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Cultivating confidence with RCL FOODS’ Project Scoop
Zero data errors during migration
More than 206 million records copied
12 928 active employees migrated
Live extract completed in under 2 hours
Over 100 HR users moved between systems
Cutover achieved in a weekend
RCL FOODS:
Leading food manufacturer with over 20 household brands
RCL FOODS is a South African food manufacturer with more than 20 much-loved household brands, over 10 000 employees and one powerful purpose: We Grow What Matters.
RCL FOODS believes South Africa will thrive when we collectively grow what matters. The company strives to serve people's needs; responsibly create opportunities for employment, belonging and growth; and to do more to strengthen communities and the environment. Their purpose is anchored in a culture of empowerment and accountability, with uncompromising integrity at its heart.
- Home to more than 20 much loved household brands
- 10,000 employees
- One powerful purpose: We Grow What Matters
Identifying the path to optimise RCL FOODS business portfolio
In 2021, RCL FOODS announced that their current portfolio was not optimally configured for their strategic ambitions going forward. To put RCL FOODS in a better position to achieve a more consistent quality of earnings through growth in its value-added business, the board embarked on a strategic separation of their chicken (Rainbow) and logistics (Vector Logistics) operations. Vector Logistics was disposed of at the end of the 2023 financial year, and RCL FOODS has announced that Rainbow will be unbundled and separately listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, making Rainbow a distinct identity from RCL FOODS.
To facilitate the Vector Logistics transition, the RCL FOODS Transformation Management Office (TMO) was tasked with
- facilitating an evaluation of various options to mitigate reliance on Vector Logistics’ SAP HCM, which housed the majority of the Group’s payroll services; and
- getting approval to move their other businesses off the Vector platform and into Group SAP, giving them independence for HCM and payroll.
This migration project was coined ‘Project Scoop’.
We believe there was lower complexity and risk by carving out, rather than creating something new. We felt it was the best approach for enabling any separation activities, because the HCM solution could be copied over to a new SAP instance if required on separation; and Vector would be on their standalone HCM system. With all the corporate activity that was expected in the coming years in RCL FOODS, it was also a great opportunity to use your EPI-USE Labs software and know-how, and especially trial the software capability.
A visual representation of the carve-out at RCL Group
Before the project, all the HR data was housed in Vector. There was nothing in Group. After the project, the HR data was split off into Vector and RCL Group.
Complexities faced by RCL FOODS, and how EPI-USE Labs solved these
| RCL FOODS' complexities included: | EPI-USE Labs' technical solutions: |
| The HR data on the source system belonged to multiple companies, so it had to be split up before it could be copied. | EPI-USE Labs' Data Sync Manager™ (DSM) can extract just a subset of the HR data present on a system, i.e., not all employees or all payroll results. |
| The large set of non-HR data on the source system had to be excluded from the migration. | DSM has a special profile to extract only HR data from a full ERP system, without touching the non-HR data. |
| The Vector HR data had to be brought into a working target system, without impacting its live business operations. | DSM can import HR data into a working SAP system, without affecting or overwriting any data in the non-HR modules. |
| The HR data in the source system relied on many custom objects and configuration, which did not exist in the target system. | EPI-USE Labs identified and transferred all the required custom objects so that the custom data could later be copied across by DSM. |
| Some key HR data (like company code and cost centre) had to be converted for the target system, to align with its existing enterprise structures. | DSM can transform data in memory, according to defined rules, then insert the converted values into the target system. |
The real challenge was the unknown timing of corporate activity. We knew that there was a real urgency, but we didn’t know when we had to deliver this by. We quickly determined the only realistic go-live date for migration was at a tax year end – delaying it would have been too risky given the expected corporate activity. The sale of Vector Logistics was announced less than a month after Project Scoop went live. The timing was spot-on.
Because of the complexities of the project, EPI-USE Labs suggested their PRISM methodology with a three-iteration approach to testing. This provided the opportunity to identify and resolve issues early on, executing subsequent tests on an improved foundation. As the tests progressed, the RCL FOODS Steering Committee gained confidence that the migration would be delivered accurately and on time.
Thorough testing in all three tiers, or the three-iteration approach, was absolutely critical to this project. If I look at the benefits that we got out of this testing approach, it’s not just the system itself, it’s also the team’s understanding of the system.
Collaboration facilitated testing, payroll migration and communication
This testing approach also facilitated a collaborative relationship between the teams from RCL FOODS and EPI-USE Labs, creating a supportive environment throughout the testing phase, assisting with getting the required payroll migration over the line within the expected go-live date, and establishing an open communication line for post go-live queries and support.
The execution of Project Scoop marked a first step towards optimising the RCL FOODS portfolio, and is an example of quick adaptability from multiple teams, a strategic vision and how collaboration between teams can ensure the smooth implementation of a project while meeting a business-directed deadline.
EPI-USE Labs provided full support throughout that go-live weekend, and was always available in the virtual ‘war’ room. Paul and others were available to work and collaborate with us. The support received post go-live was excellent. We’ve now moved into the next phase of historical data cleanup, and we’re getting the same support that we experienced during Project Scoop.
