Industry: Global Packaged Foods Operating in 90+ Countries
Employees: 36,000 full-time; 23,000 full-time seasonal
Solution: appsFreedomTM platform
The Challenge
Since 1851, this packaged foods organization has grown to be the world’s largest producer of high-quality fresh fruits and vegetables, marketing a long line of packaged and frozen foods in more than 90 countries. But in today’s economic environment, and with regulatory changes, evolving consumer preferences, currency fluctuations and competition for talent, the company needed new ways to simplify and streamline operations to keep business moving forward faster.
Relying on SAP for core operations helped the company become a market leader. Executives accessed SAP from desktops and laptops to track and manage purchase orders, however, busy travel and work schedules, along with a cumbersome user interface, started triggering P.O. approval delays. Long approval delays started a negative chain reaction that was increasingly costing the company valuable time and money.
The Solution
The appsFreedom team deployed its pre-built P.O. Approval app template built for smartphones and tablet devices. The app is seamlessly integrated to the organization’s on-premise SAP system, and alerts executives around the globe in near real-time when P.O. Approvals are pending in their queue.
Now with access to P.O.’s from mobile devices, executives can take immediate action to approve or reject purchase orders. The user friendly app interface simplifies access and action down into just a few clicks, and executives can be productive on the go from their mobile device of choice.
Deployed in just weeks, appsFreedomTM delivers new levels of speed and efficiency by simplifying purchase order access and decisioning in the organization’s on-premise SAP system. Better still, no system development or configuration was required.
The Business Benefits
Business Process Optimization
The P.O. Approval app allows executives to access SAP anytime, anywhere, helping to speed purchase order decisioning and streamline key components of the company’s logistics and workflows. Ultimately, process efficiencies get passed down the entire value chain.
Better User Experience
Executives no longer have to find an office and network-connected computer to access the system and manage purchase order requests. They also no longer need to navigate the complex SAP user interface, helping to reduce training and support costs.
Fast, Measurable ROI
The solution was deployed in just weeks with a device agnostic app that works across smartphones and tablets. The solution is seamlessly integrated with SAP for real-time, bidirectional access. Fast deployment meant fast ROI and low maintenance costs, both now and in the future.