Arnott's Group - Best Tech Awards 2025 Next Gen Innovator
Transforming the Arnott’s Group Trade Promotion Management with SAP BTP’s Smart Automation 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.arnotts.com/Consumer goods SAP BTP
The Arnott’s Group has delighted consumers for over 157 years. We are the custodians of some of Australia’s most recognised food brands, including Arnott’s, Campbell’s, V8,
Messy Monkeys, Freedom Cereals and 180degrees – to name a few.
Our mission is to create delicious moments in all that we do, every day, and with everything we make.
We’re committed to operating within the natural boundaries of the planet, ensuring that we source and make our products sustainably and connect to the communities in
which we operate.
The Arnott’s Group is headquartered in Sydney and employs over 4,000 people in markets across the Asia Pacific. We have manufacturing operations in Australia, New
Zealand, Malaysia and Indonesia, and our products are stocked by all major retailers and known and loved by millions around the world.
Transforming the Arnott’s Group Trade Promotion
Management with SAP BTP’s Smart Automation
Next Gen Innovator
Industry WebsiteProduct and Services Featured SAP Solutions
FMCG https://www.arnotts.com/Consumer goods SAP BTP
The Arnott’s Group has delighted consumers for over 157 years. We are the custodians of some of Australia’s most recognised food brands, including Arnott’s, Campbell’s, V8,
Messy Monkeys, Freedom Cereals and 180degrees – to name a few.
Our mission is to create delicious moments in all that we do, every day, and with everything we make.
We’re committed to operating within the natural boundaries of the planet, ensuring that we source and make our products sustainably and connect to the communities in
which we operate.
The Arnott’s Group is headquartered in Sydney and employs over 4,000 people in markets across the Asia Pacific. We have manufacturing operations in Australia, New
Zealand, Malaysia and Indonesia, and our products are stocked by all major retailers and known and loved by millions around the world.
Transforming the Arnott’s Group Trade Promotion
Management with SAP BTP’s Smart Automation
Next Gen Innovator
Challenges
Arnott's Group needed to modernise our Trade Promotion Management (TPM) capabilities by replacing our legacy TPM
system with an advanced solution integrated within our SAP landscape. The TPM system is our central hub for tracking all
promotional activities across our retail network and managing our agreements with retail partners.
A key business requirement was to automate the creation and management of rebates and sales agreements within SAP,
streamlining what had previously been a cumbersome and time-consuming process.
The new system required automation of 7,500 annual rebate and sales agreements previously created manually in SAP.
Traditional ABAP development would require 1,740 programming hours and 43 weeks, far exceeding our 12-16 week
timeline.
Additionally, with a future SAP S/4HANA migration planned, we needed a solution that would minimise changes to our
current SAP ECC system while meeting immediate business needs.
Without effective automation, our master data and commercial teams would face unsustainable manual workload,
compromising our ability to process accruals and payments efficiently.
Arnott's Group needed to modernise our Trade Promotion Management (TPM) capabilities by replacing our legacy TPM
system with an advanced solution integrated within our SAP landscape. The TPM system is our central hub for tracking all
promotional activities across our retail network and managing our agreements with retail partners.
A key business requirement was to automate the creation and management of rebates and sales agreements within SAP,
streamlining what had previously been a cumbersome and time-consuming process.
The new system required automation of 7,500 annual rebate and sales agreements previously created manually in SAP.
Traditional ABAP development would require 1,740 programming hours and 43 weeks, far exceeding our 12-16 week
timeline.
Additionally, with a future SAP S/4HANA migration planned, we needed a solution that would minimise changes to our
current SAP ECC system while meeting immediate business needs.
Without effective automation, our master data and commercial teams would face unsustainable manual workload,
compromising our ability to process accruals and payments efficiently.
Solution
In 2024, as part of our technology stack renewal and efficiency improvement program, the company began implementing a new TPM
platform to consolidate all activities in one system. A critical requirement emerged: updating rebate agreements in SAP daily based
on TPM application changes. With an S4HANA upgrade on the horizon, avoiding custom interfaces that would add migration
complexity became paramount.
Our in-house Enterprise Applications team explored Robotic Process Automation as a solution, using internal resources to develop a
proof of concept. This cross-functional approach showed that SAP BPA could automate four critical SAP GUI transactions chosen over
UiPath for its alignment with our BTP roadmap. During a 4-month in-house implementation, we implemented SAP Business
Technology Platform (BTP) to develop an intelligent automation solution that transformed our promotional agreement processing
through:
End-to-end automation: Implemented seamless creation and updating of SAP transactions (VBO1, VBO2, VB21, VB22), eliminating
manual intervention and reducing human error.
Intelligent workflow integration: Developed automated processing of third-party software outputs while maintaining data integrity
and preventing duplications.
Robust exception management: Established comprehensive error handling and recovery mechanisms ensuring process continuity
and complete traceability.
Resource optimisation: Freed valuable FTE time from repetitive data entry tasks, enabling focus on strategic, high-value activities.
Enhanced business agility: Enabled more frequent and responsive promotional program creation/updates through automated
processing.
In 2024, as part of our technology stack renewal and efficiency improvement program, the company began implementing a new TPM
platform to consolidate all activities in one system. A critical requirement emerged: updating rebate agreements in SAP daily based
on TPM application changes. With an S4HANA upgrade on the horizon, avoiding custom interfaces that would add migration
complexity became paramount.
Our in-house Enterprise Applications team explored Robotic Process Automation as a solution, using internal resources to develop a
proof of concept. This cross-functional approach showed that SAP BPA could automate four critical SAP GUI transactions chosen over
UiPath for its alignment with our BTP roadmap. During a 4-month in-house implementation, we implemented SAP Business
Technology Platform (BTP) to develop an intelligent automation solution that transformed our promotional agreement processing
through:
End-to-end automation: Implemented seamless creation and updating of SAP transactions (VBO1, VBO2, VB21, VB22), eliminating
manual intervention and reducing human error.
Intelligent workflow integration: Developed automated processing of third-party software outputs while maintaining data integrity
and preventing duplications.
Robust exception management: Established comprehensive error handling and recovery mechanisms ensuring process continuity
and complete traceability.
Resource optimisation: Freed valuable FTE time from repetitive data entry tasks, enabling focus on strategic, high-value activities.
Enhanced business agility: Enabled more frequent and responsive promotional program creation/updates through automated
processing.
Impact
118 hours
Saving of at least 118 hours (14+ days
annually) of FTE time based on 1420
agreements (prior to solution
deployment)
5 x
Normal volume processing rate
$100K
Approximate labour cost reduction
through enhanced automation
The implementation delivered the following measurable benefits:
Financial impact
The automation has delivered cost efficiencies equivalent to one full-time position (approximately $100K annually). Based on an alternative
calculation, with agreement volumes doubling since implementation, year-over-year processing, cost savings are now approximately $12,000
through reduced manual handling time.
Scaling capabilities
Agreement processing volume has doubled since implementation, with no additional resource requirements. The system has demonstrated
the capacity to handle 5 times normal volumes, successfully processing extended runs of up to 6 hours continuously during peak testing.
Within 6 months of going live, the automation solution has processed what would have formerly been a year’s worth of data.
Error reduction and quality
The automated workflow has significantly reduced processing errors by systematically preventing common manual input mistakes. User
feedback confirms substantial improvement in data accuracy and consistency across all promotional agreements.
Future-ready architecture
The solution architecture is designed for expansion, allowing incorporation of additional agreement types without structural changes. This
scalability will allow the system to accommodate future business growth and evolving processing demands without significant reinvestment.
118 hours
Saving of at least 118 hours (14+ days
annually) of FTE time based on 1420
agreements (prior to solution
deployment)
5 x
Normal volume processing rate
$100K
Approximate labour cost reduction
through enhanced automation
The implementation delivered the following measurable benefits:
Financial impact
The automation has delivered cost efficiencies equivalent to one full-time position (approximately $100K annually). Based on an alternative
calculation, with agreement volumes doubling since implementation, year-over-year processing, cost savings are now approximately $12,000
through reduced manual handling time.
Scaling capabilities
Agreement processing volume has doubled since implementation, with no additional resource requirements. The system has demonstrated
the capacity to handle 5 times normal volumes, successfully processing extended runs of up to 6 hours continuously during peak testing.
Within 6 months of going live, the automation solution has processed what would have formerly been a year’s worth of data.
Error reduction and quality
The automated workflow has significantly reduced processing errors by systematically preventing common manual input mistakes. User
feedback confirms substantial improvement in data accuracy and consistency across all promotional agreements.
Future-ready architecture
The solution architecture is designed for expansion, allowing incorporation of additional agreement types without structural changes. This
scalability will allow the system to accommodate future business growth and evolving processing demands without significant reinvestment.
“”“This automation solution represents the perfect intersection of efficiency and strategy. By leveraging SAP
Business Process Automation, we've not only reclaimed hundreds of FTE hours annually but fundamentally
transformed how we manage promotional agreements. What previously took weeks now happens daily,
positioning us to respond to market opportunities with unprecedented agility.”
Stefanus Zhang
SAP BTP Technical Lead, The Arnott’s Group
Business Process Automation, we've not only reclaimed hundreds of FTE hours annually but fundamentally
transformed how we manage promotional agreements. What previously took weeks now happens daily,
positioning us to respond to market opportunities with unprecedented agility.”
Stefanus Zhang
SAP BTP Technical Lead, The Arnott’s Group