The Overview
In an industry with increasingly tight margins, rigorous regulations and demanding customers, a fast growing Chair manufacturing company deployed Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R3 to stay ahead. With improved processes and better visibility of the business, the company is able to maintain and build on its market leading position.
The Discovery
Over 30 years a chair manufacturing company has grown to become one of the leading manufacturers and suppliers of leading brands that offer award-winning seating solutions for every desk, space and environment. The company had developed its own business management system that was starting to show its age after many years of service. There was no real mechanism for materials requirement planning, scheduling or management of the whole manufacturing process. While the legacy system was rigorous and worked fine until there was recognition that an automated process might be less time consuming. Another driver for change came when a leading customer upgraded their systems and expected its supply chain partners to follow suit and integrate with its new solution.
The Deliverables
Replacing disparate systems with a single unified solution would facilitate enhanced visibility of the business and achieve greater competitive advantage. Implementing an ERP system is always a big challenge because it impacts on every aspect of a business. The challenge was compounded at this Manufacturing Company because it was integrating Dynamics AX into handheld devices and touchscreens on the factory floor for an end-to-end solution that would improve overall productivity. The handhelds facilitate faster movement of products through the business while the touchscreens provide instant confirmation of when a job is finished. 'Dynamics AX extends business management to the factory floor with a lot of automation, using scanning and touchscreen technology to capture processes in real time'. An integrated AX EDI module was delivered which encompassed Company's specific requirements around sales forecasting, not just for existing customers but to help provision with new trading partners more quickly. Extensive training has been implemented as part of a culture change programme. It helped them to nail down the costs and by monitoring them consistently they could save money and save competitive.
Cost savings and process improvements were be made.
Better positioned to compete for new contracts, knowing that core cost information and margins.
Better visibility of sales, Improved procurement process.
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