Thanks to a mobile app developed by SAP consulting firm, Soltius New Zealand, Tauranga-based Ballance Agri-Nutrients is providing a safer environment for both staff and customers, while streamlining business processes, eliminating paperwork, and reducing costs.
Ballance, a New Zealand farmer-owned co-operative, called on its trusted technology partner, Soltius, to develop the Loader Driver mobile app, which plugs into Ballance’s SAP system, residing on the Fiori launchpad.
“The app leverages the existing SAP platform, rather than creating a new system for Ballance to manage, and provides an intuitive, easy to use mobile SAP experience without the need for middleware,” says Barbara Oldfield, delivery manager, Soltius.
The app, which improves the loading procedure for drivers picking up fertiliser at Ballance Agri-Nutrients centres around the country, is a significant improvement over the traditional paper based systems employed by the company. Previously, spreaders (drivers employed by farmers) were required to pick up paper dockets from the office, walk them across the yard and up steps to the loader driver for completion, then walk them back to the office where they were subsequently entered manually into the SAP system.
With the new app, data is sent electronically to an iPad in the loader and once the order has been filled, the goods issue is sent automatically to Ballance’s SAP system. All paper and manual handling of the docket has been eliminated and customers are reaping the benefits of faster turnarounds.
David Scullin, chief information officer, Ballance Agri-Nutrients said, “The most overriding benefit is the health and safety factor of eliminating people having to walk across the yard and up to the loader to hand dockets up.”
Ballance reported that staff members were so excited by the app that they installed it themselves and were already using it when trainers arrived.
