Find out how Royal Greenland is leveraging technology to meet their triple bottom goals.
People. Planet. Profit. Although the idea of the triple bottom line (TBL) was first conceptualized over 20 years ago, it becomes more relevant every year.
The conventional innovation model that lists profit as the key indicator of success has become outdated as businesses increasingly aim for results in all three areas of the TBL. Today, across industries, sustainability is increasingly the new benchmark for success.
In this episode of Better Together, we explore how one of the world’s premier seafood companies is leading the way by leveraging both sustainability and profitability through digitization.
Lars Bo Hassinggaard Jensen, Corporate IT Manager for
Royal Greenland, joins us to discuss how they’re supporting ethical, transparent fishing from sea to fisher to table.
Design, Development, and Digitization
As one of the larger companies in the fishing and seafood industry, Royal Greenland processes >70k purchase orders every year. Prior to their digital transformation, independent fishers had been filling out thousands of forms with a paper and pen while sailing the icy Arctic Ocean and then hand-delivering the documents to Royal Greenland procurement centers.
Add to that, line fishing from dinghies can be grueling work, and filling out catch data for sustainability quotas can be time-consuming. Additionally, Royal Greenland had identified additional inefficiencies in their internal procurement processes which collectively made it clear it was time to innovate.
Their goal was to digitize their systems for the sake of people and processes and the planet, which combined, would dramatically improve their supply chain, and increase profits for the fisher and the company. They aimed to simplify the selling process for suppliers, capture all fishing data for legal and customer requirements, and optimize their internal procurement process. By partnering with Trifork and incorporating Design Thinking, they developed three applications, powered by
SAP Business Technology Platform:
- A mobile app that allows fishers to submit their catch data, sign documents digitally, and validate their sustainability certifications
- An iPad app that simplifies the catch data registration process
- A web-based app that enables Royal Greenland staff to approve fisher procurements
Within a few days of launching their new suite of applications, fishers began to proactively request access. Adoption was so swift that to date, the apps have amassed over 2200 users.
The apps have also strengthened supplier loyalty, increased catch data accuracy, and optimized the procurement process. By pinpointing the needs of their end-users and integrating community-minded solutions into their development process, Royal Greenland has achieved results in all three pillars of the triple bottom line:
- People: the remote data entry options empower fishers to obtain their Marine Stewardship Council certifications, which allows them to charge a higher price for their catch. The intuitive UI allows fishers of all skill levels to use the app with ease.
- Planet: the simplified digital process easily increases the quality of data captured for national quotas, legal compliance, and sustainability tracking. Digitization also helps Royal Greenland ensure that their fish are ethically sourced.
- Profit: the web-based application increased efficiency in the supply chain by matching staff allocation with incoming procurement deliveries. The suite of apps also increases supplier retention, reduces time to market, and improves their position in a highly competitive industry.
By prioritizing corporate social responsibility in their digital transformation, Royal Greenland is not only gaining a competitive advantage in the market they are also supporting the Greenlandic fishing community and advancing sustainable fishing practices. That is what I like to call a true win-win-win.
Tune into the Conversation
Interested in learning more about Royal Greenland’s journey? Join us for the thought leadership podcast and the practitioner’s LinkedIn conversation.
- Podcast: Lars Bo joins Tamara McCleary, CEO of Thulium, to share Royal Greenland’s digital transformation story. You’ll find out about the inflection point that caused Royal Greenland to digitally innovate, and Lars Bo explains the motivation behind the decision. He discusses why the company is committed to ethical fishing practices, and why they feel a responsibility towards the people of Greenland. Together, Tamara and Lars Bo make predictions about the future of digital solutions in the fishing industry.
- LinkedIn Conversation: I sit down with Lars Bo to dive deeper into the technology. He describes the stages of the innovation process, from design to implementation, and outlines the obstacles they overcame at each step. We discuss the project’s outstanding results, and I ask about what is next. Finally, Lars Bo shares his advice for other businesses interested in digitizing their processes.
For more SAP BTP sustainability customer success stories:
Are you looking for more innovation inspiration? Visit
sap.com/btp for the SAP BTP Better Together: Customer Conversations series, and tune into previous episodes.
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