Rapid Rollout
17 May 2023
How SAP S/4HANA drives a tank
THE BACKGROUND
Bailey is a New Zealand-owned company established in 1973 by Ian Bailey. Ian pioneered the plastic industry in New Zealand and led the way in adopting new machinery and technology.
Bailey initially focused on designing and manufacturing containers for transporting and storing Dangerous Goods. Today, they are still one of the leading manufacturers of IBCs (Intermediary Bulk Containers) in New Zealand.
The company focuses on producing the "highest quality product possible" and "to provide the best possible level of service to their customers".
In the last 40-plus years, Bailey has produced excellent quality products. However, they strive to improve the product by investing in research and development, allowing them to extend their range of water management products to include the Slimline tank range and the SUBs range of underground tanks.
THE CHALLENGE
With a focus on the future and continuing with this investment locally, Bailey is looking to expand to offshore markets and put even greater effort into developing products that care for the environment. With this goal in mind, they needed an enterprise resource planning (ERP) tool that was up to the task.
Bailey also had the challenge of needing help changing their business process. The current ERP solution was old and no longer fit for purpose due to the software version and the hardware it was running on.
They needed a new ERP system to help improve efficiency throughout their business, reduce manual paper processes in manufacturing and end-to-end manual processes, including transportation management.
THE SOLUTION
With the Bailey requirements in mind, Realtech proposed a move to SAP S/4HANA Public Cloud. This SAP solution supports the business's future growth and further process improvement opportunities.
After a comprehensive review of the solution by the customer, including mapping requirements to features and outcomes, the decision was made to proceed with the Realtech recommendation of SAP S/4HANA Public Cloud as the new ERP system for Bailey.
As with any SAP deployment, there is a tried and tested process. In this case, Realtech started with the SAP Digital Discovery Assessment (DDA) to ensure we locked in the scope and business requirements. At this point, Realtech took control of the project to drive it forward.
Realtech engaged all parties, including SAP, to ensure that the project was delivered on time and cutover from the old system to SAP S/4HANA Public Cloud was achieved smoothly and without disruption to the business.
In parallel, Bailey were given access to the SAP Learning hub. Combined with the knowledge sharing, training and support provided by Realtech, this access allowed the team to up-skill in the new solution as necessary throughout the project, making Bailey more self-sufficient in managing the solution.
THE OUTCOME
Working in collaboration with the Bailey team, Realtech supported the stakeholders as they resolved issues and maintained the project's momentum.
The Realtech team worked at the Bailey offices so they would have direct access to our subject matter experts. The tight cooperation and direct knowledge transfer between the teams contributed to the success of the deployment. This approach has also set Bailey up to be self-sufficient in the future, as was the original plan.
By working with Realtech and implementing SAP S/4HANA Cloud, Bailey is already seeing great success and benefits from the introduction, improving efficiency throughout the business. Bailey now have a completely paperless manufacturing process; the team uses tablets and screens to track the manufacturing process. Not only has this allowed management to have end-to-end visibility of the process, but it has allowed the removal of a paper-heavy-based process with complex processes from the business with a significant business benefit.
Having achieved great benefits already, Bailey is now looking to the future and other areas for improvement, such as removing paper-heavy processes in Quality Management and the loading and delivery process.