How ZIM Centralized Global Authorizations and Strengthened GRC with Pathlock  

With over 100 systems across its global offices, ZIM needed a centralized way to manage access and reduce compliance risk. Partnering with Pathlock, they streamlined authorizations and strengthened controls across the organization.

A Complex, Distributed Access Challenge

ZIM operates one of the most complex IT environments in the global shipping and logistics space, with over 100 systems and countless users interacting across business-critical applications. By 2009, the company initiated a comprehensive global rollout that necessitated enhanced control over authorizations, roles, and users across various countries and regions.

A dedicated Change Management team was tasked with mapping users and processes at every level, from local agencies to global authorization managers. But the scale and variety of systems made unified governance difficult. ZIM required a centralized solution to consolidate all its operations.

A Multi-Year Transformation

To gain visibility and control, ZIM implemented Pathlock’s GRC platform, enabling centralized access governance across its multi-system landscape. The rollout included the introduction of Employee Cards, a consolidated view of user authorizations across all applications, accessible by relevant managers worldwide.

In 2010, the focus shifted to strengthening SoD compliance. By integrating Pathlock’s solution into their BMC Remedy system, ZIM was able to proactively identify potential SoD violations at the authorization request stage, eliminating issues before they reached production.

The following year, ZIM automated its authorization review process, reducing audit prep time and cutting overhead. By 2012, the company had extended its GRC efforts to control IT access to production systems, granting elevated roles temporarily only for approved tasks.

Efficient, Scalable GRC in a Global Environment

With Pathlock in place, ZIM gained continuous monitoring, automated reviews, and real-time policy enforcement, without requiring changes to the monitored systems. Manual work was significantly reduced, audit outcomes improved, and managers had real-time insight into user access across business units and countries.

Lessons Learned: Partnership Drives Progress

ZIM’s multi-year journey with Pathlock shows how long-term collaboration and incremental implementation can deliver sustained results. Starting with a major rollout, the company has since built a layered, proactive governance model that saves time, reduces cost, and ensures global consistency in access control.