IBM accelerates Vivo Energy's digital transformation plan using SAP S/4HANA

IBM has announced that it is working with Vivo Energy, the leading retailer and marketer of Shell-branded fuels and lubricants in Africa, to accelerate its digital transformation journey using SAP S/4HANA.

Under the partnership, two of Vivo Energy’s fifteen country locations have shifted to SAP S/4HANA to “help boost efficiency and unlock operational insights”, according to IBM.

"We are focused on continuing our remarkable growth story, and to achieve this, we decided to transform our approach to business management and look for ways to enable the comprehensive operational insight that we desired,” explained Mike McCormick, CIO of Vivo Energy.

“IBM was the best partner to support the implementation, taking the time to get to know our business needs in depth."

SEE ALSO:

• HCL Technologies partners with IBM to drive hybrid cloud transformations

• Santander partners with IBM to drive digital transformation as part of a $700mn deal

• IBM pilots blockchain and IoT sensor solution to promote sustainable groundwater usage in California

• Read the latest issue of Gigabit here 

Since it was founded in 2011, Vivo has grown rapidly: it added more than 500 service stations to its retail network between 2012 and 2017 and also opened more than 450 convenience retail and quick service restaurants between 2014 and 2017.

To support this growth the firm decided to revamp its existing IT environment and improve its Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems.

Using SAP S/4HANA, Vivo Energy will be able to “track the performance of each of its locations to help drive decision-making and help create an intelligent enterprise that responds actively to customer demand,” says IBM.

"Vivo Energy was one of the first oil and gas companies of its size to deploy the full suite of SAP S/4HANA applications alongside SAP SuccessFactors solutions, SAP Cloud for Customer and SAP Integrated Business Planning in one integrated, end-to-end platform,” added Keith Costello, Global Vice President and General Manager at SAP Global Business Services Leader.

“IBM Services and Vivo Energy took an agile approach to the implementation, with a focus on fast decision-making.

“This approach on implementation can help ensure that the business transformation program has a global template for the solution, with minimal local customization in each business unit."