Suntory Oceania - Best Tech Awards 2025 Supply Chain Management
Suntory Oceania transforms supply chain from greenfield to gold standard with SAP EWM Download the DocumentSAP Australia and New
Zealand Best Tech Awards
2025
Zealand Best Tech Awards
2025
Best Tech SAP
Industry WebsiteProduct and Services Featured SAP Solutions
FMCG https://www.suntoryoceania.com/Beverages SAP Extended Warehouse Management
(EWM)
Suntory Oceania is the multi-beverage powerhouse formed by Suntory Global Spirits and Suntory Beverage and Food across Australia and
New Zealand. It has a 1,500 strong workforce, 40 plus market-leading brands and produces 30 million cases annually of premium spirits, ready-to-
drink (RTD) and non-alcohol beverages. Suntory Oceania’s operations span two manufacturing sites (including a new carbon-neutral facility in
Queensland – the largest single FMCG investment in Australia in a decade), and five distribution centres providing full end-to-end control of our
iconic portfolio of premium spirits, ready-to-drink (RTD) and non-alcohol beverages.
Guided by our ‘Yatte Minahare’ spirit, the permission to dream big, tackle challenges, and never give up. We fearlessly approach new ideas, embrace
new opportunities and innovate new value, as a business and as individuals. As we became Suntory Oceania the increase to our supply and
distribution, meant that the business needed to redesign and upgrade its inventory, logistics and distribution across the network as we expanded
our portfolio.
Suntory Oceania transforms supply chain from
greenfield to gold standard with SAP EWM
Supply Chain Management
Industry WebsiteProduct and Services Featured SAP Solutions
FMCG https://www.suntoryoceania.com/Beverages SAP Extended Warehouse Management
(EWM)
Suntory Oceania is the multi-beverage powerhouse formed by Suntory Global Spirits and Suntory Beverage and Food across Australia and
New Zealand. It has a 1,500 strong workforce, 40 plus market-leading brands and produces 30 million cases annually of premium spirits, ready-to-
drink (RTD) and non-alcohol beverages. Suntory Oceania’s operations span two manufacturing sites (including a new carbon-neutral facility in
Queensland – the largest single FMCG investment in Australia in a decade), and five distribution centres providing full end-to-end control of our
iconic portfolio of premium spirits, ready-to-drink (RTD) and non-alcohol beverages.
Guided by our ‘Yatte Minahare’ spirit, the permission to dream big, tackle challenges, and never give up. We fearlessly approach new ideas, embrace
new opportunities and innovate new value, as a business and as individuals. As we became Suntory Oceania the increase to our supply and
distribution, meant that the business needed to redesign and upgrade its inventory, logistics and distribution across the network as we expanded
our portfolio.
Suntory Oceania transforms supply chain from
greenfield to gold standard with SAP EWM
Supply Chain Management
Challenges
As Suntory Oceania transitioned into a multi-beverage business, the key to unlock this opportunity was the
construction of a new green-field facility that could meet the capacity needs of now and into the future. The
facility needed to extend and complement production at the existing Auckland site.
Challenges included:
• Parallel go-live of plant and SAP landscape: Construction had to run in step with a new SAP landscape,
extending the 2022 S/4 backbone to cover end-to-end warehouse and production flows.
• First-of-its-kind automation integration: Automated roll-on/roll-off docks (RORO) and a Line Management
System (LMS) needed real-time, bidirectional links to SAP Extended Warehouse Management (EWM) via CPI
– an integration we believe is an industry-first. Along with SAP S4 modules integrated into other OT systems.
• From discrete to process planning: The team had to shift beyond standard discrete Production Planning to
support high-volume, multi-beverage process orders, synchronising recipe, batch and material flows across
countries and distribution centres.
Together these hurdles demanded tight coordination between engineering, IT and supply-chain teams to keep
construction on schedule while ensuring the new facility was digitally ready.
As Suntory Oceania transitioned into a multi-beverage business, the key to unlock this opportunity was the
construction of a new green-field facility that could meet the capacity needs of now and into the future. The
facility needed to extend and complement production at the existing Auckland site.
Challenges included:
• Parallel go-live of plant and SAP landscape: Construction had to run in step with a new SAP landscape,
extending the 2022 S/4 backbone to cover end-to-end warehouse and production flows.
• First-of-its-kind automation integration: Automated roll-on/roll-off docks (RORO) and a Line Management
System (LMS) needed real-time, bidirectional links to SAP Extended Warehouse Management (EWM) via CPI
– an integration we believe is an industry-first. Along with SAP S4 modules integrated into other OT systems.
• From discrete to process planning: The team had to shift beyond standard discrete Production Planning to
support high-volume, multi-beverage process orders, synchronising recipe, batch and material flows across
countries and distribution centres.
Together these hurdles demanded tight coordination between engineering, IT and supply-chain teams to keep
construction on schedule while ensuring the new facility was digitally ready.
Solution
To support its new manufacturing facility, Suntory Oceania rolled out SAP Extended Warehouse Management
(EWM) tightly integrated with a suite of automation systems:
• End-to-end EWM: manages all raw materials, packaging and finished goods for the site.
• Faster receipts via EDI ASN: suppliers’ SSCC labels are captured on arrival, cutting primary-packaging
check-in times.
• Roll-on/Roll-off dock automation: EWM receives demand from the Line Management System (LMS) and
directs a shuttle car to deliver each pallet to the right line.
• Real-time batching integration: EWM stages and consumes ingredients for syrup make-up through BTP/CPI
middleware.
• Instant finished-goods receipts: LMS posts new pallets directly into EWM as they leave the line.
• High-capacity ASRS: automated store for 33,500 pallets, controlled by 15 EWM MFS interfaces for put-away,
picking, replenishment and reconciliation.
• Opportunistic cross-docking: pallets can be loaded straight onto outbound trucks as they’re produced.
• Excise-ready enterprise structure: EWM is configured for Australian bonded-alcohol rules, generating all
required compliance outputs (for example, Continuing Permission documents).
To support its new manufacturing facility, Suntory Oceania rolled out SAP Extended Warehouse Management
(EWM) tightly integrated with a suite of automation systems:
• End-to-end EWM: manages all raw materials, packaging and finished goods for the site.
• Faster receipts via EDI ASN: suppliers’ SSCC labels are captured on arrival, cutting primary-packaging
check-in times.
• Roll-on/Roll-off dock automation: EWM receives demand from the Line Management System (LMS) and
directs a shuttle car to deliver each pallet to the right line.
• Real-time batching integration: EWM stages and consumes ingredients for syrup make-up through BTP/CPI
middleware.
• Instant finished-goods receipts: LMS posts new pallets directly into EWM as they leave the line.
• High-capacity ASRS: automated store for 33,500 pallets, controlled by 15 EWM MFS interfaces for put-away,
picking, replenishment and reconciliation.
• Opportunistic cross-docking: pallets can be loaded straight onto outbound trucks as they’re produced.
• Excise-ready enterprise structure: EWM is configured for Australian bonded-alcohol rules, generating all
required compliance outputs (for example, Continuing Permission documents).
Impact
Seamless dock-to-line supply delivering
materials directly to production lines.
Real-time inventory, zero paper for fully
digitised warehouse operations.
33,500 pallets, fully automated, enabling
high-speed, high-volume storage and
retrieval.
With seven business units spanning APEC, Oceania and Europe, Suntory is working toward a global SAP platform to unify
operations and streamline processes across regions.
This means the business can drive efficiencies, share innovations and simplify processes, no matter where products are
bottled or canned. The Swanbank rollout marks an important milestone on this digital journey, enabling Suntory to realise the
following benefits:
Simplifying support: A shared platform means a single support model can serve all business units, improving speed and
efficiency.
Enabling faster problem-solving: Common systems allow issues to be resolved more quickly and consistently across
teams.
Unlocking scalability and innovation: With two business units already sharing infrastructure and plans for all seven to
follow, Suntory can now explore advanced capabilities like Fiori apps, real-time analytics and AI, all from a common
foundation.
Creating cost efficiencies: Shared technology and support models mean Suntory can reduce duplication, spread costs and
invest more strategically.
Seamless dock-to-line supply delivering
materials directly to production lines.
Real-time inventory, zero paper for fully
digitised warehouse operations.
33,500 pallets, fully automated, enabling
high-speed, high-volume storage and
retrieval.
With seven business units spanning APEC, Oceania and Europe, Suntory is working toward a global SAP platform to unify
operations and streamline processes across regions.
This means the business can drive efficiencies, share innovations and simplify processes, no matter where products are
bottled or canned. The Swanbank rollout marks an important milestone on this digital journey, enabling Suntory to realise the
following benefits:
Simplifying support: A shared platform means a single support model can serve all business units, improving speed and
efficiency.
Enabling faster problem-solving: Common systems allow issues to be resolved more quickly and consistently across
teams.
Unlocking scalability and innovation: With two business units already sharing infrastructure and plans for all seven to
follow, Suntory can now explore advanced capabilities like Fiori apps, real-time analytics and AI, all from a common
foundation.
Creating cost efficiencies: Shared technology and support models mean Suntory can reduce duplication, spread costs and
invest more strategically.
“”The SAP integration into Swanbank has set us up for a data driven,
paperless, and highly efficient platform whereby we can fulfil
production and delivery needs at speed. Whilst it is early in the
cycle of development, the level of innovative connectivity between
SAP and our OT layer is extremely rare in an operations
environment. I think this was a challenge that the team took on,
and the outcome has set us up ahead of our competitors.
- Ian Roberts, Chief Supply Chain Officer,
Suntory Oceania
paperless, and highly efficient platform whereby we can fulfil
production and delivery needs at speed. Whilst it is early in the
cycle of development, the level of innovative connectivity between
SAP and our OT layer is extremely rare in an operations
environment. I think this was a challenge that the team took on,
and the outcome has set us up ahead of our competitors.
- Ian Roberts, Chief Supply Chain Officer,
Suntory Oceania