Digitalisation

Group IT

As a conglomerate doing business in a number of varied industries, Sunshine Holdings PLC uses a centralised shared services model for its Information Technology (ICT) and Digital framework at the Group level, with dedicated teams for IT and Digital functions. This approach promotes agility and digital transformation to support and drive business objectives across all nine of our business units.

A central IT department manages core IT functionalities like infrastructure, security, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, and core applications, ensuring standardised practices and centralised control. The Group utilises a fully cloud-based infrastructure for both IT and digital functionalities, enabling scalability, flexibility, and potential cost savings. Dedicated Digital teams reside within the centralised IT structure, collaborating with IT teams embedded in each business unit. This collaborative approach ensures central expertise guides digital initiatives while allowing for flexibility to achieve specific business objectives.

Key investments

In 2023, the Group made substantial investments in IT infrastructure aimed at driving business growth, yielding significant results during the year under review. The primary focus was on the comprehensive implementation of ERP systems across the Organisation. This strategic investment sought to establish a Single Source of Truth (SSOT) by aggregating data from multiple systems into a unified location.

The ERP system functions as a centralised platform, consolidating data across various business functions to create a single source of truth. This enhances data accuracy and consistency, leading to improved decision-making. Additionally, the implementation aimed to boost visibility and scalability. The integration of the IFS ERP system, alongside infrastructure upgrades, markedly improved insights into business operations, enabling better resource allocation, performance monitoring, and quicker responses to market changes.

The scalability of the system supports growth and expansion without sacrificing efficiency. Other notable benefits of this solution include process automation, standardisation, and integration

During the reporting period, alongside core investments in IT infrastructure, ERP, and other applications, Sunshine’s IT strategy prioritised security improvements, yielding significant benefits. These enhancements provided an improved security posture for the Group. Sunshine has actively invested in bolstering IT security across all systems and infrastructure, leading to better threat detection and prevention capabilities, significantly reducing potential vulnerabilities.

The security improvements enabled a faster response to threats, decreasing the detection and prevention time from 24 hours to just one minute. This rapid response minimises potential damage and ensures business continuity. Another notable benefit is the ability to detect an average of 250 cyberattacks daily, allowing Group IT to identify and neutralize potential threats before they escalate. Given the significant cost of ransomware attacks, proactive defense strategies can yield significant cost savings and enhanced security for the Group

Digital transformation

Sales Force Automation System

Sunshine is committed to continuous improvement through ongoing investments in digital transformation initiatives. One notable example for the year under review was the implementation of a new Sales Force Automation (SFA) system for our Consumer and Healthcare segments.

The new SFA system provides for:

• Enhanced customer relationship management: Enhancing communication with customers and fostering stronger relationships.
• Streamlining and automation of sales processes: Improving coverage and productivity.
• Robust reporting and analytics capabilities: Offering data-driven insights and facilitating better decision-making.

Process Re-Engineering

By focusing on process re-engineering, Sunshine leverages its ERP systems to drive significant improvements in performance, productivity, and competitiveness across the organization. By re-engineering processes, Sunshine aims to:

• Optimise efficiency: Streamline workflows and eliminate redundancies, leading to faster and more efficient operations.
• Enhance standardisation: Implement consistent procedures across all departments, improving coordination and reducing errors.
• Improve resource allocation: Ensure resources are used effectively, minimising waste and maximising output.
• Boost adaptability: Create flexible processes that can quickly adapt to market changes and new business requirements.
• Increase cost savings: Reduce operational costs through improved efficiency and better resource management.

Adopting New Technologies

The adoption of new technologies was a focal point during the year under review, particularly in the realms of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML). Key initiatives and benefits included:

• Power Apps for workflow streamlining: Power Apps were instrumental in streamlining workflows, enabling more efficient process automation and data management. These applications facilitated the creation of custom solutions to address specific business needs, enhancing overall operational efficiency.
• Enhanced cybersecurity: The integration of AI and ML has significantly enhanced our cybersecurity measures. We deployed next-generation antivirus solutions tailored for proactive threat hunting. This bolstered our defense mechanisms, ensuring robust protection against evolving cyber threats. AI-driven analytics and ML algorithms have improved threat detection and response times, minimising potential risks.
• Optimised resource allocation: On the personnel front, there has been a strategic blend of in-house expertise and outsourced talent. This approach optimized resource allocation and drove innovation, allowing for a flexible adaptation to the dynamic demands of technology implementation and management at both group and business levels. By leveraging a diverse talent pool, we ensured access to specialised skills and knowledge, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and technological advancement.
• Culture of experimentation: We have fostered a culture of experimentation across the Organisation, encouraging teams to explore and pilot new technologies and methodologies. This culture promotes innovation and agility, allowing us to quickly test and implement promising solutions while learning from failures and successes alike. By embracing experimentation, we continuously improve our processes and stay ahead of industry trends.