OREANDA-NEWS. March 18, 2016. 2016 is a special year for golfers all around world. For the first time in 112 years, golf will be a part of the Olympics. For over a century, the world’s greatest golfers have been denied the thrill of the Olympics and the dream of winning an Olympic medal. Now they have their chance.

But making it to the Olympics in any sport isn’t easy. It takes a lifetime of practice, dedication, and top-notch coaching. And in the world of golf there is no better coach than David Leadbetter.

When Leadbetter began playing golf in England, he became fascinated with the technique and mechanics of the game. Eventually he started to spend more time coaching than playing, and in the early 1980s, after coaching Sir Nick Faldo to six Major Championships, his career took off.

Now, 30 years since launching the first Leadbetter Golf Academy, he has coached players to 21 Major Championship titles and more than 100 individual worldwide tournament victories – and several of his players have been ranked number one in the world. If top seeded students like Lydia Ko or Byeong-Hun An win a medal in Rio de Janeiro this year, Leadbetter can add an Olympic medalist to his list.

Going Global

Over the years the Leadbetter Golf Academy has grown significantly. There are over 25 golf academies in 13 countries, and due to the soaring demand in Asia and South America for golf instruction, Leadbetter is focused on globalizing the brand even further.

To facilitate the corporate growth globally, David Leadbetter Golf chose the SAP Business One application hosted on Amazon Web Services. Implemented by Vision33 Inc., this cloud-based solution provides the worldwide data visibility and security the company needs to expand quickly and confidently into new markets.

Creating a simple, holistic approach to golf instruction on and off the tee is a top priority for David Leadbetter Golf. With the new system in place, there is full visibility of each instructor’s time and availability, helping them perform to optimum capacity. Plus, a consistent platform now exists to build out coaching programs in emerging markets, from first-touch beginners to elite tour player development.

Gaining better management of the Leadbetter Goff Academy stores was also important. The company wanted to make inventory valuations more precise and establish a comprehensive view of its customer base and top-selling products.

Driving Revenue and Productivity

Using SAP Business One, David Leadbetter Golf has secure, real-time access to company data from anywhere at any time. It can easily see current inventory across all stores and see its top revenue streams. This added insight gives management a better understanding of global demands and local preferences, which enables a more customized and personal customer experience, while still maintaining a consistent brand.

Overall the new cloud-based ERP system has generated many tangible benefits for the company:

  • Revenue is up 15%
  • Cost of operations is down 10%
  • Inventory has been reduced 17%
  • Instructor productivity and capacity at headquarters has improved 12%
  • Headquarters staff efficiency has improved 21%
“We felt that SAP Business One was the most secure and audit-driven software we could implement. Other software packages do not have the added security that we felt SAP Business One has.” — Benedict Riches, Managing Director, David Leadbetter Golf