JD Edwards, a leading international supplier of ERP and supply chain solutions, has made major inroads into the Botswana market by securing a contract for the supply of its OneWorld system to Sefalana sa Botswana Limited.
Sefalana, the first company to list in Botswana in January 1975, is a major consumer goods group, with a large sales and distribution agency and milling operations, both of which are supported by its property portfolio and its significant investment in Metro Sefalana Cash and Carry Limited. The group`s turnover for the 18-month period to 2000 was almost 500 million Pula (R673 million), and operates branches in Lobatse, Gaborone, Palapye, Pilane, Francistown, Serowe and Maun, employing more than 1000 people.
Says Jenny Marinelli of Sefalana`s Head Office, "Our operations require considerable logistics and communications in order for us to maintain our preferred supplier status and interact with our partners throughout southern Africa. When we decided to look at established ERP systems to replace our in-house system, it was important that the system not only displayed a high level of integration, but was also flexible and could meet our rather specific requirements. We also needed a system that could provide management information easily, manage transaction prices and currencies, and which could be integrated across the entire group. We also saw a definite need to provide customers and suppliers with access to specific information such as stock and sales levels, values and volumes. We considered an ERP system necessary for reducing time and costs involved in stocktaking as well as transportation where route optimisation and trip scheduling would provide us with greater efficiency and control over our fleet."
"The major deciding factors in going with JD Edwards were its advanced warehousing and pricing capabilities. The nature of our business, and the regions in which we operate, force us to use complicated and differentiated pricing structures for the same products and these pricing anomalies are further aggravated by the fact that we deal in various different currencies; JD Edwards was the only vendor who could meet our requirements."
We undertook a six-month evaluation of a number of systems from different vendors. From the original thirteen contenders, we ended up with a shortlist of only three. JD Edwards came out a clear winner in many areas, aided by what we see as the dedication and professionalism of JD Edwards personnel. While the product itself offers what we need in terms of functionality and integration, the company`s support structure was almost as important in helping us to make the decision. Their staff fully understands our business and are specialists in their particular fields. With a sales and support office in Johannesburg, problem solving and queries can be resolved quickly. The company has a solid international reputation and a large local installed base."
Sefalana will be deploying a number of OneWorld modules, including the financial suite, sales and distribution, advanced warehousing, transportation, human resources and payroll. The company will also be looking at the manufacturing module for its milling operations, as well as bar coding. The company will run the system on its NT-based IBM Netfinity 7100 server. The system will link all of the company`s branches via its WAN and final implementation will take place by August. Over 100 users will have access to the system. The project is estimated to cost P3 100 000 (R4, 1 million).
Says Mike Evans, managing director of JD Edwards South Africa, "The Sefalana project is an important milestone for JD Edwards in Africa and is the culmination of our drive to establish a firm foothold in the African ERP market. With more than 130 successful local installations, we are set to push our technology into the southern African region."
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