Tauranga City Council: Delivering city services more efficiently using a next-generation ERP
Read how New Zealand's Tauranga City Council is reducing manual processing, improving data accuracy, and maximizing revenue generation with a migration to SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition. Download the DocumentTauranga City Council: Delivering
city services more efficiently using
a next-generation ERP
With a mission to provide high-quality public services to its citizens, New Zealand’s
Tauranga City Council aims to run multiple business units as efficiently as possible.
However, an aging, inefficient, and highly customized legacy solution made this a
challenge. To address this, the organization is migrating its operations to SAP S/4HANA
Cloud Private Edition—reducing manual processing, improving data accuracy, and
maximizing revenue generation.
Featured Partners
city services more efficiently using
a next-generation ERP
With a mission to provide high-quality public services to its citizens, New Zealand’s
Tauranga City Council aims to run multiple business units as efficiently as possible.
However, an aging, inefficient, and highly customized legacy solution made this a
challenge. To address this, the organization is migrating its operations to SAP S/4HANA
Cloud Private Edition—reducing manual processing, improving data accuracy, and
maximizing revenue generation.
Featured Partners
Streamlining rate billing processes with SAP S/4HANA Cloud
Private Edition
“By making our organization run more efficiently, we can
better serve the community of Tauranga. SAP S/4HANA
Cloud Private Edition is playing a crucial role in helping us
achieve this.”
Panna Ramjee, Delivery Manager—Customer, Tauranga City Council
Tauranga City Council
Tauranga, New Zealand
www.tauranga.govt.nz
Industry
Government
Employees
750
Revenue
NZ$500 million
(US$302.8 million)
Products and services
City administration
Featured solution
SAP S/4HANA Cloud
Private Edition
87%
Overall satisfaction
level of rates experts
99.96%
Matching of rating
valuations between the
legacy and new ERP
solutions
Before: Challenges and opportunities
• Migrate from an outdated and unreliable legacy solution
• Eliminate manual processing that leads to errors and invoicing inaccuracies
• Carry out migration activities without disrupting critical revenue-collection activities
Why SAP, Gravity IT, and Accenture
• Robust, next-generation ERP functionality delivered by SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition
• Rates assessment conducted in parallel in both the legacy solution and SAP S/4HANA Cloud
Private Edition, prior to migration
• Collaborative approach with SAP, Gravity IT, and Accenture experts working closely with council
employees
After: Value-driven results
• High level of confidence among council staff that the new ERP solution can help improve rates
management efficiency
• Faster completion of rates management tasks, with installment calculations achieved six times faster
than previously
• Improved accuracy, with digitalized and automated processes reducing the risk of errors
Featured Partners
95137enUS (24/12) © 2024 SAP SE or an SAP affiliate company. sap.com/terms-of-use
Executive overview Objectives Solution Results Future plans
Private Edition
“By making our organization run more efficiently, we can
better serve the community of Tauranga. SAP S/4HANA
Cloud Private Edition is playing a crucial role in helping us
achieve this.”
Panna Ramjee, Delivery Manager—Customer, Tauranga City Council
Tauranga City Council
Tauranga, New Zealand
www.tauranga.govt.nz
Industry
Government
Employees
750
Revenue
NZ$500 million
(US$302.8 million)
Products and services
City administration
Featured solution
SAP S/4HANA Cloud
Private Edition
87%
Overall satisfaction
level of rates experts
99.96%
Matching of rating
valuations between the
legacy and new ERP
solutions
Before: Challenges and opportunities
• Migrate from an outdated and unreliable legacy solution
• Eliminate manual processing that leads to errors and invoicing inaccuracies
• Carry out migration activities without disrupting critical revenue-collection activities
Why SAP, Gravity IT, and Accenture
• Robust, next-generation ERP functionality delivered by SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition
• Rates assessment conducted in parallel in both the legacy solution and SAP S/4HANA Cloud
Private Edition, prior to migration
• Collaborative approach with SAP, Gravity IT, and Accenture experts working closely with council
employees
After: Value-driven results
• High level of confidence among council staff that the new ERP solution can help improve rates
management efficiency
• Faster completion of rates management tasks, with installment calculations achieved six times faster
than previously
• Improved accuracy, with digitalized and automated processes reducing the risk of errors
Featured Partners
95137enUS (24/12) © 2024 SAP SE or an SAP affiliate company. sap.com/terms-of-use
Executive overview Objectives Solution Results Future plans
Meeting the needs of 160,000 citizens, Tauranga City
Council is responsible for the social, economic, and
cultural well-being of Tauranga, New Zealand. With over
40 business units, the council manages a range of local
services, from road maintenance and glass recycling to
parks and libraries.
Highly customized legacy solution
To help it coordinate its wide-ranging activities, Tauranga
City Council used a third-party ERP solution. However, at
25 years old, this legacy solution had become outdated.
Moreover, numerous customizations made it difficult to
maintain and update.
“To better support our operations and help us deliver high-
quality services to our citizens, we wanted a single source
of truth and robust functionality to enable us to streamline
our processes,” says Panna Ramjee, delivery manager—
customer at Tauranga City Council. “For this reason, we
decided to move from our legacy solution to a next-
generation, cloud-based ERP.”
Serving citizens better through technological innovation
Executive overview Objectives Solution Results Future plans
Council is responsible for the social, economic, and
cultural well-being of Tauranga, New Zealand. With over
40 business units, the council manages a range of local
services, from road maintenance and glass recycling to
parks and libraries.
Highly customized legacy solution
To help it coordinate its wide-ranging activities, Tauranga
City Council used a third-party ERP solution. However, at
25 years old, this legacy solution had become outdated.
Moreover, numerous customizations made it difficult to
maintain and update.
“To better support our operations and help us deliver high-
quality services to our citizens, we wanted a single source
of truth and robust functionality to enable us to streamline
our processes,” says Panna Ramjee, delivery manager—
customer at Tauranga City Council. “For this reason, we
decided to move from our legacy solution to a next-
generation, cloud-based ERP.”
Serving citizens better through technological innovation
Executive overview Objectives Solution Results Future plans
Minimizing disruption risk with a phased implementation
As an existing customer of the SAP Field Service
Management, SAP Customer Experience, and
SAP SuccessFactors solutions, Tauranga City Council
was familiar with the power of SAP software to help drive
efficiencies. As a result, SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition
was the obvious choice when looking for a next-generation
ERP to replace the council’s existing legacy solution.
Tauranga City Council started with the migration of finance
and leasing functionality. Following that, the council
commenced a project to move rates management
functionality to SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition.
“Rates account for around NZ$300 million [US$179 million]
each year, which is about 60% of our overall revenue,”
says Ramjee. “For this reason, it’s absolutely critical that
rates collection isn’t disrupted by our migration to the new
ERP solution.”
Running old and new solutions in parallel
With help from SAP partners Gravity IT and Accenture,
Tauranga City Council migrated the rates data from the
legacy system into SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition. It
then ran a rates assessment in the two solutions in parallel
to check that the new ERP solution precisely met the
council’s requirements.
For Cameron Burd, delivery manager for core SAP at the
council, the close working relationship between experts
from Gravity IT, Accenture, SAP, and 50 council employees
was crucial to the success of the project. “We worked
together as one team,” he says. “Our project partners were
incredibly supportive, and when we did have an issue
during the parallel rates assessment, the SAP experts
jumped on it very quickly to find a swift resolution.”
Objectives Solution Results Future plansExecutive overview
As an existing customer of the SAP Field Service
Management, SAP Customer Experience, and
SAP SuccessFactors solutions, Tauranga City Council
was familiar with the power of SAP software to help drive
efficiencies. As a result, SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition
was the obvious choice when looking for a next-generation
ERP to replace the council’s existing legacy solution.
Tauranga City Council started with the migration of finance
and leasing functionality. Following that, the council
commenced a project to move rates management
functionality to SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition.
“Rates account for around NZ$300 million [US$179 million]
each year, which is about 60% of our overall revenue,”
says Ramjee. “For this reason, it’s absolutely critical that
rates collection isn’t disrupted by our migration to the new
ERP solution.”
Running old and new solutions in parallel
With help from SAP partners Gravity IT and Accenture,
Tauranga City Council migrated the rates data from the
legacy system into SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition. It
then ran a rates assessment in the two solutions in parallel
to check that the new ERP solution precisely met the
council’s requirements.
For Cameron Burd, delivery manager for core SAP at the
council, the close working relationship between experts
from Gravity IT, Accenture, SAP, and 50 council employees
was crucial to the success of the project. “We worked
together as one team,” he says. “Our project partners were
incredibly supportive, and when we did have an issue
during the parallel rates assessment, the SAP experts
jumped on it very quickly to find a swift resolution.”
Objectives Solution Results Future plansExecutive overview
Accelerating workflows and exceeding employee expectations
The parallel rates assessment went smoothly, with
90% of the council team involved saying that they were
very satisfied with their experience with the project.
SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition proved its worth, and
employees are now feeling confident in running a rates
assessment and invoicing customers using the solution.
In addition, Tauranga City Council was able to perform
certain tasks faster with the SAP solution than with the
legacy solution. Using SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition,
calculating installments to be paid by each customer took
only 25 minutes compared to 2.5 hours with the legacy
solution. Meanwhile, the team carried out direct debit
recalculations for its customer base in just 2.5 hours. This
was previously conducted manually and would take council
employees approximately five days to complete.
Eliminating human error and improving accuracy
According to Burd, SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition
also surpassed expectations concerning data accuracy. In
fact, a test upload of geographic information system data
revealed significant data quality issues that could lead to
people being incorrectly charged. This had not previously
been detected in the legacy solution.
“With SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition, we’re able to
maintain much more accurate information,” says Burd.
“Eliminating manual processing reduces inaccuracies due to
human error and helps ensure that we can maximize the
rates revenue that helps pay for the services we provide to
the community.”
Objectives Solution Results Future plansExecutive overview
The parallel rates assessment went smoothly, with
90% of the council team involved saying that they were
very satisfied with their experience with the project.
SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition proved its worth, and
employees are now feeling confident in running a rates
assessment and invoicing customers using the solution.
In addition, Tauranga City Council was able to perform
certain tasks faster with the SAP solution than with the
legacy solution. Using SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition,
calculating installments to be paid by each customer took
only 25 minutes compared to 2.5 hours with the legacy
solution. Meanwhile, the team carried out direct debit
recalculations for its customer base in just 2.5 hours. This
was previously conducted manually and would take council
employees approximately five days to complete.
Eliminating human error and improving accuracy
According to Burd, SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition
also surpassed expectations concerning data accuracy. In
fact, a test upload of geographic information system data
revealed significant data quality issues that could lead to
people being incorrectly charged. This had not previously
been detected in the legacy solution.
“With SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition, we’re able to
maintain much more accurate information,” says Burd.
“Eliminating manual processing reduces inaccuracies due to
human error and helps ensure that we can maximize the
rates revenue that helps pay for the services we provide to
the community.”
Objectives Solution Results Future plansExecutive overview
Delivering consistent customer experiences, enabled by SAP solutions
Following the successful test, Tauranga City Council is set to
go live with all its rates management processes on
SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition within eight months.
Within the next year and a half, it’s also looking to migrate
processes associated with nonrates revenue in areas such
as dog registration fees and parking charges.
Other planned projects include an upgrade to the latest
version of the SAP Service Cloud solution. This will help the
council deliver smooth customer journeys while taking
advantage of advanced technologies such as AI to increase
efficiency and further elevate the customer experience.
“Managing processes consistently across all our business
units will allow us to work more efficiently,” says Ramjee.
“Using SAP software as the engine that provides a single
source of truth and powers our processes will ultimately
help us provide a better service to our citizens.”
Objectives Solution Results Future plansExecutive overview
Following the successful test, Tauranga City Council is set to
go live with all its rates management processes on
SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition within eight months.
Within the next year and a half, it’s also looking to migrate
processes associated with nonrates revenue in areas such
as dog registration fees and parking charges.
Other planned projects include an upgrade to the latest
version of the SAP Service Cloud solution. This will help the
council deliver smooth customer journeys while taking
advantage of advanced technologies such as AI to increase
efficiency and further elevate the customer experience.
“Managing processes consistently across all our business
units will allow us to work more efficiently,” says Ramjee.
“Using SAP software as the engine that provides a single
source of truth and powers our processes will ultimately
help us provide a better service to our citizens.”
Objectives Solution Results Future plansExecutive overview