Australia Post slashes 700 applications by half

AUSTRALIA Post has kicked off an ambitious technology transformation program that’s poised to slash 700 applications by half, starting with about AUD 112 million (USD 72 million) allocated for mainly SAP-related projects.
Reducing applications for retail, parcels and logistics is the key to lowering Australia Post’s tech costs
Australia Post chief information officer Wayne Saunders said the expenditure comprised three main components, including a massive SAP enterprise resource planning system upgrade.
SAP financial and asset management applications are among the products being used at the 35,000-employee outfit, which includes 860 people in the IT department.
The remaining IT budget was split between a track-and-trace project and a four-year enterprise agreement with SAP.
The new system is believed to improve Australia Post’s parcel tracing capabilities, especially for lost items.
The track-and-trace system was built using SAP’s core event management engine and was expected to launch in mid-2009, Mr Saunders said.
Australia Post completed a SAP enterprise agreement in mid-2008.
Australia Post has about 700 applications to manage that service three parts of the business: post, retail and parcels, and logistics.
Reducing the number of applications is key to lowering the cost of technology.

AUSTRALIA Post has kicked off an ambitious technology transformation program that’s poised to slash 700 applications by half, starting with about AUD 112 million (USD 72 million) allocated for mainly SAP-related projects.
Reducing applications for retail, parcels and logistics is the key to lowering Australia Post’s tech costs
Australia Post chief information officer Wayne Saunders said the expenditure comprised three main components, including a massive SAP enterprise resource planning system upgrade.
SAP financial and asset management applications are among the products being used at the 35,000-employee outfit, which includes 860 people in the IT department.
Australia Post chose to continue its long-standing alliance with SAP due to several factors, with the software giant’s reputation playing a big part.
The remaining IT budget was split between a track-and-trace project and a four-year enterprise agreement with SAP.
The new system is believed to improve Australia Post’s parcel tracing capabilities, especially for lost items.
The track-and-trace system was built using SAP’s core event management engine and was expected to launch in mid-2009, Mr Saunders said.
Australia Post completed a SAP enterprise agreement in mid-2008.
Australia Post has about 700 applications to manage that service three parts of the business: post, retail and parcels, and logistics.
Reducing the number of applications is key to lowering the cost of technology.
Australia Post is a customer of both SAP and Business Objects, the business intelligence specialist acquired by SAP last year.
Mr Saunders said the merger was further confirmation that Australia Post made the right decision in choosing Business Objects to provide business intelligence.
It signed a 14,000-seat software licensing deal with Business Objects only two years ago.