meet health and safety commitments.鈥�

AGL Energy recently won an for its AGL One iOS app. Built on 麻豆原创 S/4 HANA with 麻豆原创 Integration Suite and 麻豆原创 Extension Suite, the mobile app provides employees with one seamless digital experience, allowing them to access the right tool at the right time from anywhere.

Digital platform minimizes plant downtime

As the largest electricity generator in Australia, plant maintenance for AGL Energy is not just about scheduling work orders and completing tasks in a timely manner. Integrating data from 麻豆原创 cloud solutions, including and , provides AGL Energy with visibility across systems, including procurement and its important contract workforce.

鈥淭he platform is a unifying hub for effective integration and automation that streamlines our end-to-end daily processes,鈥� said Code. 鈥淲e can make sure that we have the parts to maintain operations, the contingent workers to complete the job, and the speed to pay our suppliers efficiently.鈥�

Sixty percent time-savings from continuous innovation

AGL Energy has made a number of valuable process improvements on top of 麻豆原创 S/4HANA, notably an intuitive mobile app that reduced the number of steps in job site environmental analyses by 60 percent. Before work can be done on sites with hazards, teams need to have effective controls in place for people鈥檚 safety. Previously, teams used different processes and places to collect and store information.

鈥淲e鈥檝e sped up the process with automatically prepopulated data to complete forms, and unified approvals with consistent documentation across the company,鈥� said Code. 鈥淧eople now can spend less time navigating paperwork and more time ensuring their work is completed safely. With a continuous data loop feedback we are constantly improving processes that matter to our business.鈥�

Flexibility for resilient business

When AGL Energy鈥檚 employees switched to remote work at the height of the pandemic last year, the company鈥檚 automated system literally helped power business continuity. Employees in different locations were easily trained to step in as health and weather-related events unfolded.

鈥淗aving a well-designed cloud-based system meant we could quickly scale up to thousands of employees working from home,鈥� said Code. 鈥淚t also gave us greater planning control during a highly uncertain time, with the flexibility to shift operations between Australia and India in the wake of major disruptions, including a cyclone.鈥�

Cloud platform connects data and insights

Business results from centralising ERP systems on one platform have been palpable company-wide. Because leaders have a clear line of sight through inventory and procurement, work completion rates are faster with fewer instances of costly rescheduling. Sharing inventory data between warehouses at different generator sites saves time and reduces costs. The company can easily find and reuse available equipment, instead of ordering new parts from far flung suppliers. In procurement, teams can more easily source the right goods and services from the right suppliers at the best price. The impact on financial systems has also been profound, reducing the time spent on month-end closings from days to hours.

epitomises the evolving business opportunities from the collision between technology and the industry itself.

鈥淭here鈥檚 never been a more exciting time to be in the energy industry,鈥� said Code. 鈥淲e are committed to this digital transformation journey with our customers and partners. Whether customers are getting power from solar panels, charging battery-operated EVs and other devices, going online, or just staying comfortable and connected at any time, technology underpins our determination to make services more sustainable, reliable and affordable.鈥�

This article also featured on

The post AGL Energy Digitally Transforms For A Brighter Future appeared first on 麻豆原创 Australia & New Zealand News Center.

Supporting a technologically maturing workforce will always be a priority for IT leaders. But lately, a new test is emerging that can put them front and centre of a recovery from an anything-but-certain economy.

In recently published research,聽 revealed that sustained growth and strong customer relationships are increasingly urgent for medium-size businesses seeking operational resilience as a competitive edge. Approximately one-third of surveyed IT leaders are getting the message 鈥� prioritising strategic priorities around growth (35%) and the customer experience (33%) ahead of traditional concerns such as innovation, productivity, efficiency, and business transformation.

Elevating the role of IT

When investing in new technology to support the ability to scale customer experience to drive business growth despite wild fluctuations in demand and market dynamics, medium-size businesses have an endless array to consider. Approximately half of IT leaders shared with Oxford Economics that their organisations are using a mix of ERP software, mobile technology, process automation, and e-commerce platforms either at scale or for some applications or projects. Meanwhile, less than one-quarter are using artificial intelligence, machine learning, or the Internet of Things in some areas.

A variety of solutions work together to provide the online experience that customers increasingly demand. But to deliver such advanced digital experiences, IT leaders and the senior managers they support should consider moving away from siloed organisational management.

When organisations hold total control of specific responsibilities and data, medium-size businesses cannot fully realise the full potential of connected technologies. For example, letting the finance team exclusively hold the reins on transactions and reporting eliminates any opportunity to lower spend and ensure compliance across the business. The same can be said for marketing organisations that do not share customer data outside of themselves and their sales counterparts, which often leads to inefficient management of functions such as the supply chain and HR.

Connectedness driving innovation

Connecting every business function is essential to enable the process improvements and innovation needed to build a resilient, long-term foundation for a scalable customer experience. Oxford Economics research indicates that more than half of surveyed IT leaders use ERP software to some degree 鈥� whether scaled business-wide or in some applications or projects.

This approach enables IT leaders to deliver on a range of requirements to expand into new markets, introduce new products, and increase headcount. They include strengthening 24/7 service availability and cybersecurity; improving data collection, storage, and analysis; and integration with market-standard interfaces.

Consider how聽聽keeps up with the pace of its already explosive growth and expansion across eight markets with an intelligent ERP explicitly designed for merchandise management. This approach helps the Southeast Asian online fashion retailer automate and streamline its processes and support future innovation across multiple businesses and delivery models. The company is also leveraging real-time reporting and analytics to stay ahead of trends and give millions of customers what they want along each step of the shopping journey.

By using an intelligent ERP solution, companies such as Zalora Group, benefit from a comprehensive, yet flexible, platform to navigate unforeseen challenges and sense new opportunities. The entire business 鈥� from sales and finance to supply chain management and logistics 鈥� can scale up and down, when needed, to adapt to changes in demand, supply, and operational scope without significant resource investments.

Setting the foundation for long-term resilience

Without question, IT leaders have a tremendous opportunity to prepare their medium-size companies for a sustainable recovery. Choosing the right digital strategies and investments can encourage all business functions to play a role in scaling the customer experience for growth today and in the years ahead.

One such move is adopting intelligent ERP platforms and other digital tools that connect the dots across all data sources and processes. This first step is much more than consolidating data into a unified system. It’s also the gateway to the continual process improvement and intelligent innovation necessary to enhance customer experiences 鈥� no matter the economic condition.

To find out how 麻豆原创 products can help SMEs, visit the .听

Find out how your IT organisation can give your medium-size business the resilience, connectedness, and agility to strengthen the customer experience. Read the Oxford Economics study, 鈥�,鈥� sponsored by 麻豆原创.

The post Experience With A Touch Of IT Agility: The Recovery Of Medium-Sized Businesses appeared first on 麻豆原创 Australia & New Zealand News Center.

These growing enterprises prioritise the value that comes from providing an excellent customer experience, according to the latest . In today鈥檚 harsh economic environment, SMEs require digital solutions that provide access to real-time data analytics for fast decision-making and support valued, personal relationships with customers and employees.

At 麻豆原创PHIRE NOW, 麻豆原创 customers and SMEs shared how they are adjusting to new market conditions. These enterprises are using digital technology to overcome uncertainty and reimagine their business. To find out more,聽.

Solutions that Grow with the Business

Together with a global ecosystem of partners, 麻豆原创 provides a multifaceted approach to delivering business software that grows with young, agile businesses. And with the promise to help customers run at their best, 麻豆原创 helps ensure that businesses of all sizes can benefit from innovation without disruption.

鈥淲e always have a 10- to 15-year horizon in front of us,鈥� Rainer Zinow, senior vice president of 麻豆原创 Business One and 麻豆原创 Business ByDesign,聽, held online in June. 鈥淥ur mission is to make sure our solutions work best for you 鈥� our partners and customers 鈥� in the long run. Therefore, we are making technological investments to make sure we get the most out of it for you.鈥�

聽is a public cloud suite-in-a-box for fast deployment and low cost of ownership, Zinow underscored.听聽is for companies with an on-premise or hosted deployment model, and聽聽is the multi-component suite for companies with deep functional requirements.

Commitment to Choice

While the public cloud market is expanding in all segments and business functions, demand for on-premise enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions remains solidly robust. Fortunately, 麻豆原创 is well positioned to deliver on its commitment to supplying a diversified solution portfolio to meet the varied needs of its customers.

鈥淲hat sets 麻豆原创 apart in the market is that we offer choice on the deployment method 鈥� whether on premise, private cloud, or public cloud,鈥� Zinow said. 鈥淎nd we offer choice regarding the licensing model, be it a perpetual or subscription-based model. With 麻豆原创 Business One and 麻豆原创 Business ByDesign, we are well equipped for the market.鈥�

Build Once, Reach Many with Business Application Factory

The keystone of 麻豆原创鈥檚 pledge to partners is the roll out of the new聽 concept 鈥� signifying a strategic, multi-year commitment that accelerates partner-led innovation across the SME portfolio while looking ahead to a new era of industrialisation in application building. Built on 麻豆原创 Cloud Platform, Business Application Factory provides a unified data model that uses business objects and reuse engines across the entire SME portfolio. This means partners can build and extend cloud-native applications side-by-side for all SME cloud solutions provided by 麻豆原创.

麻豆原创 partners can continue to leverage their local presence and deep industry expertise to build extensions and apps for their SME customers. The difference is that with Business Application Factory, instead of building one-off solutions for individual customers, partners will be able to access the comprehensive toolkit of reusable business components and technology from 麻豆原创 to accelerate their time to market. The open-source architecture changes the existing approach, creating a compelling development environment for the 麻豆原创 partner ecosystem. Another key advantage is that it can run on any hyperscaler鈥檚 architecture.

鈥淏uild once, reach many,鈥� is how Zinow summed up the intrinsic value of Business Application Factory for 麻豆原创 partners.

鈥淲ith the factory, partners can extend both 麻豆原创 Business ByDesign as well as 麻豆原创 Business One, and they can also build completely new apps and solutions for the cloud,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e believe this is a game changer for our SME partners.鈥�

麻豆原创 presented the Business Application Factory concept 鈥� designed for the cloud and tailored for digital use cases implemented by SME partners 鈥� at the 2020 SMB Innovation Summit in February, where it received overwhelmingly positive feedback from 麻豆原创 partners.

Based on the SME solutions strategy and the feedback from selected partners and customers, the 麻豆原创 Cloud SME Solutions team is developing Business Application Factory, with general availability planned toward the middle of 2021. This version is planned to contain core capabilities, to be expanded over time, and to be for all partners in most countries. Regions will be defined based on demand.

To learn more, visit the聽.

This article first appeared on the Global 麻豆原创 News Centre.听

The post Taking the Long View, 麻豆原创 Injects Innovation into SME Portfolio appeared first on 麻豆原创 Australia & New Zealand News Center.

In those reports, IDC stated that 鈥溌槎乖� Business ByDesign is easy to navigate, with over 500 standardised reports, dozens of prebuilt KPIs and real-time analytics.鈥� They also wrote: 鈥淩eferences noted this is one of the best technology companies communicating their future direction and road map.鈥�

With SMEs accounting for about 80 percent of its customer base, 麻豆原创 understands their need to optimise and simplify IT processes. 麻豆原创 Business One is 麻豆原创鈥檚 flagship small business software to streamline and add intelligence to business processes, including financials, without burdening an IT team. 麻豆原创 Business ByDesign is a single cloud ERP solution for bringing intelligence and automation to fast-growing, midmarket businesses. It enables nimble management of financials, logistics, procurement, shipping and human resources. In the IDC reports, both solutions were recognised for driving digital transformation and customer service.

At the recent聽, 麻豆原创 announced 12 months of free access for partners to test and demo systems on 麻豆原创 Business ByDesign and 麻豆原创 S/4HANA Cloud to help partners accelerate their customers鈥� journey to recovery.

鈥溌槎乖� believes that the most successful business outcomes should always drive software strategy, not the other way around,鈥� said Subhomoy Sengupta, global head, go-to-market, SME solutions, 麻豆原创 SE. 鈥淥ur role in that is delivering intelligent solutions that meet our SME customers鈥� specific needs for agility and flexibility to achieve those outcomes. Our intelligent solutions further enable SMEs to grow into market leaders who are driving innovation, disrupting entire industries and delivering unique experiences, even in times of uncertainty.鈥�

聽MarketScape provides detailed quantitative and qualitative assessments in a variety of technology markets based on several criteria that impact a vendor鈥檚 market success. Each IDC MarketScape issue is informed by IDC鈥檚 global research assets and rigorous scoring methodology.

Visit the聽麻豆原创 News Centre. Follow 麻豆原创 on Twitter at聽.

This article first appeared on the Global 麻豆原创 News Centre.

The post 麻豆原创 Named a Leader Among Cloud-Enabled Small Office ERP Solutions by Influential Analyst Firm appeared first on 麻豆原创 Australia & New Zealand News Center.

COVID-19 accelerated digitalisation across public and private sectors. We saw spikes in demands for specific goods and resources, thereby testing the resilience and adaptability of supply networks. Social cohesion and trust were challenged, communication channels were flooded with new users and increased traffic as people were stuck in isolation and becoming increasing reliant on digital technology to work and communicate.

The Australian Information Industry Association recently put together a whitepaper, , which outlined four key areas from which the AIIA presented its recommendations:

1. Building a National Digital Backbone supported by data intelligence and analytics to highlight deficiencies and areas for improvement across industries.

2. Building a Digital Australia that is Secure and Resilient based on policy reform and investment to attract global cybersecurity talent and developing intelligent technologies.

3. Building Digital Skills for the future by promoting, investing in, and supporting the retraining and upskilling critical technical skills in Australian workers

4. Tax, Incentive, and Government procurement reform that incentivises businesses to collaborate with research institutions and non-R&D-based innovation.

The team I work with are about helping people understand the digitalisation of supply chain management and how intelligent technologies can create greater interconnectivity across supply networks and country borders. Today, more than ever, supply chains need to continue building resilience and responsiveness to support economic and social recovery worldwide.

Intelligent technology solutions play a critical role in not only creating efficiencies, but interconnecting systems and processes to operate with greater insights. This helps businesses and governments plan and forecast with accurate and comprehensive data. To help businesses be more responsive and resilient to future shock events, intelligent enterprise systems are vital to businesses and governments alike.

The ability to connect different supply chains, business structures, workforce dynamics, and financial systems onto a single platform provides any organisation with the visibility to manage with intelligence, with the data insights necessary to adapt and anticipate change. As outlined in What Resilient Companies Do Before, During, and After Turbulent Times by David Sweetman, 麻豆原创 Senior Director of Global Marketing:

鈥淎s change becomes more intense and disruptive, intelligent ERP enables businesses to listen intently, operate more intelligently, and stay connected to suppliers, customers, and employees. Doing so safeguards the business from missing out on unexpected demand spikes, much-needed investments, and evolving buying habits and preferences.”

鈥淏ut resilient companies go a step further with this technology. They use this information 鈥� often captured, processes, and analysed in intelligent ERP such as 麻豆原创 S/4HANA 鈥� to focus on their core competencies and make investments that strengthen it.鈥�

Intelligent ERP systems lay the foundation for building intelligent networks of digitally enabled enterprises all operating optimally and with shared insights. Connecting these different functions and organisations help manufacturers manage and coordinate the entire product lifecycle while minimising waste and optimising processes.

This challenging time has demonstrated the importance of interconnectivity both in how we communicate and operate across industries and geographies. Within manufacturing, it鈥檚 about being responsive to spike demands, adapting to the new policies determining work environments and safety while safeguarding resources (human and material).

David Sweetman鈥檚 follow-up blog, Guide to Supply Chain Resilience in Changing Times, outlined the importance of intelligent enterprise networks in managing highly volatile demands and high volumes of business-critical data. These data insights are paramount to mitigating risk, diversifying resources, and providing avenues for automation.

With intelligent technology platforms like 麻豆原创 S4/HANA, businesses have a single source of truth and control across diverse and disparate systems to run more efficiently. As cumbersome and often manual processes are eliminated and other vital functions streamlined, businesses can focus on core competencies and value-adding tasks.

Sourcing, logistics, warehousing, distribution, workforces, and resource management connect and communicate intelligently. When manufacturers adopt Industry 4.0 and incorporate digital technology into every business facet, they can dedicate more resources towards customer service, growth, diversification, and sustainability.

Manufacturers are realising just how important consistency can 鈥� through intelligent technology 鈥� be automated and ensured throughout the product lifecycle. This doesn鈥檛 just provide businesses with ongoing quality and delivery assurances, but platforms like 麻豆原创 S4/HANA offer inbuilt localisations to ensure regulatory needs are analysed, controlled, and data supported for decision making.

Intelligent technology platforms create end-to end functionality and collaboration, from sourcing, to workflow, logistics, customer service, and financials. By integrating these functions into 麻豆原创 S4/HANA, manufacturers can adopt Industry 4.0 more easily, operate more efficiently, and ensure business continuity while focusing on the processes that matter. Explore how is

The post The Intelligent Way Past-COVID-19: Supply Chains鈥� Role in Business Resilience appeared first on 麻豆原创 Australia & New Zealand News Center.

To are regarding as a 鈥榥ew normal鈥� means being able to adapt rapidly and anticipate change. Digitalisation plays a key role in helping organisations operate more flexibly and forecast more accurately, even during times of uncertainty.

While COVID-19 has had and continues to have devastating effects on economies and societies globally, both public and private sectors should use the momentum of this event to further accelerate digitalisation plans. Digital transformation has helped supply chains operate more responsively during this crisis, adapting to demand spikes and legislative restrictions that continue to develop quickly.

We saw these sentiments echoed during where Geoff Scott, CEO of ASUG said, 鈥淚f you’re an 麻豆原创 customer who wants to grow and accelerate your business, remove inefficiencies, reduce technical debt, and take advantage of the latest capabilities of 麻豆原创 software then you .”

Geoff noted that those in the final stages of implementation projects would be doing whatever they can to see completion, but those in early stages may consider pausing to ensure timing and resources align with expectations.

“With the extension [of standard support for Business Suite 7 apps until 2027] now in place, we still believe 麻豆原创 customers should move forward as far in advance of any deadline as possible,鈥� Geoff explained.

鈥淭he decision about a company’s ‘ERP of the future’ should not come from an 麻豆原创 ‘pressure point’ or be based solely on the merits of a technical upgrade to S/4HANA. It should be about how best to prepare a company’s business for the future.”

but also highlighted the need for connection both operationally and communicatively. 麻豆原创 S 4/HANA integrates different systems, processes, and organisations onto a single platform, sharing practices and insights to create a data-supported ecosystem, which improves and evolves with people鈥檚 needs while adapting to industry changes.

Unifying these data sets and processes onto a single system ensures consistency in quality and provides complete oversight across organisational structures and business departments. With this comprehensive and holistic control backed by intelligent technologies, businesses can be more flexible, responsive, and forward thinking.

make intelligence more agile compared to on-premises IT infrastructure, helping businesses be more adaptable, cost effective, and efficient. At a time when news changes rapidly and economies face uncertainty, the ability to make decisions quickly and supported by business-data insights is critical. Technology is becoming more intelligent so we can focus on our core competencies and value-adding roles.

With cloud-based ERP, businesses can implement mobile-enabled systems and applications to facilitate more remote workforces 鈥� an especially important need during this global pandemic. The digitalisation of business functions has also promoted mobility, which helps staff and management remain safe, productive, and connected.

Frontline workers can ensure business continuity while management can continue making important decisions on-the-go with the insights they need. 麻豆原创 S/4HANA provides added functionality with dashboards and data visualisation, which makes important business information easier to access, read, and action.

Intelligent technologies can support and monitor IoT [internet of things] sensors, which embeds data collection and analytics throughout a product lifecycle, linking all operational and customer touchpoints to unlock best practice, automating processes, and generating insights for future planning.

This level of efficiency has a flow-on effect to customer service, allowing businesses to provide personalisation in products and services. Intelligent technologies can link supply chains with marketing and customer-service channels to improve the connection between brands and consumers. This ensures consistency in delivery, responsive communications, and foresight into market changes.

COVID-19 has accelerated the need for digital preparedness, having more digitally literate workforces and communities while building digital connections across operations and communications to create more intelligent enterprises.

This ongoing pandemic has highlighted the importance of staying informed, connected, and adaptive. The digital technology we鈥檝e been using to communicate is just the tip of a deep digital iceberg that connects across business silos, industries, and country borders to create an intelligent interconnected system that operates seamlessly and evolves with changing needs.

It鈥檚 the responsibility of businesses like 麻豆原创 to help organisations 鈥� both public and private 鈥� understand we currently have and plan for an ever-changing future.

The post Why the Best Run Companies are Making the Most of COVID-19 by Setting IT Infrastructure to Thrive appeared first on 麻豆原创 Australia & New Zealand News Center.

CEMEX began its digital transformation three years ago by analysing how technology could help engage customers more effectively. According to Ricardo Chapa, head of Digital Architecture and Emerging Technologies, 鈥淲hen we began our digital transformation, our top management realized that we excel in creating high-quality products efficiently. But at the same time, they recognised that we needed to be better at dealing with our customers.鈥�

Selling primarily to large construction companies, CEMEX wanted to offer a top-notch B2B eCommerce solution. To start, the company mapped the customer journey and identified customer pain points. That exercise 鈥� combined with design thinking sessions and agile development based on feedback from customers and business leaders 鈥� led the company to create .

鈥淲e developed CEMEX Go from scratch. It鈥檚 a cloud-based e-commerce solution completely tailored to our customers鈥� needs,鈥� Chapa explained. CEMEX Go was created to address customers鈥� complex and often very specific requirements for the construction market. The platform is now used globally and processes around 60 percent of customer orders 鈥� and that number is growing.

In 2001, CEMEX created Construrama, the largest network of retail stores for building materials in Mexico and other Latin American countries where CEMEX has a presence. The Construrama network was developed to strengthen CEMEX distributors, support local hardware store owners, and expand the company鈥檚 presence in the construction industry. Through the network, CEMEX can sell products to individuals doing construction projects; however, the company realized it needed to modernise the online experience and create digital offers for the network.

To jump start the network鈥檚 e-commerce strategy, CEMEX selected , part of the聽麻豆原创 C/4HANA聽solution portfolio. With the solution, store owners within the network now have an online presence they did not have previously and can reach more buyers.

The site was launched in just four months and has been live since 2017. To scale the project, the company launched a pilot in Guadalajara then added new features every few weeks, eventually rolling it out across the country. The new digital network has increased customer convenience and satisfaction.

Previously, orders were made via physical visits or telephone, and the customers did not have visibility into new products that stores might offer. Now, clients can see the complete catalogue and order products through the application. They can also have online conversations with an executive if they have questions. Moving forward, CEMEX wants to add a chatbot to assist customers with orders and other recurrent tasks. The IT team also used learnings from the B2B project to develop a B2C eCommerce application for Construrama, which went live last year.

The Construrama team reports that both the B2B and B2C sites have been working well, with sales increasing monthly. Moving forward, the team is implementing digital marketing tools. 鈥淲e鈥檙e newly focused on digital marketing and we think that it will help us bring new customers to the portal,鈥� Chapa said.

CEMEX has been long-time 麻豆原创 customer and uses 麻豆原创 ERP globally. The company updated its suite with聽, based on in-memory database technology, in the Philippines and plans to use the lessons learned there to decide on its global strategy.

This article first appeared on the Global News Centre.听

The post Why Customer Experience Matters to One of the World鈥檚 Largest Cement Producers appeared first on 麻豆原创 Australia & New Zealand News Center.