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Case Study Manufacturing SAP Datasphere SAP Analytics Cloud

Enhancing Sugar & Milling Analytics
with SAP Datasphere & SAP Analytics Cloud

Client
RCL Foods Sugar & Milling
Industry
Manufacturing & Food Production
Location
South Africa
Solution
SAP Datasphere · SAP Analytics Cloud
Approach
Phased Cloud Migration

The Requirement

RCL Foods Sugar & Milling needed to transform its data management and analytics - moving from operationally focused reporting to predictive, prescriptive, and cognitive analytics to enable faster strategic decision-making.

The Solution

Decision Inc. implemented SAP Datasphere and SAP Analytics Cloud - a unified cloud platform providing seamless SAP and non-SAP data integration, self-service analytics, and a future-proof BI foundation.

The Impact

RCL Foods now operates a centralised cloud infrastructure enabling real-time strategic decisions, reduced IT dependency, automated management reporting, and a scalable foundation for advanced analytics.

01 · The Client

About RCL Foods

RCL Foods Sugar and Milling is a division of RCL FOODS - a leading South African food producer with a diverse portfolio spanning sugar, milling, baking, consumer products, and pet foods. RCL FOODS is known for delivering quality products under a range of popular brands, operating a robust supply chain from raw material sourcing through manufacturing to distribution.

With a focus on innovation and sustainability, RCL FOODS Sugar and Milling continually seeks to optimise operations and improve efficiencies in data management and reporting processes - making analytics a core pillar of their business strategy.

RCL Foods Sugar and Milling
02 · The Requirement

The Challenge

RCL FOODS Sugar and Milling faced a critical need to transform its data management and analytics capabilities to keep pace with the evolving demands of the business. Increasing demands for information from internal and external parties - combined with a BI environment that was primarily operationally focused - created a clear urgency for change.

  • BI reporting was primarily operationally focused - unable to support the move to predictive, prescriptive, and cognitive analytics
  • Current BI toolsets did not support the future vision for strategic decision-making in an ever-changing environment
  • Manual, repetitive actions in Excel and PowerPoint for management accounts - no single point of entry across models
  • High dependency on key IT staff for development - limiting self-service and business agility
  • Need to transition to the cloud while retaining legacy SAP BW investment - without disrupting existing operations

BI was deemed an integral part of operations and a key component in delivering the business unit strategy - making the renewed drive on BI adoption and maturity a strategic priority.

03 · The Solution

How Decision Inc. Delivered

After evaluating various options, RCL FOODS Sugar and Milling selected Decision Inc. as their ideal implementation partner. Together with SAP, they identified SAP Datasphere and SAP Analytics Cloud as the best fit. SAP Datasphere's unique ability to integrate SAP and non-SAP data sources on a single cloud platform provided the scalability and seamless integration the business needed - while retaining existing SAP BW investments.

Unified Data Platform

SAP Datasphere integrates SAP and non-SAP data sources on a single cloud platform - eliminating data silos and providing organisation-wide access to trusted, consistent data.

Spaces & Collaboration

The "spaces" concept within Datasphere enables both IT and business users to collaborate on data models seamlessly - increasing self-service access and reducing IT bottlenecks.

Legacy Protection

SAP Datasphere's compatibility with existing SAP BW functionality allowed RCL Foods to transition to the cloud while retaining prior development investment - zero wasted effort.

Advanced Analytics

SAP Analytics Cloud delivers a powerful, user-friendly interface for unified planning, reporting, and predictive analytics - enabling the move from operational to strategic BI maturity.

Phased Implementation

A well-documented RACI framework, open stakeholder communication, and phased delivery approach ensured timely milestones, knowledge transfer, and a positive team dynamic.

Storyboarding & Automation

Automated management accounts and dashboards replace repetitive manual PowerPoint and Excel actions - freeing the commercial team to focus on optimisation and cost leadership.

The phased project approach lays the foundation and necessary building blocks for future development phases - positioning RCL FOODS Sugar and Milling to evolve its analytics capabilities incrementally as business needs grow.

04 · The Outcome

Streamlined, Future-Ready Analytics

Today, RCL FOODS Sugar and Milling operates a centralised cloud infrastructure with SAP Datasphere and SAP SAC - enabling access to relevant information across business units, empowering faster data-driven decisions, and allowing IT teams to focus on more complex analytics tasks.

  • Single point of entry with full integration between models - eliminating repetitive manual actions in Excel and PowerPoint
  • Commercial team can now develop dashboards and graphs once - they update automatically through the BI platform
  • Increased self-service opportunity - reducing key IT staff dependency and improving business agility and collaboration
  • Deeper insights to identify Best in Class (BIC) initiatives by analysing large data sets and focusing on all cost drivers
  • EXCO now supported with real-time strategic insights to make faster, more informed decisions
  • Planning, BI, predictive, and augmented analytics all available in one future-proof solution aligned to SAP's roadmap
RCL Foods Outcome
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Looking Forward
"For organisations considering SAP Datasphere and SAP SAC, this solution goes beyond simplifying data management. By unifying diverse data sources within a scalable cloud platform, it reduces data silos, speeds up reporting, and enhances organisation-wide data access - empowering both business users and IT teams to collaborate effectively, leading to faster, more informed decision-making."
DI
Decision Inc.
SAP Practice - South Africa