How PUMA South Africa powered seamless growth with Deel

With more than 550 employees across South Africa, PUMA, one of the world’s leading sportswear brands, needed more than just payroll support. The South African division was operating on outdated HR systems that couldn’t keep up with its growing distributed workforce. For Alison Boruchowitz, Head of People and Organization, the goal was clear: simplify processes, empower employees, and reduce the burden on internal teams.

“The system we were using felt antiquated. It was critical to us that we find a payroll system that would integrate directly with our HR platform." — Alison Boruchowitz, Head of People and Organization, PUMA South Africa

For PUMA South Africa, legacy systems were holding them back. Processing payroll required duplicating data, HR workflows relied on manual updates, and employees had limited access to their own information—often having to go through HR or IT for requests. As the company expanded, the inefficiencies became more pronounced. Their HR team needed a solution that could scale with them—while easing administrative friction and maintaining compliance.

PUMA South Africa selected Deel Local Payroll for its built-in integrations, intuitive experience, and mobile capabilities. With real-time cloud sync and automation, the HR and payroll teams no longer needed to chase down data or manage spreadsheets.

“We’ve definitely seen a decrease in processing time. You just click, click, click, and there’s the report.” — Shane Tredoux, Senior P&O Partner, PUMA South Africa

The standout feature? ‘Pacey’, a WhatsApp-powered interface that gives warehouse and store employees instant access to leave requests, payslips, and tax documents—right from their phones. No logins, no new tools to learn.

“The word easy comes to mind. It’s super user-friendly. You don’t need days of training to get going.” — Shane Tredoux, Senior P&O Partner, PUMA South Africa

By integrating Deel Local Payroll—a Workday Global Payroll Connect-certified solution—into their Workday-based HR stack, PUMA South Africa slashed payroll-processing time, eliminated manual IT updates, and empowered employees to self-manage their data, lifting the administrative burden on HR.

With Deel’s scalable infrastructure, the team can onboard new employees faster, stay compliant with local regulations, and adapt operations as the business grows. It’s payroll and HR, built for speed—and built for scale.

“We know that when we go into the Deel Local Payroll system, it has the most recent and most updated legislative information, which gives us peace of mind.” — Alison Boruchowitz, Head of People and Organization, PUMA South Africa

As PUMA South Africa continues to expand its footprint, Deel remains a trusted partner. Whether it’s scaling teams, managing compliance, or rolling out new policies, the HR and finance teams now have the visibility, agility, and support to grow with confidence.