Coastlines NZ surf brand catches SAP software wave

Duncan Turnbull, left, and Ben Kennedy of Coastlines, whose operations will now be cloud-based. Photo/ Brett Phibbs

Kiwi surf and beach brand Coastlines has announced a partnership with software firm SAP, allowing the company to run all of its operations in the cloud.

Coastlines, which was set up in 1997, is the first New Zealand company to adopt the SAP Business by design integrated suite, something chief executive Sean Kennedy sees as an important advantage for the company.

"To help us put [our business plan] into practice, we needed some high-powered assistance to add system to our soul. And we've found it with SAP and their partner Soltius," Kennedy said.

The collaboration will provide the company with a fully integrated cloud business platform, which Kennedy said will give the company flexibility and scale, without having additional IT overheads.

SAP's New Zealand managing director, Graeme Riley, said the company was pleased to be working with Coastlines in developing its business.

The project is still in the initial phase of implementation but according to Kennedy, the use of SAP would give Coastlines more credibility with larger companies, a lot of whom were also using an SAP platform. Kennedy also felt the decision to partner with SAP would give the company more confidence with future planning.

Coastlines supplies surfboards, wetsuits, clothing and accessories to a number of large retail outlets worldwide, as well as designing and testing a range of products for the market.