Industrial gas manufacturer, Messer Fedgas can now control its gas-related materials through its recently completed Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) project.
The local company's move to the SAP solution was part of a global initiative undertaken by both the Messer Group and one of the largest pharmaceutical and chemical groups, Hoechst, of which Messer is a subsidiary.
According to Fedgas SAP project manager, Mike Brislin, pressures such as Year 2000 compliance and increasing customer, administration and cost control demands were major factors in the local company's move to SAP. "Although we had a networked computer system for the past 20 years, we needed a solution to see us through the turn of the millennium and into the future."
The roll-out included a customised SAP sales and distribution front-end to handle the complex daily gas rental system. "The business process is complicated as the actual containers are often worth more than the gas being transported, so intricate billing calculations are needed," explains Brislin.
Fedgas is now in a much better position to control its gas stocks and clearly identify areas of wastage and loss of product, says Brislin.
"Our previous system did not include a gas stock system, and users were able to sell gas even if the necessary production or purchasing receipt had not been posted on the system. The actual product is very difficult to contain and track, so one of the greatest advantages of the SAP system is the increased ability to drill-down into the information on transactions and gas stocks."
The implementation was a 'big bang' project, which went live in January this year. According to Brislin, the cut-over to the new system was very smooth. "Basically we mirrored the old system, because it had worked so well for us, so business carried on as usual."
For the moment, Fedgas is concentrating on business re-engineering, as well as training and documenting, but the company is already planning its next phase. "We are preparing to move from SAP R/3 version 3.x to version 4.x and implement the profitability analysis module, an important step for the company.
"This module will allow Fedgas management to enjoy definite benefits, primarily in sales reporting by market sector. The module is also crucial for measuring profitability. These indicators will in turn enable management to make key business decisions."
The Fedgas project - completed within time and under budget - was rolled out to around 60 users.
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