Zento exists to close a specific gap in SAP transformations.
Despite strong teams and well-defined strategies, many SAP programs fail late — not because of poor intent, but because design decisions drift away from operational reality.
In large SAP programs, this gap is inevitable.
The only question is whether it is addressed early — or discovered too late, when cost and disruption are far higher.
Zento was created to prevent that drift before it becomes visible in operations, cost, or risk.
Mission
Our mission is to reduce execution risk in SAP programs by anchoring design decisions in real operational conditions.
We help organisations avoid late surprises, prevent costly rework, and achieve confident Day-1 readiness.
Clarity that delivers outcomes — not just plans.
Clarity that delivers outcomes — not just plans.
What makes Zento different
We operate on the customer side, independent of delivery incentives, with a single focus: ensuring critical decisions hold up in real operations.
Our role is to provide decision assurance — surfacing risk early, clarifying ownership, and preventing late-stage failure that no one can easily unwind once the program is in motion.
Zento is most effective when engaged while key design and operating model decisions are still open.
Story
Across industries and regions, the same pattern repeated: every function delivered its part, yet no one owned whether the end-to-end solution would actually work in real operations.
Most large SAP programs don’t fail for lack of effort — they fail because operational assumptions weren’t tested until it was too late.
After 27 years leading SAP programs in more than 40 markets, our founder Ricardo kept seeing the same issue. Each team would deliver its part, yet no one owned whether the whole system would actually work in day-to-day operations.
Even well-run projects could drift off course because of hidden mismatches between the design and how the business really works.
Determined to fix this, Ricardo started Zento Consulting as a direct answer to that gap. His story is one of turning frustration into a new approach – bringing a dedicated end-to-end operational lens to SAP transformations so that good teams aren’t blindsided by avoidable surprises.
Zento operates as an independent advisory and decision assurance function — not a system integrator and not a delivery provider.
Experience that shapes our perspective
Zento’s approach is informed by decades of experience across global SAP programs — including complex, multi-market transformations where late operational misalignment carried significant cost and risk.
This experience informs how we see problems early, before they surface at go-live.
Founder Portrait
Ricardo is a 27-year SAP program veteran who has led complex transformations in over 40 countries. He combines deep expertise in supply chain, finance and technology with a rare ability to synthesize end-to-end operations – connecting what’s happening on the warehouse floor with what the CFO needs to reconcile. This skill of turning complexity into clear, actionable insight that leaders can trust has defined his career.
Over the years, he has guided operational turnarounds for some of the world’s largest enterprises. (For example, at Nestlé he resolved disconnects across dozens of markets, and at Lion he coordinated 130+ improvements ahead of a major go-live.)
Renowned for his straight-talking, no-fluff approach, Ricardo personally oversees every Zento engagement. Based in Australia, he now advises companies across APAC, bridging the gap between ambitious strategy and day-to-day operational reality.
Credibility
Proven Track Record: Nearly three decades of SAP program leadership across Europe, Asia, North America and Australia. Ricardo has successfully delivered initiatives in industries from consumer goods and manufacturing to logistics – experience that translates into assured guidance for your program.
Global & Local Impact: Led operational alignment for Nestlé’s multi-country SAP rollout, resolving structural disconnects across 40+ markets with solutions still used worldwide. In Australia, de-risked Lion’s SAP transformation by redesigning processes and coordinating 130+ improvements ahead of go-live. These high-profile successes illustrate Zento’s ability to avert failures in complex, real-world environments.
Trusted Advisor: Fortune 500 multinationals and leading APAC companies have relied on Zento’s counsel for their most critical programs. Ricardo is as comfortable in the boardroom as on the factory floor, translating between executive vision and operational reality. When he flags a risk or gives an assurance, stakeholders know it’s grounded in hard-won insight and fact.
Why the name Zento
前 途
Zento reflects our belief that clarity is not abstract — it is directional.
The name draws from the idea of a clear path forward: removing noise, reducing waste, and enabling confident decisions in complex environments.
That principle shapes how we work — calmly, deliberately, and always with execution in mind.