Mavin Group is a pioneer in Vietnam’s “from farm to table” supply chain. The company supplies animal feed, livestock, and veterinary products—and operates its own certified meat processing facility as well. Since 2004, Mavin Group has expanded from 20 to 2,600 employees. When legacy systems struggled to keep pace with this exponential growth, the company implemented its plans to migrate to the cloud. The move revolutionized Mavin Group’s digital processes and procedures, and unlocked new opportunities for the future.
Keeping pace with exponential growth
Over the course of just 15 years, Mavin Group grew from one feed mill to a complex end-to-end farming supply chain enterprise. Throughout this period of exponential growth, the company’s reporting and information collection was done manually. “We got to a stage where that wasn’t good enough anymore, and we were growing too fast to manage the business effectively,” says David John Whitehead, Chairman at Mavin Group. “We lacked the controls and monitoring systems we needed to understand how the company was doing, particularly in comparison to our competitors.”
In order to gain clearer oversight of the company’s progress and allow for future growth, Mavin Group decided to undergo a comprehensive digital transformation. “We wanted to learn more about our company and how it was operating. Which processes were working well? Which could be improved? How could we monitor what was happening within the company?” says Whitehead. “We saw digitizing our processes, systems, and procedures as the way to answer these questions.”
Implementing a cloud solution
After exploring a number of possible digital solutions, Mavin Group’s in-house team decided to migrate the company to the cloud. The Group worked with Microsoft Partner Network member NGS, one of Vietnam’s leading smart services providers, to implement a cloud-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. “We chose Microsoft Azure to host it because of its superior compatibility with our S/4HANA enterprise management system,” says Whitehead. “We also knew the partnership between SAP and Microsoft was strong, and believed this would make the migration process seamless.”
For Mavin Group, a system that would grow and evolve with the company was another deciding factor. “We didn't want our system to remain static,” explains Whitehead. “We wanted the opportunity to evolve our use of the cloud as we move forward, so we valued Microsoft’s commitment to developing the future of cloud technology.”
Unlocking a new level of oversight
Mavin Group started by migrating the animal feed arm of the business to the cloud. The company completed the transition only recently, but it is already seeing results. “On the ground we’re seeing demonstrated improvement in procedural management in operational controls and monitoring,” says Whitehead. The business has been able to identify potential areas of improvement throughout its animal feed supply chain, allowing them to focus their energy on parts of the process that require the most attention. “It’s early days, but the move to the cloud has already uncovered new opportunities for improvement, and opened our eyes to what digitalization can do for the business as a whole.”
Following the shift, Mavin Group is enjoying an unprecedented level of oversight. “We now have access to accurate, real-time information and data,” says Whitehead. “This has helped us analyze our procedures and processes, and better understand our customers’ needs.”
The transition has also positioned Mavin Group as one of Vietnam’s most innovative and forward-thinking businesses. “We’re one of the first companies in Vietnam to employ a cloud solution,” says Whitehead. “In this part of the world, it’s innovative, new, and pioneering work.”
Future planning with the cloud
Having witnessed the benefits of the cloud on its feed division, Mavin Group is planning to roll out the transformation across its food, animal health, and farming operations. “We have a five-year digital plan based around three pillars; Enterprise Resource Planning, Cloud Computing, and Smart Production and Services,” says Whitehead. “We’re particularly excited by the potential of smart farming, smart agriculture, and the Internet of Things. We’re exploring the use of drones and handheld applications in the relatively near future.”
As Whitehead explains, the company’s digital transition has played a pivotal role in creating this vision of the future. “Without cloud technology, our five- year plan wouldn’t be possible,” he concludes. “Working with Microsoft has allowed us to transform our organization in ways we couldn’t previously have imagined.”
See the original artcile at: https://customers.microsoft.com/en-us/story/863524-mavin-azure-en-vietnam