The sweet taste of success
The world’s largest kiwifruit producer will continue to kick goals with the help of new technology.
Zespri has had a bumper year. The New Zealand-based grower-owned kiwifruit business sold 201.5 million trays of the fruit into 60 countries in the 2021/2022 financial year and, for the first time, it exceeded NZ$4 billion in revenue.
This success came despite everything the company was up against: ongoing supply chain disruption and international trade challenges, labour shortages, cost increases, changing regulations and weather patterns. “The industry faced considerable headwinds throughout the supply chain and on-orchard as well,” says Zespri’s chair Bruce Cameron. “Yet collectively we’ve found a way to tackle the challenges and to continue to succeed.”
Zespri will streamline its IT processes – many of which were designed 20 years ago – to help deal with the roadblocks. “Quite frankly, the outdated IT systems were holding us back,” says chief digital officer David Scullin. The business has chosen the enterprise resource planning (ERP) system SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition to move its legacy systems quickly and easily to the cloud.
With its dedication to delivering excellent service and products to its customers, Zespri will be able to collect and analyse more data and track all stages of a crop’s evolution. It will be able to more accurately plan a complex supply chain governed by variables including weather, consumer trends and pandemic-era border and import restrictions. Machine learning will also improve decision-making around shipping and market allocation and allow for longer-term predictions. This commitment to the right technologies will ensure a resilient supply chain so customers’ needs will be met even during testing times.
Zespri also plans to increase global supply of kiwifruit to 280 million trays by 2030. “We are transforming our ability to grow and sustain returns to the industry for decades to come,” says Scullin.
Run your personal best with SAP. Find out more at sap.com