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NZDF Steps into ERP
Mobility
Case Study
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CHART 2.1 PROFIT FOR MARCH TO APRIL 2019
New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) mobilise their
inventory process using SAP-certified Neptune Software
with Gold Partner Zag.
Every hour of every day, the NZDF is contributing to the defence, security and well-being
of New Zealand. It's their goal to maintain well-trained and equipped armed forces that
can react to a crisis at short notice. Working in partnership with many other government
agencies, NZDF help those in need and protect New Zealand's territory and oceans.
Vision
NZDF are a diverse organisation, with
operational activities from the transport
and deployment of officers around the
globe, all the way through to healthcare.
Running an extensive fleet of aircraft,
ships and land vehicles, as well as a large
volume of assets that need to be kept
track of 24/7, NZDF have the vision to
become a truly 'connected and
empowered workforce'. Robert Raines,
ERP Architect at NZDF explains "Our
organisation is made up of a number of
varied operations and departments, so
delivering on our vision of a connected
and empowered workforce won't be a feat
completed overnight. It will take the right
technologies and the best partners to
ensure we succeed in this."
It's clear NZDF view technology as an
enabler to drive business change, not the
other way around. That's why NZDF's
vision asserts a cultural shift to becoming
a technology-focused organisation.
NZDF identified the following
prerequisites to becoming a connected
and empowered workforce where they
could be enabled by technology:
Increase safety and ability to respond to
events quickly - make it easier for
employees to create and consume
information.
Facilitate better engagement and
communication internally - keep a simple
user interface and enable more efficient
resource usage, improve employee
satisfaction in the process.
Allow more timely and accurate data
capture and utilisation - enable a drop in
manual and paper-based transactions,
reducing process duplication and
keyboard data entry.
These requirements pointed to a
solution that could digitise their
inventory management and
mobilise the armoury stock-take
process.
The Situation
NZDF had traditionally followed a very manual, labour intensive process to stock-taking
gear which involved physically counting every piece of equipment. In 1999 for example, it
had taken 3 months to do a stock-take of weapons, largely due to human error. This
approach continued until very recently, with the number of serial items checked manually
each month reaching 85,000. Getting an accurate count of equipment had become almost
impossible, "the hours required to count eqiupment, coupled with the feeling that we
couldn't really trust the numbers, made this project a really important one for NZDF", says
Alan Rivers-Milliken, Logistics Information Manager.
Any mobility solution nominated needed to comply with the following specifications to be
cost-effective and guarantee compatibility with NZDF's existing procedures, including:
Must use readily available commercial hardware - as military specific gear can cost
up to 5 times as much and take 10 times as long to purchase.
Hardware must interact with multiple vendor products - this will ensure it remains
compatible as newer product versions are released and deployed.
Must have expandable application development capability - after initial applications
are installed, people always want other streams of applications, so capability to
expand quickly to meet growing business requirements and user demands are a
must.
Must have mobile capability within logistic areas of operations - software must work
offline so armoury systems can be used on aircraft and in remote areas of
operation.
Crucially, these requirements would allow NZDF to
leverage their existing SAP investment, ensuring core
SAP ERP remains the organisation's sole source of truth.
Must support GS-1 Barcode Standards and UHF RFID Tag Standards - as
GS-1 is used by most of their third parties and vendors' systems, and UHF
standards appear to be where the commercial world is heading.
"Delivering on our vision of a connected and
empowered workforce won't be a feat
completed overnight. It will take the right
technologies and the best partners to ensure
we succeed in this"
-Robert Raines, ERP Architect at NZDF
The Solution
Zag proposed a Neptune Software application as the most effective and affordable
solution for digitising NZDF's inventory checks. Neptune Software UX Platform is an
SAP-certified rapid app development platform that helps modernise and optimise SAP
processes and user interfaces, with the full benefits of Fiori UX and ABAP. It reduces the
time and cost to design, build, deploy and maintain SAPUI5 applications, on new and
legacy SAP systems across desktop, mobile and offline environments.
An NZDF external portal based in the AWS cloud provides a channel supporting
authentication mechanisms and data for mobile devices now used in the field connecting
to the back end. Neptune Software is deployed on NZDF's external portal and pushed out
through an employee self-service portal, enabling a trusted secure connection between
the self-services side and their back end. Any soldier given access can now deploy the
software on any NZDF approved mobile device. As Neptune Software was designed to
support both online and offline capability, soldiers can work in remote areas where wi-fi is
not available or around aircraft where wi-fi is not permitted. Commercial RFID barcode
scanners, used for scanning all barcoded inventory, are able to be linked in via Bluetooth.
Neptune Software takes full advantage of NZDF's existing SAP set up and minimises the need for integration.
The Outcome
Today, an NZDF staff member can simply stand at the front of an armoury storage aisle,
boat hatch or aircraft, armed with an RFID scanner, and the system will automatically pick
up every weapon or piece of equipment in that area within scanner range that has an
RFID tag. Staff completing stock-takes are no longer required to pull every piece of
equipment out of racks and manually record or verify each serial item - the process has
been largely automated thanks to the new solution powered by Neptune Software.
Previously, the process of stock-taking one armoury of 1000 units would take two people
around half a day. "With the RFID scanner in the same armoury it takes about 40
seconds, which is the amount of time it takes them to walk down the racks" exclaims
Rivers-Milliken. The world-class mobility solution has also resulted in fewer steps in the
overall process of storing information - there is no need to go into SAP ERP for data
capture, meaning equipment checks are further shortened.
Simply put, the mobilisation of these processes has resulted in massive time and
resource savings for NZDF. The paper trail has been done away with and valuable
personnel can now be allocated to more pressing tasks. Along with a reduction of manual
labour and human error, interfaces have become more user friendly, which has in turn
stimulated employee engagement. "Our people love the new solution. They've been
blown away with how easy it is to now get a count on equipment", explains Rivers-
Milliken. Data accuracy and quality have significantly improved with the move to real-time
data capture, serving to reduce risks associated with incorrect data which is critical for
organisations like NZDF.
"Our people love the new solution. They've been blown away with how easy it is to now get a count on equipment."-Alan Rivers-Milliken, Logistics Information Manager
Where NZDF are today
Going forward, Robert Raines from NZDF explains, "This is going to revolutionise how
our organisation does business". NZDF are now in the process of issuing RFID tags to
soldiers alongside their ID cards, which will enable their individual tag to be scanned
together with the 16 personal pieces of armoury each soldier takes on deployment. Each
piece of equipment will be tracked, including the time it was deployed and who is
responsible for its return. This next step will further eliminate the time and paper
resources required in a manual count-up and allocation of gear.
With help from the Zag team and Neptune Software, NZDF has been able to improve
data quality with very little effort. The project hasn't required any work to adjust the back-
end or any major new infrastructure plus the cost of the stock-take process hasn't
increased. The business benefit and return on investment has been almost
instantaneous.
"We have been really happy with the solution and it has met all our expectations. With a combination of Neptune Software and the support of Neptune Gold Partner Zag, we are delivering on our digital strategy and have added value to a crucial business process."
About Neptune Software
Neptune Software provides the most cost-efficient way to make any
SAP functionality seamlessly available in user-friendly interfaces on
phone, tablet and desktop. This fast and intuitive solution for
mobilising SAP is fully available offline and includes built-in security
enhancements.
As a certified SAP partner and the only ABAP solution for SAP
Fiori UX, Neptune Software helps enterprises build a strong
foundation for business by maximising the use of existing SAP
set ups, increasing ROI while minimising the need for
integration and thus delivering a low total cost of ownership.
-Robert Raines, ERP Architect at NZDF
About Zag
With a long and strong track record of
success spanning over 20 years, Zag is
a locally-based trusted advisor and
'safe pair of hands' to over 80
businesses in Australia and New
Zealand.
Zag are proud to be the exclusive New
Zealand partner for Neptune Software,
and one of only six Neptune Software
Partners worldwide.
Having first partnered with Neptune in
2014, and with customers spanning
numerous industries, Zag continues to
turn user needs into innovative
solutions for clients. While every
success story is unique, the key
elements don't change; we consistently
deliver business value and provide end
users with a mobile experience that
matches how and where they want to
work.
For more information
Zag New ZealandGlenda Godfrey - NZ Sales Manager
Zag AustraliaKieran McCaul - Business Development
Manager