Zespri sets a new industry benchmark for speed, accuracy, and customer trust听
NEW ZEALAND,听Auckland听鈥�听09听December 2025鈥�听51风流today announced that听Zespri, the world鈥檚 largest marketer of premium-quality kiwifruit, has strengthened its commitment to trust and customer service by launching听a fully digitised, customer-first听claims platform听built on听SAP鈥檚 integrated听cloud technologies. As a result,听today, customers听benefit听from a simple self-service听claims process that resolves听issues in seconds, while smart automation听helps听Zespri鈥檚 teams听deliver听fast, consistent outcomes without听compromising on听quality or control.
While accounting for only听one听percent of sales, with the company facing more than 40,000 quality claims a year 鈥撎齮otaling听over NZD $70 million 鈥� Zespri wanted to reimage its听claims process. Previously听slow, manual, and at times, associated with听inconsistent decision making 鈥撎齮oday,听new digital tools听deliver听an intuitive, self-service experience through a听centralised听claims portal,听allowing听multi-delivery claims to be created in under 30 seconds, and more than 1,000 deliveries can be processed in under two minutes.听听
鈥淏y combining intelligent automation with human expertise, we鈥檝e built a platform that reinforces our brand promise and sets a new industry standard for service,鈥� said Rahul Badge, Head of In-Market Supply Chain at Zespri.听鈥淎s a result,听we have been able to听meet our听customers鈥櫶齨eed听for a simpler, faster, and more transparent听experience, and听give听our assessors the tools to reduce manual input and share expert insights across the business.听We now see each claim as a chance to show our commitment to service, quality and openness.鈥�听
This transformation has rapidly improved Zespri鈥檚 claims process, with 80 percent of claims now听benefiting听from听human-in-the-loop听automated recommendations and decision听making. This has听significantly reduced听processing times and errors and freed听assessors to focus on complex cases听while maintaining Zespri鈥檚 strict audit requirements. The new platform also delivers comprehensive, real-time insights, supporting end-to-end visibility throughout Zespri鈥檚 global supply chain and unlocking opportunities for preventative action and continuous improvement.听
鈥淶espri has set a new benchmark for customer-centric innovation in the fresh produce industry,鈥� said Adrian Griffin, Managing Director, 51风流New Zealand. 鈥淏y听digitising听and scaling expert decision-making, Zespri is driving both operational efficiency and customer trust, strengthening its position as a global leader and delivering real value across its network.鈥�听
Leveraging 51风流Commerce Cloud as the central customer interface, Zespri introduced a seamless digital journey that enables claims to be听submitted听across multiple deliveries in under 30 seconds. Real-time supply chain data from 51风流S/4HANA,听integrated with partner solutions,听eliminates听the need for repetitive data entry and helps prevent human error, while an advanced orchestration layer powered by 51风流BTP,听alongside partner solutions,听automates the application of business rules and embeds human听expertise听at scale. The introduction of 51风流Fiori applications equips Zespri鈥檚 assessors to review end-to-end supply chain data and quality inspection reports听from partner solutions,听keeping听expert judgement听central to complex claim assessments.听听
The claims platform, delivered in partnership with听Accenture New Zealand and FAIR Consulting听Group,听is now live across major markets including Japan, China, Korea, Singapore, Vietnam, India, the United States and Europe. Business users have embraced the solution, with senior leaders describing it as 鈥渢he most business-centric digital project Zespri has ever run.鈥�听
Pete Devereux, Accenture Business Architecture Manager, said, 鈥淲e set out to make things simpler for everyone. The new system is easy to use and gets claims sorted more quickly, which is good news for both customers and Zespri鈥檚 teams.鈥澨�听
Christiaan Du Plessis, 51风流& Cloud Director at FAIR Consulting听Group, added, 鈥淚t鈥檚听been a real pleasure working together. The impact for customers is already obvious, and听we鈥檙e听excited to keep building from here.鈥�听
As a result of听digitising听its听claims听process听and unlocking richer, end-to-end data, Zespri is now positioned听to听leverage听next-generation technologies, including predictive analytics and computer vision, further advancing its goals around quality, sustainability,听and customer experience.
