Supply Chain deals timely

By ADAM GIFFORD

Niche SAP implementer Supply Chain Group's plans for expansion into Australia have been boosted by two high-profile deals.

The Auckland-based company will install SAP's advanced planning and optimisation (APO) software to allow telephone company Optus to work out the best sites for its expanding network of cellphone towers.

And it will help SAP build an online store for Sony Computer Entertainment Australia, which will be used for the Australian launch of PlayStation 2.

To win the Optus contract for SAP, Supply Chain beat out bids from other leading vendors such as Manugistics, Numetrix and i2 Technologies, by producing a working prototype of the solution within two weeks.

SAP, as prime vendor, will provide project management and quality assurance, and IBM Global Service will do the change management consulting.

Supply Chain chief executive Lindsay Rewcastle said that for the Sony store, SAP was tapping into skills his company has in web site development, testing and logistics.

The site will be built with the mySAP.com Internet Sales module.

When PlayStation 2 was introduced in Japan in March, its web site took 600,000 hits in the first two minutes.

A third of the 980,000 orders in the first week came through the web site.

Mr Rewcastle said the time was right for his company to expand.

"Supply Chain is the only organisation of any significance in this part of the world doing APO. If we wait, guys like the Big 5 practices will learn how to do it, and the first mover advantage will be lost."

At the recent Sapphire SAP user conference in Brisbane, Supply Chain's stall attracted a wide range of Australian corporates. They were particularly interested in the work the company has done integrating radio frequency devices.

"There were a lot of radio frequency devices on show, but they weren't integrated with SAP. We have done the integration," Mr Rewcastle said.

He said most companies selling radio frequency devices - which can be used in supply chain optimisation - came from a hardware background rather than an application software base.

"On the other hand, the Big 5 consultants come from a financial systems background. At Supply Chain we come from manufacturing, distribution and engineering, so we understand the processes."

Mr Rewcastle said the functionality contained in the SAP APO tool and mySAP.com was sufficient for most optimisation projects.

It was also an attractive proposition for existing SAP customers, because the licence price was set low enough to lock out the competition.