Overview
Over 30 years ago New Zealand’s incredible wilderness sparked a passion for the outdoors, and Kathmandu was formed. Now a leading global outdoor lifestyle brand, it started with a simple belief that outside is where people live their best lives, and Kathmandu’s mission is to improve the wellbeing of the world by getting more people out there.
The first outdoor retailer in Australia and New Zealand to become a certified Benefit Corporation (B Corp), Kathmandu are committed to using business to have positive effects on the planet and are always looking for ways to do better.
In 2019, Kathmandu acquired Rip Curl, one of the world’s most recognized surf and snow brands – thus forming a $1 billion Australasian surfing and outdoor adventure lifestyle organisation.
Approach
Kathmandu and Rip Curl needed to upgrade their Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) platform and didn’t have the Project Management capacity or experience internally to deliver this size and level of project. They wanted to partner with a professional services organisation with the experience to deliver this large scale, multi-national technology upgrade. They turned to Millpond to provide an experienced team with the right skills who could integrate seamlessly with the Kathmandu team and internal stakeholders.
Why did Kathmandu choose to work with Millpond over other options?
The team at Kathmandu had an existing relationship with Millpond and wanted to continue to develop a partnership beyond one specific project, needing long-term Project and Programme resources across a number of initiatives. They wanted to partner with a sizeable firm who could provide a wealth of experience and an ongoing level of commitment and trust.
“Millpond were able to seamlessly slot into the project teams at both Kathmandu and Rip Curl, build strong relationships with key personalities, and coordinate critical project activities. A good mix of personality, knowledge, and experience. The team were committed to delivering progress, and embraced the challenge that is typical of a significant ERP platform upgrade”.
The Millpond team approached the problem by:
- Engaging directly with the Group IT Portfolio Manager to understand ways of working and ascertain key priorities.
- Reporting to the Programme governance group, primarily made up of the executive leadership team.
- Working with key project, operational and vendor stakeholders throughout from the establishment of the business case right through to post go-live support – spanning Finance, Supply Chain, Merchandise, Customer Service and Retail.
- Providing a team of experienced Project Managers across numerous projects beyond the ERP upgrade, including Ecommerce and Loyalty solution upgrades and enhancements.
Space
Benefits
Adoption of Microsoft Dynamics 365 across KMD NZ, AU, DE, FR & UK and Rip Curl NZ & AU.
Improved Finance and Retail systems – Streamlined business processes.
Provided sound leadership during a significant change programme spanning three years.
Summary
By working closely with internal team members and vendor resources, Millpond was able to successfully lead a significant ERP change programme for both Kathmandu and Rip Curl. Beyond this, Millpond contributed to important enhancements to the group’s loyalty programme and e-commerce platforms, resulting in greater services, reduced costs, and increased revenue.
Kathmandu and Rip Curl’s partnership with Millpond has proven successful in enhancing operational efficiencies and enabling positive change across multiple aspects of the business, and for their customers.
When asked what they liked about working with us, Kathmandu and Rip Curl loved that we got stuck in, were dependable, easy to work with, and were a safe pair of hands committed to progressing their projects.
