NZ's first organisation to go live with SAP S/4HANA

Ballance Agri-Nutrients is the first organisation in New Zealand to go live with SAP S/4HANA - in conjunction with SAP New Zealand and Soltius

The farmer-owned co-operative chose to go live with the technology platform as it embarks on its digital future.

Mark Wynne, CEO of Ballance Agri-Nutrients, says working with farmers to deliver sustainable and viable New Zealand businesses is at the heart of what they do.

"Getting the foundation right for the digital future of our business is equipping us to drive better on-farm productivity and profitability," he says.

Wynne says that the leadership team at Ballance values data and simplicity. By providing solutions for its employees, suppliers and customers he hopes to enable greater knowledge sharing and more powerful decision-making.

"With SAP S/4HANA we are readying Ballance for the digital revolution; digital connects our communities; digital delights our stakeholders," he adds.

Since going live with the technology, Balance reports that it's increased the productivity of its sales team and simplified requirements of its finance team.

Richard Hopkins, CFO of Ballance Agri-Nutrients, says the company understood the power of real-time data, and how imperative it was to get to their employees.

"With SAP S/4HANA our people are more productive," he says.

"They have access to the right tools and information at the right time, enabling them to serve our customers with confidence," he adds.

Hopkins further explains that the speed at which they're now extracting insights from their data has advanced their reporting capabilities significantly.

"The team now has more time to focus on the job at hand, and already our month end is easier and quicker to complete thanks to the SAP S/4HANA Finance solution," he says.

"There is no longer even time to go and get a coffee when waiting for a report to process!

By implementing its digital strategy, Ballance aims to make business simple, easy and productive for its external and internal customers.