Moving to modernise its manufacturing, distribution and services IT operations, Africa's largest producer of refrigerators and second-largest of stoves, JSE-listed Masterfridge has chosen the Sage CS/3 business management system (BMS) from Sage International. Implementation and project management is being undertaken by Sage value-added reseller, PQ Africa: Sage Tetra division.
Having experienced rapid growth since inception in 1990, Masterfridge today boasts in excess of 40 percent of the domestic refrigeration/freezer market and 20 percent of the stove market. It has now entered the commercial refrigeration market with products such as ice cream freezers, bottle coolers, impulse buying display coolers and wine coolers. In addition, there are increasing exports to countries throughout southern Africa and the Indian Ocean Islands. Masterfridge's domestic and commercial refrigeration products are manufactured in Matsapha, Swaziland and stove manufacture takes place in Alrode. It operates a nationwide distribution and service centre network.
With the largest portion of refrigeration products being sold under the Fridgemaster label, the company also manufactures well know brand names such as General Electric, Hotpoint, Mercury, Aim and Sansui. Stoves are marketed with the Univa label.
While Masterfridge had as early as 1995 implemented a BMS specifically designed for smaller companies, unanticipated growth saw the organisation quickly outstrip the system's capacity. And as Eugene Roets, group financial director of the organisation notes, productivity was being compromised due to a lack of functionality as far as stock control, materials requirements planning (MRP) and distribution was concerned.
"This was exacerbated by integration problems which resulted in having to run financials such as cashbook, fixed assets and creditors on a separate Lotus-based system. Double capturing and manual checking have a crippling effect on operations and productivity," he says.
Late last year the company enlisted Deloitte & Touche to help evaluate a number of alternative BMS solutions: the result of which saw Sage being positioned as the best fit for Masterfridge's immediate and future requirements.
Dave Litten, account manager at Sage International South Africa says that apart from providing comprehensive functionality spanning mainstream accounting to business management, integrated modules are also available for finance, services, distribution and manufacturing.
"This enables systems to be specifically tailored to meet exact customer requirements without the need to develop new software. In addition, it is an open system which is available on multiple operating systems and databases, modular in design, scalable, multi-company and multi-currency," he says.
A key factor in the decision to go the CS/3 route was the product's advanced e-business functionality. "Retail companies are increasingly adding Web-based interfaces to their existing systems in order to streamline processes and enhance competitiveness," says Roets.
"While it brings many advantages from a business-to-business point of view, Web technologies give our mobile workforce greater flexibility allowing them to check stock availability, pricing and online order placing irrespective of their geographic location. And with the roll-out of the evolving wireless application protocol (WAP), access of systems and general communication will be even easier."
Roets is confident of a smooth and hassle-free cut-over to the Sage CS/3 system. "Sage has a large installed base throughout the southern African region, and together with its implementation partner, PQ Africa, has vast experience in transitioning and integrating new business management systems."
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