Icebreaker, a global merino clothing company, implemented Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 to overcome limitations of their outdated ERP system and to enhance enterprise productivity and inventory management. The new platform allows for better inventory consolidation, forecasting, and operational efficiency, leading to an anticipated 30% productivity increase and improved customer experience. The successful deployment established Icebreaker as a competitive player in the retail space, supporting its ambitious growth targets.

1. RETAIL
CASE STUDY
Excellence and efficiency with
Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012
ICEBREAKER
Creating a “cornerstone”
for a truly global business
set for major growth
THE SITUATION
“Now with Microsoft
Dynamics AX 2012 we
have the ability to see
where we’ll be in three or
six months’ time, based
on today’s view.”
SHANE WOONTON
DIRECTOR – WINNING THROUGH
INVENTORY
World leading Merino clothing company,
Icebreaker, has grown significantly since
its establishment in Wellington, New
Zealand, in 1995. Now a fast growing
global operation with offices in 8
countries, Icebreaker found itself limited
by its ERP technology. Icebreaker wanted
a technology platform that would remove
silos, fragmentation and a “cookie cutter”
approach to processes, allowing them
embrace the future and take its retail
operation to a whole new level.
Icebreaker chose Microsoft Dynamics AX
2012, and Intergen as its implementation
partner, to create a powerful “cornerstone”
platform to underpin its entire global
operation, drawing on core retail
functionality and bringing everything
together in a single global instance
resulting in significant gains in productivity
and competitive advantage, allowing
Icebreaker to cement its place in the top
echelon of retailers worldwide and realise
its strong growth aspirations of becoming a
company with a half billion dollar turnover.
Icebreaker had two key drivers in
implementing a new ERP system: enterprise
productivity and inventory effectiveness,
helping Icebreaker to achieve its business
objective of winning through inventory.
THE PAIN
With a highly customised, unstable and
inflexible 10 year-old Dynamics NAV ERP
platform in place, implemented when
Icebreaker was a business turning over
$2 million annually (now $180 million),
technology had become a significant
constraint to growth. Processes were often
manual, reporting was limited, and
different instances of the system were in
use in different subsidiaries around the
world, resulting in business inconsistencies
and a limited view of inventory, as well as
difficulties managing it across numerous
warehouses. Shane Woonton, Icebreaker’s
Director – Winning Through Inventory
explains that, “This meant we often
suffered from inventory issues that crept up
and surprised us at the last minute.”

2. THE BUSINESS CASE
THE GAIN
There have been, and will continue to be,
“numerous tangible and intangible gains,”
says Dave. These include:
Retail POS capabilities. As a 75%
wholesale business, AX supports
Icebreaker’s strong aspirations to grow its
retail network and e-commerce platform, as
well as integrating closely with Microsoft
Dynamics CRM.
Inventory management. Shane explains:
“We have been able to consolidate global
demand and create a single global pool of
inventory which means we are able to meet
our demand profile more effectively across
the different pathways of doing business.”
Dave elaborates on the benefits of
inventory effectiveness: “This allows us to
make better choices, to better manage our
customer needs and to therefore deliver a
better customer experience. Ultimately we
will also be able to achieve revenue growth
from a smaller investment in inventory.”
Consolidation of back office functions
into regional hubs has meant the
development of “centres of excellence”,
which, as Dave explains, “brings a number
of operational benefits such as best
practice and consistency and greater
coverage for time and language. Plus these
centres of excellence will also bring about
long-term cost benefits.”
Ability to scale. AX provides a platform
that will grow as Icebreaker does, both
enabling and supporting aggressive
growth plans.
AUCKLAND
CHRISTCHURCH
An accurate view of the business.
The ability to get a “single view of the
truth” and derive real value from
reporting, allowing for improved
operations planning, better forecasting
and allocation of inventory. “Now we can
accurately project our future inventory
position based on today’s view of supply
and demand,” Dave explains.
With strong growth aspirations,
Icebreaker was constrained by its 10-year
old ERP system and looked to Microsoft
Dynamics AX 2012 to help bring about
inventory effectiveness, operational
excellence and productivity gains,
ultimately enabling Icebreaker to better
understand and deliver to the needs of
its customers.
Productivity gains. Icebreaker anticipates
that AX will help Icebreaker bring about
30% productivity improvements in its
people by being able to manage overhead
as a percentage of a sale, and reduce this
overhead as Icebreaker continues to grow.
With Dynamics AX 2012 chosen as the ERP
technology platform, Icebreaker set in place
a plan to “bring four regional entities into
a single global inventory pool and create a
truly global business model with “centres of
excellence” in place,” says Icebreakers Chief
Operating Officer, Dave Anderson.
The AX solution is used by 120 people
across New Zealand, Australia, Europe
and America, across all functions of the
business: supply chain, finance, head
office, customer service, sales, inventory
management, demand planning and
logistics.
Reduction in manual transactions and
processes, resulting in streamlining, time
savings and the ability for staff to focus
on more “value-add” activities. Shane
describes one example of this: “Previously
processing our raw materials requirements
would have been a week’s work. Now it’s a
simple process inside the system that runs
in 30 minutes as part of batch processing
in the weekend.”
After an intensive and highly collaborative
project journey and a “fast and furious”
implementation phase involving a global
roll-out across four time zones in four days
– with all four regions successfully back to
business as usual on the Monday morning
following the implementation – Icebreaker
is currently bedding in the system and
making incremental enhancements. Both
Dave and Shane reflect on the magnitude
of the project and its significance to
Icebreaker, as well as the importance of
the strong relationship formed between
Icebreaker and Intergen. “This is an
absolute cornerstone of our business, and
we definitely made the right choice with
AX,” Dave says. Shane adds, “Intergen was
absolutely professional, collaborative and
calm in times of pressure, and their strong
governance and project management
ensured a successful outcome for
our business.”
DUNEDIN
MELBOURNE
PERTH
THE BUSINESS VALUE
»» Dramatically improved inventory
consolidation, management and
forecasting
»» Strong retail point-of-sale and
e-commerce capabilities and
Dynamics CRM integration
»» Consolidation into regional hubs,
bringing about best practice,
consistency and greater coverage
»» Ability to scale and allow for growth
»» Powerful reporting and an accurate
view of the business
»» Anticipated 30% productivity gains
»» Reduction in manual transactions
and processes
THE ENGINE ROOM
»» Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012
»» Sunrise apparel third party add-on
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