Suntory Oceania’s journey to supply chain excellence is deeply rooted in its New Zealand heritage. What started as a local juice company, evolved into a trans-Tasman beverage leader, eventually becoming part of the Suntory family.
Today, Suntory Oceania’s Auckland manufacturing facilities are a vital part of an integrated trans-Tasman supply chain, and these operations are being further enhanced and connected with the company’s latest investment: a state-of-the-art, $400 million multi-beverage facility in Queensland, Australia.
But what does it really take to turn a greenfield site into a gold-standard operation?
For Cathy Addison, Digital & IT Head of Solutions – Supply Chain at Suntory Oceania, the answer lies in the intersection of vision, technology, and relentless execution.
Suntory Oceania partnered with DXC Technology and SAP to transform its SAP supply chain with SAP Extended Warehouse Management tightly integrated with a suite of automation systems to support the launch of a new, digitally integrated facility.
“The key business challenge we faced was connecting our existing SAP technology and integrating it into our brand-new, production facility,” she explains.
The transformation wasn’t just about building a new plant; it was about uniting legacy systems and new automation across borders.
“From a technology standpoint, SAP S/4HANA had already been implemented into the Suntory business in 2022, however, integrating this into the new highly automated facility was a significant undertaking,” Addison recalls. “We had to run the SAP integration in parallel with the facility’s construction.”
The company also shifted from discrete manufacturing in Auckland to SAP’s process industry platform, layering in quality management, plant maintenance, and a sophisticated Automated Storage and Retrieval System, all tied together through SAP Cloud Platform Integration.
“Given the complexity, we adopted a phased approach—starting with goods receipting, followed by manufacturing, and finally alcohol delivery. This allowed us to align the technology rollout with the physical commissioning of the plant,” she says.
The goal? “To consolidate our operations into a single core SAP system, enabling easier integration, greater efficiency, and long-term scalability.”
This transformation is fundamentally about connecting and harmonising operations across the region. “Our goal is to move to a single global SAP platform and a single instance that allows us to streamline processes and operate from one consistent system,” Addison emphasises.
“This transformation is business-led, with a strong focus on aligning our operational and technical processes to deliver consistent, high-quality products globally.”
With the digital foundation in place, Suntory is now leveraging SAP to drive process improvements, create synergies, and unlock new opportunities for collaboration and innovation. “Ultimately, we want to create synergies across all our regions by drawing on shared experiences and capabilities,” she adds.
The integration is not just about technology but creating a consistent way of working across all regions. “Integrating our systems will deliver significant value across Suntory Oceania’s operations.
It will enable us to streamline our support services and establish a consistent way of working across all regions. This consistency not only simplifies our day-to-day operations but also opens up global opportunities for our people.
When everyone is working from the same playbook, it becomes much easier to collaborate, solve problems quickly, and share knowledge across teams.”
The new IT landscape is modern, integrated, and ready for the future. “Thanks to SAP we now have a modern, integrated IT landscape that allows us to implement additional functionality and explore more advanced analytics and AI capabilities,” Addison notes.
“Having a shared SAP environment means we’re better positioned to scale, innovate, and standardise our ways of working across the globe. It’s also opened the door to more efficient operations and futureproofed our systems for what’s to come.”
“The foundation we’ve built is already enabling smarter, faster, and more connected decision-making across the business,” Addison says. What sets this transformation apart isn’t just the technology it’s the leadership and mindset behind it.”
The journey underscores a key lesson for business leaders: digital transformation is as much about people and process as it is about platforms. Suntory Oceania’s experience shows that with the right technology partners and a clear vision, even the most complex challenges can become catalysts for growth.
Looking forward, Suntory Oceania is exploring new technologies to work smarter, faster, and more cost-effectively. As Addison puts it, “We’re excited about what’s next and confident that we’re building a strong foundation for the future.”
Suntory Oceania’s supply chain transformation isn’t just a case study in technology, it’s a testament to what’s possible when leadership, innovation, and execution come together.
Watch the on-demand webinar here and find out more about Suntory Oceania and their partnership with DXC Technology and SAP.
