Overview
Lion, New Zealand’s leading alcoholic beverage company, faced the challenge of unifying complex marketing operations across its varied brands and teams. The goal was to centralise processes, integrate seamlessly with SAP, and optimise ordering systems—all while ensuring their teams engaged in the solution and kept customers happy
Challenge
Lion has a diverse and extensive portfolio across merchandise and marketing material across different brands required a robust solution. Their existing solution struggled to handle complex supplier interactions and maintain up-to-date product catalogues. Disparate systems led to operational inefficiencies and incorrect pricing, which often resulted in costly procurement errors. People would place orders without approval, or worse, budgets.
Lion has an extensive catalogue of merchandise, alcoholic beverages and print collateral. These needed to be available to different groups across their network, from sales reps, internal marketing, internal staff and even selling direct to the public.
Solution
Eversource delivered a white-labelled solution, “Activation Space,” tailored to Lion’s unique requirements. This eProcurement portal integrated seamlessly with Lion’s SAP systems to streamline marketing operations while providing real-time updates from suppliers. Key features included:
Multiple Suppliers: Single source of Services (Design Studio) Inventory (Merchandise) Products on Demand (Printed materails) and Self-Build templates (Social media files)
Seamless SAP Integration: Ensured real-time exchange of data, providing Eversource with inventory and budget data, ensuring purchases met internal requirements.
Real-Time Catalogue Updates: Connected directly with suppliers to ensure the most current product information and accurate pricing.
User-Friendly Interface: Designed for easy adoption across different teams and brands, enhancing user engagement and operational efficiency.
Compliance and Security: Met stringent security standards to ensure data integrity and compliance across operations.
Single source: Connecting different teams through a single platform, e.g briefing marketing on designs and reference for brand guidelines.
Results
The implementation of Activation Space transformed Lion’s marketing operations by:
Enhanced Efficiency: Centralised resources and streamlined processes reduced time spent on procurement and improved marketing engagement and revenue by selling to a wider group.
Correct Pricing: Integration with real-time supplier updates minimised pricing errors, significantly reducing procurement costs.
Increased Visibility: Provided comprehensive analytics and reporting, improving decision-making and strategic planning, reducing an admin role internally.
Scalable and Adaptable: The platform adapted to changing business needs, ensuring long-term sustainability and responsiveness.
Testimonial
“Eversource’s approach to complex challenges with tailor-made solutions has significantly enhanced our operational efficiency. The integration with SAP alone has saved us considerable time, and the user-friendly platforms are now pivotal in our daily operations across departments.” – Natalie Corke, Marketing Procurement Manager, Lion.
Conclusion
Lion’s partnership with Eversource epitomises the successful deployment of technology to simplify and enhance marketing operations across a diverse corporate landscape and multiple suppliers. This case study highlights how tailored technological solutions can revolutionize efficiency and manage complex procurement needs effectively.
For more information on how Eversource can transform your operations, visit goeversource.com.
