CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive
16 May 2007
Implementation Investments
SABMiller plc Taps Sopheon to Power Global Innovation Process Initiative
Sopheon announced that SABMiller plc will deploy Sopheon's Accolade product life cycle management system to support the company's new standardized process for managing initiatives within the business. The new process is part of a broad strategy aimed at improving knowledge sharing and product pipeline management across SABMiller's operating hubs around the globe.
The South African Breweries (SAB) was founded in 1885. In 2002, after acquiring the Miller Brewing Company, the second largest beer maker in the U.S., the enlarged group changed its name to SABMiller plc. The company produces more than 200 brands, with brewing interests and distribution agreements in over 60 countries across five continents. It has annual revenues of over $15 billion. SABMiller's product line includes premium international beers such as Miller Genuine Draft®, Peroni® and Pilsner Urquell®, as well as dozens of market-leading regional varieties. It is also one of the world's largest bottlers of Coca-Cola® and other soft drinks.
SABMiller's selection of Sopheon's Accolade system followed an evaluation process involving seven suppliers. The reasons Accolade was chosen included its ease-of-use, embedded best-practice content, strong alignment with Stage-Gate® methodology, and the speed with which it can be deployed. Another advantage of the Sopheon offering that SABMiller valued was its tight integration with Microsoft Office® applications such as Excel and Word already in broad use within the company.
"SABMiller's organic growth depends upon the creation of strong, locally driven brand portfolios," said Neil MacGilp, group technical director at SABMiller. "Accolade will help us overcome the challenges of our decentralized approach to innovation across regional hubs. In addition to giving us an efficient, unified process structure, the system's features will guard against duplication of effort and allow cross-functional teams responsible for product innovation to more easily share their knowledge. Its capacity to aggregate regional data will provide corporate executives with essential support in making strategic portfolio decisions. Accolade gives us a common, coherent way of looking at innovation, and a more effective way of making it happen."
SABMiller's new process will be focused primarily on managing product development. However, it will also support other types of initiatives.
Nigel Cordery, European director for Sopheon, said, "Through implementation of its Accolade-supported initiative management system, SABMiller is positioning itself to raise its already prolific product innovation capabilities to a new level. We're excited by the opportunity to be a partner in this process."
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