IBM Analytics Seeds International Growth for Delegat's Wine Estate

AUCKLAND, New Zealand, Oct. 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Delegat's Wine Estate (NZX: DGL), the New Zealand producer and marketer of the internationally-acclaimed Delegat's and Oyster Bay wines, today announced it has successfully applied IBM (NYSE: IBM) analytics technology to better understand the effects of changes in grape supply, capital structures, foreign exchange impacts and distribution decisions to confidently predict long-term business growth. The application of IBM software has revolutionised Delegat's financial planning capabilities, increased profitability and allowed expansion of its local and international operations.

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While the winemaker has undertaken a well structured growth plan to meet the international demand for its wines, its dependence on spreadsheet-based planning tools was insufficient for the complex dynamics associated with grape harvests and global wine production. After implementing IBM's analytics technology, Delegat's is now able to make more insightful decisions about its vineyard portfolio such as renegotiating leases and exploring new land acquisitions. It has also made improvements to business operations including shortening Delegat's planning cycle by up to six weeks and reducing the time needed to generate reports by 90 percent.

"The IBM solution provides richer analysis and more robust forecasting across the business, giving our management team and investors confidence in our ability to make sound decisions about the future," said Matt Boswell, Corporate Financial Planner at Delegat's Wine Estate.  "We can now run simulations to predict the effects of changes in our operations. For example, we can predict whether selling and promoting a particular wine in one country will cause supply constraints elsewhere. We can then structure the supply side of our business to meet these shortfalls.  We can also predict which option will prove most profitable overall."

"It is crucial for internationally focused companies like Delegat's Wine Estate to be confident in their forecasts of future business need and growth. Delegat's can now model supply-side and demand-side data more accurately and quickly than ever before," said Stephen Elliott, New Zealand Manager, IBM Software Group. "The ability to look into the future has proven successful in helping the winery promote and sell its products in the most profitable countries and expand its business both domestically and internationally."

Delegat's Wine Estate's analytics solution is based on IBM Cognos TM1 software.

About IBM
For more information about IBM Business Analytics, visit http://www-01.ibm.com/software/analytics/

About Delegat's Wine Estate
Delegat's Group Limited is a leading producer of Super Premium branded New Zealand wines for export and domestic markets. Established in 1947, Delegat's Group Limited is the proud producer and marketer of the internationally-acclaimed Delegat's and Oyster Bay wines.

Contacts:

John Natale
IBM U.S.
617-875-3658
[email protected]

Elaine Koller
IBM New Zealand
+ 64-21-744-988
[email protected]

SOURCE IBM