Sempergreen's digital transformation
Time for a new way of working
Imagine having to complete 18 actions manually and on paper before an order is on its way to a customer. That’s how Sempergreen, a global market leader in green roofs, traditionally processed its orders. Rapid growth was slowed down and error sensitivity increased with each additional order. So, Sempergreen had a close look at the entire internal logistics process and decided to digitalize it.
As a tech partner, PAQT took on Sempergreen’s complete digital transformation. Team Growth mapped out the entire order process by performing a GAP analysis, based on which it reduced 18 actions to just 8 steps. Then, Team Falcon developed the custom software required to seamlessly connect the new internal processes to the existing AFAS system.
About Sempergreen
Headquartered in the Netherlands, Sempergreen is the world’s largest developer and supplier of innovative, high-quality solutions for green roofs, green living walls, and direct-green ground covers. Sempergreen’s mission is to create a green, livable world for our generation and the ones that come after us.
Sempergreen’s driven, professional team, which has more than 200 employees, is constantly working on the quality of its sustainable products. Together with its customers, Sempergreen works on making the world a little greener every day.
Digitalization of the order process
Sempergreen processes a large number of orders every year and also grows planting stock for the green roofs. It’s a practical process, and a lot of it is done outside. But at the same time, it comprises a major logistical and administrative issue. In recent years, the company’s focus had been on sales and marketing — a strategy that paid off. But if you grow this fast, internal processes begin to waver — which Lenhard van Ballegooijen, director of Sempergreen Nurseries, noticed.
Purchase orders piled up (literally) and were passed on and processed manually. Sempergreen discovered that it had to perform a whopping 18 manual actions before an order placed was on its way to a customer. Not only was this an error-prone process; it also hindered further growth. Time for a new way of working — a fully digitalized one. Or, as they put it internally, “Laying a solid foundation.”
Technical partner for digitalization
Through a shared contact, Lenhard came to PAQT with Sempergreen’s digitalization issue: “We had a clear idea of what we wanted to improve and were looking for a collaboration partner to help realize it,” he says. “An added benefit of working with a partner like this is that an external party provides a fresh and critical perspective on your processes. Why do we go about things the way we do? Can we improve them? We also wanted to join forces with a partner who shared our solution-oriented, down-to-earth mindset. Form the very start, we’ve felt that PAQT was a great match in these respects.”
Expanding AFAS with customization
Using Sempergreen’s own findings regarding their ideal process, we investigated which type of solution would be most suitable. It quickly became clear that standard software didn’t suffice, as it failed to match Sempergreen’s unique working method. Since 75 percent of the organization was already happy with AFAS, a combination of AFAS and a solution tailored to its unique processes turned out to be the best choice.
The business case: what are the benefits?
Management found it important to gain insight into the solution’s revenue (or ROI) model before we started building it. As this is a new innovation, PAQT and the nursery jointly created a business case that compared the expected investment and the expected savings.
With an improved and digitalized process, existing vacancies for transportation planning wouldn’t have to be filled to enable further growth — a fact that was included when calculating savings. Failure costs could also be reduced, and considerable savings could be achieved in terms of time and material use. Taken together, these elements created a good business case, which led to the greenlighting of development in October 2021.
Tight deadline met
There was one clear condition for development: the new system had to be put into use before the start of the new season. “Implementing such a major change amid the hustle and bustle of peak season is simply not possible,” Lenhard explains. Yet, we pulled it off. In April 2022, when the new season started, the solution went live! This required a close collaboration between the development team and the people at Sempergreen who were involved. We had to complete tight sprints, deliver and test interim results, and constantly make adjustments where necessary. “Communications were great and frequent,” says Lenhard. “With every sprint, the results delivered were as promised, which gave us confidence.”
Involving all layers of the organization
During the development process, all layers of the organization were regularly involved to make the solution user-friendly for everyone. This was important, as several departments work with the automated process: management, transportation planning, tractor drivers, and crane drivers. By involving them during development, we could directly incorporate practical tips from the work floor into the concepts and ensure everyone would be able to work with the system and understand it.
The result: the solution
“As we consulted with each other so often at an early stage, the solution was very well received,” says Lenhard. “There’s absolutely no paper involved anymore. There’s a tablet on the tractor, the crane driver has a tablet and a printer for pallet stickers, and employees in the logistics department walk around with tablets. Everyone can always check the status: Where is an order right now? What actions have been completed and what’s the next step? If you have any questions, you know exactly where to find the answers. It saves time, avoids a smokescreen, and provides clarity. It’s an extremely pleasant way of working, which is why we also want to implement it in our nurseries across the border in the coming period.”
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