A recipe for growth

The challenge

Barilla, an Italian multinational food company founded in 1877, is a global leader in pasta and ready-to-use sauces, with operations in over 100 countries. To maintain its competitive edge and meet growing demand in Australia, Barilla faced the challenge of overhauling its supply chain model. A shift to a local fulfillment strategy called for an integrated approach that could improve efficiency, reduce manual processes and enhance customer experience.

To achieve these goals, Barilla needed to integrate a new local ERP system with its customers and warehouse partners using EDI (Electronic Data Interchange). This automation would streamline critical processes such as order handling and minimise manual tasks. The company also had to work within a tight deadline, ensuring that the new system would run smoothly from day one.

“The goal was a shift in the business model [from] direct imports via containers more to a local 3PL with local inventory, so basically smaller inventory quantities to customers to provide more flexibility, which is what Woolies and Coles wanted so we had to engage with a new 3PL, and set up more EDI functions which is where SPS came in.”

Dennis Ou, IT Manager, APAC 

The solution

To address these challenges, Barilla partnered with SPS Commerce, leveraging their expertise in EDI integration. Barilla implemented SPS Commerce Fulfilment for Microsoft Dynamics Business Central, a solution that seamlessly connected their new ERP to customers and warehouse partners. This system automated key processes, eliminated the need for extensive internal development and provided scalability for future growth.

SPS Commerce’s comprehensive solution streamlined EDI management, allowing Barilla to concentrate on its core operations. By managing the entire certification process with Barilla’s customers, SPS ensured a seamless transition and uninterrupted operations.

“We wanted to have a single but powerful solution – only one Software as a Service (SaaS) provider. We didn’t have much time to do this big revamp of our business model and implementation of the ERP, so it was really key to do this with speed and also to build something that was future-proof.”

Filippo Barsotti, Head of IT, EEMEA and APAC 

The results

With the support of SPS Commerce, Barilla successfully met its implementation deadlines, establishing a scalable system that not only improved operational efficiency but also prepared the company for future expansion. The automated processes significantly increased supply chain efficiency, reduced manual workloads and improved customer satisfaction.

The flexible and scalable system provided by SPS Commerce positions Barilla to continue growing, adapting to new markets and evolving its operations with ease.

Barilla’s collaboration with SPS Commerce has been instrumental in driving supply chain efficiency and setting the stage for long-term growth.