A collective project to boost performance
Groupe Beneteau has embarked on an in-depth transformation of its operations with the roll-out of an ambitious project, known internally as “Starboard”, including the implementation of a common ERP system. The aim is to streamline processes, unify information systems, optimise performance, facilitate exchanges and strengthen collaboration between the various entities, thereby propelling the Group towards new horizons.
Vast, complex and intense, but at the same time powerful and essential to support Groupe Beneteau’s development: the Starboard project is the compass that will guide it towards more agile management, greater synergy and sustainable growth. “In the 140 years of its existence, the Group has grown through acquisitions, with its share of specific features and processes already in place at each of its entities,” explains Jérôme THOMAZEAU, Director of the Starboard programme within the Transformation Department. “Our current information systems need updating, and we’re taking advantage of the opportunity to secure the interfaces between our applications. This project is an obvious choice for the Group, which is present on several continents”. Starboard includes the implementation of a common ERP system, called IFS, and around twenty related tools. “Harmonising processes, implementing KPIs and speaking the same language are all part of the objectives of this ambitious project, the foundations of which are based on the quality of data”, insists Aurélien LE CALVEZ, director of deployment of the new ERP system for the Vendée entity.
First successes
“ERP projects are long and complex,” says Jérôme THOMAZEAU. Some of them don’t ever see the light of day. Following the roll-out in Italy, we’re taking the Bordeaux project a step further, before extending it to all our sites in France in 2026. Our success is down to our teams, and it’s a real strength for the project to have team members who are extremely committed and involved. We have very little staff turnover. It’s a success because the skills acquired are invaluable.” “I agree with Jérôme on this human aspect,” adds Aurélien LE CALVEZ. “There has been a marked increase in our teams’ skills. We have found a way of working that creates an efficient collective dynamic.“
More than a hundred people are working on the Starboard project.
Two questions for Jérôme THOMAZEAU, Director of the Starboard programme, and Aurélien LE CALVEZ, Director of deployment of the new ERP system for the Vendée entity
To what extent is Starboard an essential transformation step for the Group?
JT: Changing an information system and the many related tools that go with it inevitably involves a transformation, not just of screens but of working habits and processes, not to mention the changes we are making to the way data is structured.
ALC: Supporting change is essential. There’s a lot of work to be done to ensure that the purpose of introducing the ERP is clear, to get people to accept the new system and to implement it.
-
130 training materials covering 150 processes, including 14 key processes
-
Around 1,000 files and 3.6M lines of data from the Bordeaux site fed into IFS
Which teams are involved?
JT: Our teams are highly multi-disciplinary, with contacts in each business line and IT project managers from the design phase onwards, known as Competence Centre (CC) teams. The teams ensure that the solution works or they develop additional functionalities. We then have deployment teams, mainly made up of business and user representatives, who act as a link between users in the field and the Competence Centre.
ALC: Behind each theme, each business line, we have business line representatives within a site/department who support the project and are managed by a business line coordinator for all the plants/ departments, and they are the guarantor of organisational aspects. The local pilots are representatives of the plants and departments, and their role is to act as a link between the day-to-day activities of the teams and those of Starboard.