After a full month of intensive test running and several weeks of operational use, the Go Live of Demand Planning at Rijk Zwaan was celebrated with a tour on the waterways around de Lier.
The project was completed in 8 months and within budget. A one month extension from the original plan was accepted to accommodate feedback collected during a 3 day workshop that involved the planning organizations from all over the world. It is vital to ensure that all country organizations are well informed and on board before the roll out starts. This roll out will bring 2 - 3 countries over to the system and its revised business process every 6 months.
The transitions into the new way of working need to be planned with precision and the first countries, Spain and France will pick up the challenge directly after summer.
This project is the result of a solid vision, hard work, commitment and dedication of the combined team from Rijk Zwaan, Outperform and Chain Result. There are enough stories to fill a book but it is easier to just quote the evaluation: 8 out of 10 overall and a 9 for the deliverables.
Edward Nijboer, Project Manager