DB Breweries gets critical data on tap in real-time

DB Breweries has completed the deployment of an SAP enterprise mobility system that provides frontline sales staff with secure access to crucial business processes and data on their mobile devices.

“The biggest benefit is usability and relevant, timely information for sales people,” says Pam Nobbs, IS manager at DB Breweries.

The deployment of the end-to-end enterprise mobility system and integration with the existing CRM was completed in three months.

“The new system saves considerable administration time, allowing sales people to focus on customer needs,” says Nobbs.

“Previously they were carrying bulky laptops which took a while to boot up, then required considerably effort to find the information. It also required considerable backend technical support.”

Nobbs says the new system requires minimal training: “It is intuitive, is quickly deployed and requires far less technical support.”

More than 500 staff are using the system. DB Breweries is owned by Heineken International and operates four breweries in New Zealand – Waitemata Brewery (Otahuhu, Auckland), Tui Brewery in Mangatainoka, Monteith’s Brewery in Greymouth and DB Draught Brewery in Timaru.

Nobbs explains that their retail customers operate in a highly competitive and low-margin environment.

In order to maintain the right stock and range of products, both customers and DB Breweries have to act fast. “We only have the agility to meet our customers’ needs if we have an empowered frontline,” Nobbs says.

The deployment involves SAP Afaria to manage the company’s mobile devices and applications and the SAP Mobile Platform to allow staff to consume, manage and develop a range of mobile business applications.

The mobile app SAP Retail Execution, for instance, provides the sales team with data pulled remotely and in real-time from the company’s existing SAP CRM.

Frontline staff can plan visits, manage tasks, conduct surveys and audits, perform compliance checks and create sales orders and returns, wherever they are, and at any time.

The deployment went beyond mobile device management, says Nobbs.

“We needed a solution that could deliver the full range of security, governance and compliance required to manage mobile applications in a corporate environment.”

DB Breweries will also implement a bring-your-own-device (BYOD) option for staff.

In the first phase DB Breweries rolled out company owned devices, says Nobbs. However, the Afaria Mobile Management platform provides the ability to securely manage BYOD if required for future phases, which is particularly relevant for casual and contract staff, she says.

Advice she would give to another company contemplating a similar rollout? “Engage a passionate business sponsor and involve end users early in the project to ensure the solution deployed meets their needs.”