The Business Challenge
Prior to the deployment of Accolade®, Devondale Murray Goulburn was experiencing pain as it looked to execute on its strategy of generating growth and value through innovation.
This was the result of several factors including:
- A legacy Lotus Notes® system that required replacement and did not support the business’ innovation management requirements
- Complexity around the number of innovation processes in use throughout the business (for example, there were 8 processes alone for product changes)
- A lack of visibility of key metrics at both a project and portfolio level
- A long tail of projects in the portfolio that were of questionable value or feasibility
The Solution
Devondale Murray Goulburn chose Sopheon partner and reseller Prodex to review its innovation processes and deploy Sopheon’s Accolade software to manage its innovation portfolio. Prodex worked with the business using techniques such as Pareto Analysis to establish a core set of lean processes for New Product Development, Product Changes and Deletions. An additional process for Technology platform development is currently under development. Accolade was deployed on time and on budget by Prodex for idea management, process management and portfolio optimization. The revised and enhanced process models were also configured in the system and launched to 200 users across multiple sites.
The Results
Devondale Murray Goulburn has derived a range of benefits from the work undertaken with Prodex and the deployment of Accolade, which has been used to track and manage over 2000 ideas and projects.
Overall, the major benefits have included:
- Greater accountability and transparency around tasks and process inputs
- Increased visibility across the portfolio and understanding of its overall health, makeup and balance
- Easier access to key decision-making information including earlier identification of initiatives with limited commercial potential or technical feasibility
- Leaner, faster project execution and faster time to market
- Integration with key business systems, including SAP integration.
About the Company
With nearly $3 billion in annual revenue, Devondale Murray Goulburn is Australia’s largest dairy foods company. Its 9 processing sites, 2,400 employees and 2,580 dairy farmers are responsible for turning 37% of Australia’s total milk volume into over 784,000 tonnes of dairy product that is sold in both domestic and export markets. The business has a strong focus on innovation in order to generate profitable volume growth and create additional value through new products and new ways of operating. Currently this involves a range of initiatives in the areas of quality and nutrition, packaging, technology development platforms, supplier support and environmental performance.
“In choosing an Enterprise Innovation Management solution for Devondale Murray Goulburn there were two critical success factors. The first was selecting a software solution which is easy to use, has the depth of functionality to fulfil our emerging business requirements and is accessible in a modular, scalable format. The second was in choosing a consulting and implementation partner who could truly understand our business and support us through a strategic alliance which grows stronger over time. Through Prodex and Sopheon, we have fulfilled both of these requirements in full”
Justin Irvine Head of Innovations, Murray Goldburn
