Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS), operator of award-winning wildlife parks including the Night Safari, Jurong Bird Park and Singapore Zoo, will implement SAP Business All-in-One – including modules for Financials, materials and Inventory Management, Sales and Distribution – along with SAP BusinessObjects to track its operations.
Previously, the group used SME financial packages and Excel for processing, reporting and analysis. However WRS finance director, Thang Koon Tee, says, “As operations within WRS grow, there is a need for us to upgrade our existing IT infrastructure in order to operate more efficiently and effectively. It is now important that traditional financial tasks be mechanised and integrated in real time for greater productivity based on best practice standard of procedures.”
The group first began planning to integrate its systems two years ago, and last year the integration of the ticketing system for all three parks provided the impetus the group needed to pursue a more comperhensive overhaul of its systems. In a media briefing, WRS said through the SAP implementation, the company was looking to integrate the back-end operations of the company’s five departments, which currently run in silos, ZDNet Asia reported.
The objectives for the implementation include providing an integrated view of ticket sales, supporting end-to end management of the supply chain for its restaurant business, and establishing a platform for more streamlined compliance with environmental health and safety regulations. The prime focus of the project is to allow WRS real-time visibility of its ticketing counters and the revenue generated from the counters. The new system will allow flexibility to integrate the front-end point of sale (POS) solution with the back-end SAP BAIO operational system used by the staff to manage the company’s shops and restaurants. This platform will give accurate data and real-time reports, allowing management to make informed strategic decisions.
The company’s financial tasks will also be redesigned to include higher value-adding activity, rather than the traditional data processing that was performed previously. While the implementation is expected to yield productivity gains for the group, WRS group CEO Fanny Lai told ZDNet Asia that the move to the new system was more strategic than about cost savings,
as it will allow employees to focus on their core competencies in research, education and animal conservation, rather than data entry. WRS has partnered with ObTech Asia Pacific, as well as SAP, for the project, and ObTech group chief operating officer, Michael Lim, said the group was confident of delivering the All-in-One solution in a way that would improve productivity and ROI for WRS.
Kowshik Sriman, managing director, SAP Singapore says, “The plan to transform and modernise its IT system across its three parks reflect the commitment of WRS to efficiency, productivity and transparency that can only be achieved with a well-integrated system and a dedication to best practices. We are delighted that WRS has chosen SAP and we look forward to a very successful project and long-term engagement with them.”
This article was first published in Inside SAP March/April 2011.
