ApplyIT has completed the second phase of its implementation of Agilisys Advanced Scheduling at Unilever Bestfoods Robertsons (UBR) in Boksburg, allowing Unilever to synchronise supply chain planning between its core SAP R/3 ERP, the oil refinery control systems and Agilisys.
This integration was accomplished using Business Objects Data Integrator (BODI), a SAP-specialist data movement tool which permits UBR to move and synchronise critical production data among the three systems, leading to accurate and timeous ordering of raw materials and scheduling of the refinery.
Before the implementation of Agilisys Advanced Scheduling, refinery operations had been scheduled on a spreadsheet for the production of the various brands of margarines it manufactures, such as Rama, Flora Pro-Activ, Marvello and Stork. For the factory to perform optimally, the old method was no longer sufficient and the need for a more sophisticated software tool was identified. ApplyIT, as the local distributor for Agilisys, had implemented the Advanced Scheduling solution at UBR`s Boksburg oil refinery in just three months in 2001. This had realised significant benefits, among them the ability to cope with the unique demands of cyclical batch processing.
However, the lack of integration between Agilisys and the other systems running at the refinery had led to the need for a bridging solution, and BODI was implemented as it is Unilever`s chosen data integration platform globally.
BODI is used to feed information on the stock balances in each tank from the oil refinery control systems to Agilisys. Order information is also fed into the scheduling software from the SAP R/3 system and production is then scheduled to meet these orders and spare capacity used to produce made-to-stock products.
Before the integration project had been successfully completed, feeding master data into Agilisys required the intervention of a planner manually capturing shopfloor data for up to two days. This data would be keyed into Microsoft Excel and then into Agilisys. This meant a latency of up to 36 hours between the ordering of raw materials and the actual manufacture of the margarines, reports Raman Naidoo, business systems analyst at Unilever in Durban.
"A key area for us was accurate production planning and scheduling, which was proving to be a challenge without integration between our core systems. One consequence, for instance, of having the systems running in their own silos, was we could order too little, and fail to meet production quotas; or too much and end up with unused supplies in our holding tanks. This represents dead capital, and freeing it up would release these funds for use elsewhere in the business. Over the course of a year, this dead capital can and does run into the millions."
Unilever manufactures its margarine based on forward sales data as provided by marketing intelligence. This data needs to correlate with the volumes of oil ordered by production. The more precise and current this data, the less chance UBR has of ordering too much or too little oil.
Now, relevant data is extracted from SAP and made available to Agilisys. This data drives and supports accurate forecasting and has reduced the latency from 36 hours to a matter of minutes. In effect, this means a continuous supply chain, from long-term demand forecasting to short-term operational efficiency. There is a far tighter correlation between the ERP and Advanced Scheduling systems, leading to just-in-time manufacturing, reduction in capital requirements, and alignment between sales and manufacturing.
Naidoo says Agilisys also assists in deciding when to start the refining process for orders, as some of the products can take up to 12 hours to produce.
Agilisys also assists UBR in customer service. If a customer enquires about possible delivery times for a specific order, different scenarios can be run in the application to determine if the customer`s deadline can be met.
Unilever IT managed the implementation and oversaw the skills transfer, which was a vital component of Unilever`s requirement, allowing the company to manage the two systems and their integration into the future.
"ApplyIT has proven itself as SA`s most capable company in its chosen areas of expertise," adds Naidoo. "It has responded in exemplary fashion to two strategic challenges."
"We are proud to have contributed in a material fashion to Unilever`s ERP optimisation plan," says Karl Frenz, Agilisys business manager at Apply IT, "and we look forward to a long and successful relationship with Unilever Bestfoods Robertsons."
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