Peroni
Birra Peroni, a leader in the Italian beer market, was founded in 1846. Today the Peroni family still oversees Birra Peroni’s four breweries and headquarters in Rome.
Leader on the Italian beer market Birra Peroni knew that nothing helps a business grow like a reputation for outstanding customer service. Peroni sought to standardise all its business processes throughout Italy with SAP. Peroni’s ‘Focus on the Client’ project gives employees in service, sales, marketing and management the information they need to build satisfied and loyal relationships with customers. A web-based application allows wholesalers to place orders on-line.
Capgemini implemented Logistics and Financials modules and customised SAP solutions, leading to a successful rollout and ‘go live’ for headquarters in Rome, 4 plants, 13 depot and provided training for 200 end users. There was no break in production or delivery operations and by the end of the day each plant was able to deliver according to schedule. Peroni now benefits from a new way of working, has gained a competitive advantage through increased customer loyalty and retention with insight into customer profiling habits and has achieved an accelerated time-to-market.
Client Profile
It was in 1846 that Francesco Peroni started the brewery that would soon become a leader on the Italian beer market. Today the Peroni family still oversees Birra Peroni’s four breweries and headquarters in Rome, making it possible to maintain extremely high standards of excellence. Brewed with the finest sprint barley malts; Peroni is a full-bodied golden lager with a smooth and well-balanced hop taste.
With over € 370 million in revenue in a recent year and 900 employees Birra Peroni is also licensed to distribute well-known beers like Bud and Kronenbourg throughout Italy.
Business Issues
Birra Peroni knew that nothing helps a business grow like a reputation for outstanding customer service. Sales representatives at Peroni as well as its factories that deliver beer had many points of contact. Peroni management wanted to offer its client a single point of contact for delivery and administration. This simplification would greatly enhance customer service.
Also Peroni wanted to measure customer service performance indicators such as time to order, costs, number of invoices etc. In the past beer orders were placed by phone and fax. Sometimes it was necessary to make intermediary calls to banks for purchase authorization. Peroni needed a modern system that would accept client information as well as encourage sales.
Peroni sought to standardise all its business processes throughout Italy by creating a new hardware and software infrastructure that would enable all locations to operate on a common system. By creating a new customer-centric organisation starting with Sales Order Entry all the way through to Receiving. Peroni could:
- measure company performance
- achieve better times on delivery
- create more accurate credit notes
- develop a more efficient invoicing process.
This was Peroni’s ‘Focus on the Client’ project - from Order to Cash. Sales activities giving employees in service, sales, marketing and management the information they need to build satisfied and loyal relationships with customers.
Solution
Capgemini was asked to assist Peroni in an Improvement Portfolio Development (IPD) project. The first three months were spent focusing on Peroni’s processes, organization, culture, choice of new information system and targeting new performance indicators.
To satisfy all of these issues Birra Peroni needed a new information system. Out of the focus grew a recommendation for an ERP package. SAP™ was the answer to managing customer service and building a web-based application. By creating a new way for wholesalers to communicate Peroni will have a direct link with customers, i.e. (wholesalers) such as pubs, bars, restaurants providing opportunities for Internet sales, from order processing to customer service. Peroni could be more ‘customer-centric’.
Capgemini implemented for Peroni SAP’s Logistics modules Sales & Distribution (SD), Materials Management (MM), Transportation (LO-TR), Financial modules (General Ledger (GL), Accounts Payable (AP), Accounts Receivable (AR), Asset Accounting (AA), and Controlling (CO).
Capgemini customized SAP modules as an add-on to cover functionalities:
Empties Handling - giving precise information on the number, location and status of all empty bottle and crates
Rebate/Bonus Agreements – streamlines bonus and rebate programs for indirect customers
Contract Management – allows processing and monitoring of status
Excise Duties – records, analyzes and groups all tax-associated transactions for calculation and settlement.
Programs were also developed to measure the delivery of customer service to the satisfaction of Peroni clients.
Peroni project team members were especially selected for expertise and previous experience delivering SAP solutions to the beverage industry.
The implementation at Peroni went ‘live’ with a successful “big bang” rollout to all sites, including headquarters in Rome, 4 plants, 13 depot and provided training for 200 end users.
Capgemini was awarded 4.7 out of 5 OTACE ratings (On Time, Above, Customer Expectations).
Benefits
A successful rollout and ‘go live’ as scheduled meant there was no break in production or delivery operations and by the end of the day each plant was able to deliver according to schedule.
Maintenance and optimisation is continuing at Peroni with the implementation of Profitability Analysis and Product Costing modules (CO-PA and CO-PC).
Peroni now benefits from a new way of working, has gained a competitive advantage through increased customer loyalty and retention with insight into customer profiling habits and has achieved an accelerated time-to-market.
Wholesalers benefit from the ease of ordering on-line. Costs have decreased in Sales Order Management processes. There has also been a decrease in the number of client Credit Notes.
Peroni now can offer customers a greater respect for delivery time and order completeness. A large part of the order process has been streamlined.
Peroni’s target is that 90% of sales from its wholesalers will originate from on-line orders.
Written in co-operation with S.p.A. Birra Peroni Industriale