United Plantations, a R50 million concern, decided to bridge the divide between the agricultural and IT disciplines by installing a world-class Macola Software system -- this is expected to result in a major shift in the agricultural company`s business flow.
Boundaries did not pose any problem for Macola Software, a division of Crux Technologies, when it assisted the agricultural industry in Swaziland to become a real player in the information technology arena. The installation of Macola`s business solution software resulted in a major shift in the business flow and accounting mindset of agricultural Estate, United Plantations.
According to Layne Oosthuizen, systems administrator at United Plantations, "It is the first time that an agricultural company in Swaziland has installed this level of accounting software. We are obviously focused on ensuring that we are able to function at optimum levels, this is why we chose the Macola software."
Although seemingly elementary on paper, Orchard Accountability presents complex issues, as Oosthuizen explains: "A medium size Estate (farm) can have between 50 to 1000 orchards. These orchards are grouped into sections and managed by individuals. In order to determine what, where and when to plant, and whether previous decisions were sound, a business needs to know the productivity of each orchard. In the past, figures have been obtained by a production manager, a packhouse manager, and an accountant - all producing their own figures manually. The obvious result was that figures didn`t tie up."
The Macola software will allow United Plantations to centralise and control the flow of information, making it available to all. "Macola has, in my view, fit the bill for the needs of an organisation in the top level of the SMME-market." Other decision-making factors counting in Macola`s favour were the strong International background and positive support in South Africa.
Oosthuizen adds that, "the user-friendliness and flexibility of the system certainly made an impact". The system, Progression Series 7.5 with Microsoft SQL Server, offers accounting, manufacturing and distribution suites. "The stock system with inventory control and management is of particular benefit to us", he says, "as is the reporting system."
Inventory Management (I/M) is the core feature of the Progression Series 7.5 Distribution suite. It provides superior inventory control to improve profits and reduce stockouts and overstocks. With I/M one can track costs, quantities, locations and prices quickly and easily. It has Macola Bar Code and EDI integration, which produces seamless electronic commerce. The multilevel status and history inquiry lets one drill down all the way from General Ledger to determine the present and past status of items.
Nick Leonard, General Manager Macola South Africa, says, " The Flexibility and ease of use of Macola Software empowers organisations to use lower grade personnel on the system, and maximising error-free data input. We are certain that United Plantations will benefit greatly from the installation of our software."
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