Mitre 10 NZ builds a new centralised SAP S/4HANA home for 84 stores

The recent Mitre 10 digital transformation project was effectively 84 unique transformation projects – harmonising, centralising and boosting data quality from 84 environments with differing data and inventory systems.

The complex project for home improvement and garden retailer Mitre 10 New Zealand migrated 84 independent stores to SAP S/4HANA with the support of a data management solution.

The company aimed to improve its customer experience and future-proof the business with the move to SAP S/4HANA, focusing on modernising systems, streamlining processes and enabling better information access.

Mitre 10 is a co-operative of small and medium-sized home improvement and garden retail stores supported by a national support centre. It employs 8000 staff across New Zealand and works with more than 500 local suppliers.

“Being 100 percent Kiwi-owned and operated, we are heavily invested in the communities in which we live and work. Our vision is to inspire Kiwis to love where they live, work and play,” said Mitre 10 Project Manager for Data Transformation Chris Waterman.

“We embarked on a business transformation program with the goal of delivering a more superior customer experience.”

Mitre 10 sought to consolidate all data into SAP S/4HANA to establish the system as the cornerstone central repository and core engine. The company comprised of 84 independent stores that all managed their data and inventory systems differently.

Mitre 10 also sought to stabilise its extract, transform and load (ETL) process to ensure the underlying quality and integrity of its data.

The company partnered with data management software vendor Syniti, implementing the Syniti Knowledge Platform to centralise and simplify Mitre 10’s data migration process.

“Syniti’s data-first approach set the data foundation we needed to ensure a successful migration to SAP S/4HANA,” Waterman said. “The Syniti team not only had knowledge on SAP, but a deep understanding of our data needs and how it ties to our overall business.”

The solution provided Mitre 10 more visibility and transparency throughout the project, while the built-in data quality assessment and matching engine helped devise a comprehensive plan and roadmap for the SAP S/4HANA migration.

The ETL process was also improved through auto-generated code, with ETL output improving by 96 percent, while freeing up more time for Mitre 10’s IT team to work on other parts of the project.

Data governance also saw a boost through Syniti Knowledge Platform’s intelligent matching, deduplication and harmonisation capabilities, preserving Mitre 10’s data integrity.

“Overall, Syniti has helped to drive efficiencies, reduce complexity and manual work, and enable cost-savings for our business,” Waterman said. “They truly worked with us as one team to bring our data transformation goals to fruition.”

Looking ahead, Mitre 10 is exploring ways on how it can further leverage data across its day-to-day processes, like onboarding new customers and compliance work.