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

glenda@zag.team

Zag AustraliaKieran McCaul - Business Development

Manager

kieran@zag.team