Schneider Electric cites Scala - most cost effective ERP system for global rollout

Schneider Electric, top-ranking provider of solutions for electrical distribution, industrial control and automation, chose Scala for their International Division subsidiaries across fifteen countries due to its excellent functionality and low total cost of ownership.

Due to various acquisitions during 2001, Schneider ended up with five different ERP systems worldwide, and aimed to gain standardization of processes across its operations. The company looked for a package with the ability to manage subsidiaries in a variety of countries, but also needed the assurance that the system could integrate with SAP at their head office and large subsidiaries.

"We use SAP in our larger subsidiaries, and we realized it was not the most cost effective solution to run across our small- and medium-size subsidiaries. We have found Scala to be an excellent alternative in terms of functionality, with the added benefit of low running costs," says Bernard Vuillod, Information Systems Manager, International Division of Schneider Electric. "We estimate that the running cost per user is three times less for Scala than for SAP."

Scala and Schneider are currently working together to build a prototype implementation template for the Scala ERP software, involving financials, logistics, manufacturing (MPC) and project management modules.

"We think it is of the greatest importance to build all the core processes as a company-wide standard and then roll-out to other offices," continues Vuillod. "This is especially useful for the smaller offices who do not have system maintenance capabilities. Because their system will be exactly the same as any other, we can offer them central internal support." Further benefits highlighted by Schneider include Scala's multi-lingual capabilities, which enable them to view all data in the language of choice at the click of a mouse, and support for the differing fiscal processes in each country, ensuring that Schneider remains legally compliant wherever they use Scala.

"A clear part of our business strategy is targeting global companies with a two-tier IT structure and Schneider is an exact fit to this profile," says Shamik Sinha, Scala CEO for Africa. "During the past year we have seen more and more global companies choosing to maintain one or two large ERP systems within the enterprise and dispensing with the mixture of other packages they have amassed over the years. Many companies now realize that they are not able to run effective enterprise application integration projects unless they have already standardized their ERP system on two levels, rolling out Scala as the standard across certain subsidiaries and using another such as SAP for example, at their headquarters. Scala offer an extremely attractive package to provide total cost of ownership, more than most other vendors' systems, considering the amount of functionality we offer and the local support available. It is good to have a leading company like Schneider confirm this."

Vuillod concludes, "One of our main reasons for choosing Scala was definitely the low cost of buying and running it. We have since found the consulting and implementation period to be relatively simple, while building common processes across our company with Scala has given us a much greater understanding of our own internal management."