IBM Case Studies COPROB harvests new business opportunities with SAP and IBM

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	COPROB harvests new business opportunities with SAP and IBM IBM

COPROB harvests new business opportunities with SAP and IBM

IBM

Technology Category	Functional Applications - Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERP)
Applicable Industries	Agriculture Renewable Energy
Applicable Functions	Logistics & Transportation Procurement
Use Cases	Inventory Management Supply Chain Visibility
Services	Software Design & Engineering Services System Integration
Challenge	COPROB, one of Italy’s largest sugar beet processors, wanted to boost efficiency, tighten finances and build out its new biomass energy business. With 5,700 partner farms to manage, the company faced the challenge of managing growth effectively. The company's existing systems were largely untouched by technology, with many processes being manual or relying on a combination of spreadsheets, local technology solutions, and department-specific expertise. The company needed to produce data of sufficient quality to enable the predictive analytics capabilities required to support the new biomass business, and to ensure continued success in the core business. Managing the 5,700 partner farms was critical, since knowing the quantity of beet each farmer had planted and crop expectations has a direct impact on sugar beet and biomass availability. Read More
About Customer	COPROB is one of Italy’s largest sugar beet processors, producing around of 284,000 tons of sugar (approximately 56 percent of the nation’s output). The company employs 310 people who work with 5,700 partner farms in northern Italy, generating sales of some EUR 335 million. As well as sugar processing, COPROB has recently expanded into renewable energy, using the beet biomass – a by-product of sugar production – as source fuel, and has won supply contracts with Enel Green Power. These contracts commit COPROB to supply specific quantities of biomass (energy crops and agricultural residues), which in turn means that COPROB needs to be able to predict future sugar processing operations and the quantities of biomass these are likely to produce. Read More
Solution	COPROB engaged IBM Global Business Services to implement an enterprise process management solution based on SAP software, providing agile, integrated and centralized process management solutions. The IBM team designed and deployed SAP solutions that met COPROB’s unique and demanding business requirements. The solution was delivered through IBM Ascendant project methodology and supported by IBM Global Financing. The solution supports improved hierarchical master data management for fields, farms, farmers and supply chain partners, better visibility of budgets and constraints on production, tighter control over agricultural activities based on changing production needs and capacity constraints, and optimized management of transport logistics during harvesting. The scheduling of trucks is handled using IBM ILOG Transportation Analyst, an optimization engine for vehicle routing problems based on route, capacity and time constraints. Read More Log in to view content
Contents

Technology Category

Functional Applications - Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERP)

Applicable Industries

Agriculture

Renewable Energy

Applicable Functions

Logistics & Transportation

Procurement

Use Cases

Inventory Management

Supply Chain Visibility

Services

Software Design & Engineering Services

System Integration

Challenge

COPROB, one of Italy’s largest sugar beet processors, wanted to boost efficiency, tighten finances and build out its new biomass energy business. With 5,700 partner farms to manage, the company faced the challenge of managing growth effectively. The company's existing systems were largely untouched by technology, with many processes being manual or relying on a combination of spreadsheets, local technology solutions, and department-specific expertise. The company needed to produce data of sufficient quality to enable the predictive analytics capabilities required to support the new biomass business, and to ensure continued success in the core business. Managing the 5,700 partner farms was critical, since knowing the quantity of beet each farmer had planted and crop expectations has a direct impact on sugar beet and biomass availability.

About Customer

COPROB is one of Italy’s largest sugar beet processors, producing around of 284,000 tons of sugar (approximately 56 percent of the nation’s output). The company employs 310 people who work with 5,700 partner farms in northern Italy, generating sales of some EUR 335 million. As well as sugar processing, COPROB has recently expanded into renewable energy, using the beet biomass – a by-product of sugar production – as source fuel, and has won supply contracts with Enel Green Power. These contracts commit COPROB to supply specific quantities of biomass (energy crops and agricultural residues), which in turn means that COPROB needs to be able to predict future sugar processing operations and the quantities of biomass these are likely to produce.

Solution

COPROB engaged IBM Global Business Services to implement an enterprise process management solution based on SAP software, providing agile, integrated and centralized process management solutions. The IBM team designed and deployed SAP solutions that met COPROB’s unique and demanding business requirements. The solution was delivered through IBM Ascendant project methodology and supported by IBM Global Financing. The solution supports improved hierarchical master data management for fields, farms, farmers and supply chain partners, better visibility of budgets and constraints on production, tighter control over agricultural activities based on changing production needs and capacity constraints, and optimized management of transport logistics during harvesting. The scheduling of trucks is handled using IBM ILOG Transportation Analyst, an optimization engine for vehicle routing problems based on route, capacity and time constraints.

Impact #1	Supports hundreds of complex, agricultural-specific business requirements.
Impact #2	Improves COPROB’s relationship with farmers and suppliers, opening the door to unprecedented business opportunities.
Impact #3	Standardized and centralized processes enhance information sharing, boosting collaboration and productivity for administrative staff, farmers and suppliers.

Impact #1

Supports hundreds of complex, agricultural-specific business requirements.

Impact #2

Improves COPROB’s relationship with farmers and suppliers, opening the door to unprecedented business opportunities.

Impact #3

Standardized and centralized processes enhance information sharing, boosting collaboration and productivity for administrative staff, farmers and suppliers.

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Overview

COPROB harvests new business opportunities with SAP and IBM

Operational Impact