Impro Technologies, a Durban-based manufacturer of access control and electronic tagging and reading equipment, has installed Baan on Board to support its export drive.
The Baan on Board bundled solution was supplied by CCH Enterprise Solutions, a division of JSE-listed CCH, and installed by Durban-based CAIS systems integrators.
Impro derives 60% of its income from exports, with significant market share in Europe and Japan. Locally the manufacturer supplies contractors and service providers of security products. In a highly competitive market, Impro relies on its 120-strong staff complement to develop and manufacture world-class products. The company has just been awarded its ISO 9002 rating.
Rod Moore, Impro`s joint MD, identified the need for a system with indepth ERP capabilities. "We ran a conventional accounting environment and a separate planning system, but we needed an integrated solution. If we were to continue to grow our market share, especially overseas, we needed a first-world ERP environment.
"Our existing system was not wholly satisfactory, as it did not provide us with the planning functionality we needed," says Moore. "Baan on Board gave us a 95% fit.
"Baan on Board on an HP NetServer was a cost effective solution for Impro," continues Richard Browne of systems integrator, CAIS. "CCH installed and configured the hardware and the software in Johannesburg, so when the system arrived at Impro`s premises, only final technical details had to be attended to."
The system is being implemented in phases. The financial modules were installed first, with the high level design control and manufacturing planning to follow.
Impro expects to benefit from improved stock control, inventory management and accounting features. "It is important for us to track costs and be able to identify exactly what it costs us to develop a new product, for example," expands Moore.
"It is vital for us to build `intangibles` into our costing model, such as time on design and costs which we would not think to associate with our product development, such as travel costs."
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