SAP SE (NYSE: SAP), announced that Sri Lanka’s award-winning biscuit manufacturer Maliban Biscuit Manufactories elected Business Suite 4 SAP HANA (SAP S/4HANA), the next generation business suite from SAP, to improve productivity and streamline business operations in real time. With this deployment, Maliban will become Sri Lanka’s first company to implement SAP S/4HANA.

Maliban, a 60 year old manufacturer of a range of crackers, cookies and wafers, is sold in over 100,000 stores across Sri Lanka. It has a global presence in over 35 countries and intends to expand its business locally and globally by advancing its primary business processes using world-class technology solutions.

To achieve this milestone, Maliban plans to deploy SAP S/4HANA and also benefit from the SAP Fiori® user experience (UX) to help streamline input operations and bring innovation through mobility. Maliban will also use SAP Lumira® to experience the best of business analytics and data visualization tools for better business decision making.

Mrs. Kumudika Fernando, Managing Director, Maliban said, “Maliban’s business has reached a critical point where our business needs have grown exponentially. The decision to select SAP and their S/4HANA platform wasn’t a difficult one as it will create a platform for the organization to operate in a dynamic manner with faster information processing for appropriate decision making. It will integrate our business processes seamlessly, enabling us to carry out day-to-day tasks dynamically, improve productivity and manage operations in real time.”

With analytical information becoming a decisive factor for modern businesses, SAP S/4HANA will enable Maliban to equip itself with more in-depth and dynamic analyses of the market and consumer demand trends. This will prepare the organization to face the challenges of the future more effectively and faster.

Michael Sathasivam, Country Business Head for SAP in Sri Lanka said, “I would like to congratulate Maliban Biscuit Manufactories on becoming Sri Lanka’s first SAP S/4HANA customer. Deploying SAP’s latest and state of the art product offering emphasizes their focus on technology as an enabler for their future. In such a context, SAP S/4HANA is targeted to enhance Maliban’s business efficiency as it is scalable, smart and simple to run in business.”

SAP S/4HANA is designed to drive business innovation with simplicity by connecting people, devices and business networks in real time to support the development of new business models. It brings unprecedented innovations and simplifications to customers, combined with more than 40 years of experience across industries, in a completely reimagined business suite only possible with SAP HANA. SAP S/4HANA will offer cloud, on-premise and hybrid deployment options to provide maximum choice to customers.

About SAP: As market leader in enterprise application software, SAP (NYSE: SAP) helps companies of all sizes and industries run better. From back office to boardroom, warehouse to storefront, desktop to mobile device ¬ SAP empowers people and organizations to work together more efficiently and use business insight more effectively to stay ahead of the competition. SAP applications and services enable more than 291,000 customers to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and grow sustainably. For more information, visit www.sap.com

About Maliban: The pioneer biscuit producer and marketer in the country for over 60 years, being a trusted brand for many decades has won the hearts and minds of the people for great taste and quality. The company is aggressively improving infrastructure during this year, having successfully deployed a sales force automation  system within a very short time span and is now ready to set up enterprise system with world renowned SAP. Maliban is a family owed business built on strong family values and is run on the philosophy of “do not release any product to the market, if it is not good to give your own children”, established by the late founder Chairman, Mr. A.G Hinniappuhamy. Today the company is managed by the second and third generation and run by a team of professionals headed by Chairman Mr. A.G.R. Samaraweera.

Maliban is an ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 22000 and OHSAS 18001 certified company. The company has also won Sri Lanka’s prestigious National Quality Award on multiple occasions and all four main brands have received five star rating from the International Taste & Quality Institute (ITQI) and independent Chef and Sommelier Association in Brussels, Belgium. Maliban is the only company in the country to have received this recognition twice consecutively. Maliban strives to deliver the best at all times, having invested over  Rs. 1 bn to improve production capability, the company  is now ready to improve  processes in order to be more competitive in the world biscuit market.

Photo caption: (From Left) Mr. Dakshitha Wijetunga – Finance Manager, Maliban;  Mr. Dilum Bellana –Chief Financial Officer, Maliban; Mrs. Kumudika Fernando –Managing Director, Maliban;  Mr. Michael Sathasivam - Country Business Head, SAP Sri Lanka and Mr. Suresh Silva – Senior IT Manager, Maliban