Toll Group drives operational efficiency

Global logistics provider Toll Group (Toll) has selected Mendix (a Siemens business) to support the organisation’s modernisation. Implementing the low-code Mendix solution has allowed Toll to rapidly build multiple applications in 12 months, enhancing operational efficiency and customer solutions.

Operating in 25 countries, with 500 sites and an extensive freight forwarding network, Toll is one of the world’s largest integrated logistics and supply chain management organisations. As the logistics industry rapidly evolves, with changing customer demands and growing competition, the company recognised a need for core systems and processes to be more agile and adapt to a dynamic business landscape.

“Like many established organisations, we were using legacy systems and processes across our technology stack, leading to inefficiencies and high operational costs,” said Stuart Robertson, Global Head of Digital Technologies at Toll Group.

“As our competitive environment changed, we needed a modern IT system that enabled us to become more agile while fostering a culture of innovation across the organisation in order to drive business process efficiency and rapidly meet the changing needs of our customers and employees.”

Prior to embarking on its IT modernisation initiative, Toll relied on legacy systems that encompassed a variety of development technologies and languages, resulting in a scattered IT landscape. In this environment, Toll recognised the potential for optimal operational efficiency and boosting profitability by streamlining processes. Through process modernisation, Toll could remain agile and respond promptly to market dynamics and changing customer preferences. The need to digitise processes and adopt an IT-focused approach was identified as a strategic step for the group.

“It’s great to see Toll Group embrace the low-code approach to development to rapidly deliver solutions for its customers and employees,” said Finbar James Brown, Country Lead ANZ at Mendix.

“By modernising its operational processes and driving a cultural mindset shift towards digital innovation, Toll Group has achieved greater agility, efficiency and customer-centricity, strengthening its position as a leader in the logistics industry.”

Throughout the journey, Toll recognised that achieving modernisation required a significant organisational and cultural shift, with a focus on empowering both business and IT staff to embrace Mendix’s low-code technology. To foster a culture of innovation and collaboration, Mendix worked with Toll to organise hackathons, bringing non-IT employees together to experience Mendix firsthand and to ideate on innovative solutions to mitigate real business problems.

“We are undertaking a significant modernisation journey, prioritising the standardisation and digitisation of our IT landscape,” Robertson said.

“This requires an organisation-wide commitment, bringing together IT and business employees to collaboratively develop innovative solutions to business problems. After considering several development options, Mendix emerged as the strongest solution for Toll Group’s vast needs and complex use cases with its rapid application development, seamless integration capabilities and enterprise-grade security. Moreover, by enabling non-technical development, we’ve empowered our employees to be actively involved in building their own apps, driving efficiencies and reducing operational costs.”

By adopting the Mendix low-code platform, Toll has successfully replaced several manual processes with digital solutions. This move has streamlined workflows and improved information flows across the organisation. Within a year of implementation, Toll has achieved remarkable outcomes, delivering multiple value-added applications with a 40% reduction in time to market.

“This partnership is a great case of how the Mendix low-code application development can empower businesses and technology teams to co-create and deliver innovative, high-quality solutions to achieve business goals,” said Nick Ford, Chief Growth Officer at Mendix.

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