Transnet is on track to deploy a SAP-based business intelligence (BI) IT system by 2010 to replace its legacy systems.
According to Kevin Govender, Transnet programme manager, speaking on the sidelines of the Saphila conference, in Cape Town, yesterday, the transport utility will be ready by 2010.
He says the Transnet group embarked on the BI initiative as a strategic project within the company 18 months ago.
"As part of our turnaround strategy, we needed to improve the quality of information and standardise processes across all divisions."
As part of the project, the transport BI unit embarked on a business consolidation and business planning drive, and also consolidated data with a view towards analytical functions.
"To become a high-performance organisation, you need to be able to measure key drivers. SAP`s strategic management tool will create an executive dashboard where you can see trends and get insight into what is happening in the organisation," says Govender.
"To make credible corporate decisions, you need to have credible data for which you need to automate processes to get the information at the source and do root-cause analyses."
Govender says the SAP project is already paying dividends in that the organisation can now create income statements and other financial documents 12 days after month-end, as opposed to 20, as was the case in the past.
"Group reporting and group planning were the first divisions to get overhauled. We needed to comply with international and domestic financial reporting standards and cut the time of processing financial information."
The enterprise resource planning (ERP) overhaul is taking place across the Transnet group and, according to Govender, is linked to more than one programme, all of which are running on different timelines.
Govender did not say how much Transnet is spending on the ERP exercise. However, he did reveal it forms part of the R78 billion the group is spending over the next five years on upgrading transport infrastructure across the country.
Getting recognition
Yesterday, Transnet was recognised by SAP with an Impact Award for "breakthrough innovation and technology solutions" through the adoption of SAP.
Transnet was the winner in the public service category, with Pick 'n Pay winning the large enterprise category, and Winesense the SME category.
All three award winners identified change management as one of the greatest challenges in embarking on an ERP process, saying it required a paradigm shift that had to be considered from start to finish.
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