By expanding existing systems using SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP), SAP AppHaus Network partner Bourne Digital assisted Australian-owned rice food company SunRice in developing a new Grower and Admin Portal to streamline and improve the user experience (UX) for rice growers and administrative employees.
Recently, SunRice — the trading name and consumer brand of Ricegrowers Limited — held its annual general meeting with Chief Executive Officer Rob Gordon touting a significant improvement in earnings due to strategic and organic growth projects, as well as the recovery of its production in the Riverina region. As one of the country’s leading branded food exporters, the company puts growers at the core of its decision-making and further drives innovations to help make a difference for the rice-growing community of more than 600 farmers.
In a bid to deliver an end-to-end experience for growers and make their lives easier through the regular operational and communication touchpoints that connect them to the company, SunRice worked closely with Bourne Digital to maximise the value of its investment in SAP technologies. Transforming the company’s Grower and Administration Portal, Bourne Digital was in charge of the new solution’s user interface (UI) and UX design leveraging SAP BTP. The Melbourne-based digital agency for the SAP ecosystem held numerous remote Design Thinking sessions through the SAP AppHaus Network, following SAP’s human-centered innovation approach to create specifications for the envisioned solution.
New Grower and Admin Portal Leverages SAP Business Technology Platform
Using a user-centered approach to design and implementation, the redesigned portal addressed user challenges including difficulties in accessing key industry information, limited mobile access to the portal, inability to find the correct information at the right time, and disparate administrative processes. Through SunRice and Bourne Digital’s collaboration, designs were user-tested and iterated across the design-driven process to tackle common grower concerns. Additionally, end-user feedback was used to improve the Grower and Admin Portal in accordance with best practices for accessibility and UX.
Built on an extensible architecture, the platform can be expanded and improved in the future and has so far allowed SunRice growers to reap the following benefits:
- Ensured growers are both informed and engaged through real-time updates for harvest deliveries and data visualisation using a new Harvest Dashboard
- Enabled instant notification of delivery receipt for growers via opt-in harvest delivery
- Allowed growers to access quick links to relevant, up-to-date information such as tax and delivery documents at their convenience through the My Payments feature.
- Equipped growers with access to key forms such as Trading and Farm details leveraging SAP BTP workflow while the admin team does the approval via the SAP Fiori application.
- Utilised SAP Fiori to create the portal’s user-friendly interface, which includes a dark mode screen for enhanced visibility in the daylight.
In early 2021, right before the rice harvest season, the Grower Portal was launched. Over 400 growers have since used the platform and more than 9,000 harvest alerts were sent to keep them up to date on their deliveries. Rob Walsh, Digital Program Manager of Agribusiness and Operations, Ricegrowers Limited (SunRice), said that the latest Grower Portal gives the rice-growing community more control over their decision-making. He added:
“The harvest dashboard provides data visualisation for harvest moisture, trash, and dry weight, while real-time updates allow them to track their progress.”
Moreover, SunRice is looking into other ways to improve the solution, such as boosting reporting capabilities and continuing to take feedback directly from growers to drive new changes, design edits, and functionality. The ongoing enhancements include more offline forms being transferred online and access to self-service personalised benchmarking reports.
