Five-year digital transformation partnership signed with dairy co-operative Fonterra
Microsoft New Zealand today announced the signing of a new strategic partnership with Fonterra that will see the dairy
co-operative migrate many mission-critical operations to Microsoft Azure to support its global growth plans. Once
Microsoft’s New Zealand datacenter region is launched, Fonterra will also benefit from real-time business intelligence
and exponentially greater capacity to innovate with cutting-edge technologies.
Fonterra is a New Zealand dairy co-operative, which exports products to over 140 countries.
“To meet our strategic goals, which are enabled by efficiency, innovation and sustainability, we look to build strong
partnerships with great companies to drive enhanced productivity and efficiency across the business. Microsoft is one of
our key partners in helping us deliver our digital transformation, said Piers Shore, Fonterra’s Chief Information
Officer.
“The Microsoft Partnership forms part of a wider set of strategic partnerships between Fonterra, Microsoft, EY, SAP, and
HCL focused on fundamentally reshaping how Fonterra delivers IT. The cost savings and investment in Fonterra from our
strategic partners are a major benefit to Fonterra, but the deep relationships between our organisations are the real
win here.”
Transferring data from on-site datacenters to Microsoft’s virtually unlimited Azure cloud platform will vastly increase
the amount of data Fonterra can gather and analyse in real time, using everything from IoT sensors on farm milk vats to
smart machines in its factories to help optimise its operations. Already, Fonterra is trialling machine learning to
detect improperly sealed or faulty bags of powdered milk in its factories, so all products arrive at stores in perfect
condition without wastage.
“The new platform aims to bring together all parts of Fonterra and build a culture around data. By capturing and
integrating data across the organisation, this will create a foundation for actionable insight and enable Fonterra to
deepen our relationships with farmers and customers, optimise our supply chain and manufacturing operations and deliver
better products and services,” Shore said.
Fonterra’s Chief Operating Officer, Fraser Whineray, said Fonterra’s strong sustainability focus was an important part
of the move to Microsoft’s cloud platform.
“By shifting to a technology platform that will enable Fonterra to maximise its efficiency while using renewable
resources, we’re also building on our sustainability commitments. Microsoft’s pledge to use only renewable energy in its
datacenters aligns with our own long-term goals and provided another benefit to the partnership.”
Vanessa Sorenson, Managing Director of Microsoft New Zealand, said the faster pace of innovation, greater sustainability
and cost savings enabled by cloud technologies are just a fraction of the significant benefits our agrifood sector is
poised to gain from digital investment.
“Watch this space. This is the first customer signing of many. When we disclosed the launch of the New Zealand
datacenter region, we knew there would be an appetite for the scope and solutions that it would provide to unlock
innovation across so many industries.
And it’s such a privilege to have Fonterra as our first major anchor tenant customer. By helping Fonterra connect better
with customers and partners globally, this partnership is not just a tremendous step forward for Fonterra and Microsoft,
it also helps build and cement our country’s ongoing success on the world stage. We’re not only excited at the
opportunity to support Fonterra to grow and achieve more as a business, but at how this will demonstrate how we can
achieve greater efficiency, innovation and sustainability across New Zealand’s entire agrifood network.”
Fonterra’s employee experience and business resilience are also set to benefit from the five-year partnership. Even
before the recent COVID-19 disruption, organisations have recognised the need to become modern workplaces, enabling
mobile, flexible working and remote service delivery. Under the agreement, Microsoft Surface devices will be provided to
key Fonterra staff across Australia and New Zealand to support business continuity and collaboration across its diverse
network of 19,000 staff and 10,000 farmers.