A leading manufacturer of specialist products for the home improvement market, Beverley based Bartoline Ltd, is one of the latest companies to benefit from the implementation of EFACS software from the UK's largest author of integrated business solutions for manufacturers, Exel Computer Systems.
Bartoline manufactures and packs solvents, adhesives, fillers and wood preservative treatments from a modern, purpose-built factory complex that has been extended recently to accommodate business growth.
Indeed, it is business growth that has been one of the drivers behind the implementation of a new integrated ERP system, with Bartoline looking to increase efficiency, reduce costs and achieve measurable impact on the company's bottom line.
Bartoline were struggling with an incumbent system, developed in-house by C-CAT. Bespoke, home-grown and largely manual, the system was not graphics based nor did it operate in a Windows environment.
Described by Managing Director, Simon Barton, as 'very archaic and difficult to become familiar with for new staff', the C-CAT system was clearly holding Bartoline back as the business developed, and so the approach of the millennium became a catalyst for change.
"We investigated the C-CAT option," Simon Barton recalls. "However we would have had to have invested substantially in upgrading our existing bespoke system. We wanted a robust business solution and certainly weren't prepared to be guinea-pigs, so we decided to look nationally for an alternative, proven system."
A local consultant supported Bartoline in drawing up specification documents for a fully integrated system, which managed stock, purchase orders, sales orders and included MRP. He recommended that Bartoline consider Exel's EFACS business solution alongside half a dozen other competitors.
Contending software providers were accordingly invited to submit an initial overview, followed by the opportunity to provide more detailed workshops and a presentation to Simon Barton and the management team at Bartoline.
"After that, it came down to two companies, Exel and Lillysoft," Simon confirms. "There was little to choose between them on price and even on functionality," he continues. "However, ultimately the decision was made to go with Exel, because we were impressed by the professionalism of their team and their 'can-do' attitude.
We were making a substantial investment, which would have long-term impact on our business, so it was a question of which company we could work with. We had confidence in the Exel team at the outset - I suppose you could say the chemistry between us was right!"
Specifically, Simon and the Bartoline management team were reassured by the fact that Exel were original authors of the EFACS system, able to adapt the software to create the best fit for their business, as well as providing the necessary ongoing support with implementation.
Serving the retail, trade and wholesale sectors, manufacturing own-label product ranges sometimes with up to 80 product variations in a group, Bartoline had a particular issue with different charging structures for different customers purchasing the same products. "We needed the system to cope with price changes," Simon explains. "A touch of a button to lift prices uniformly across the board simply wouldn't do." The flexibility of the EFACS tool set enabled Exel to adapt the sales ordering software for Bartoline accordingly, as well as creating a special facility to calculate vat depending on litreage.
"EFACS has proved an easy to use ready-made format," Simon comments. "It has delivered important benefits as far as management information and reporting is concerned. Whereas our old system had to be purged on a monthly basis due to limited memory, the new system can hold huge amounts of data over years."
The ease of navigability around the system and its friendly Windows environment have also proved a considerable boon. "There is so much more functionality in this package. You can never expect to match business requirements 100%, but I would say EFACS has fulfilled about 90% of them."
Other tangible benefits include much easier accounting with reconciliations and cash book linking dynamically to spreadsheets for easier view of p/l data, and no replication of data. "We can interrogate previous transactions with EFACS' powerful reporting tool," says Simon. "Time has had to be invested in learning to use Crystal reports effectively, but it has been well worth it."
To date, the MRP element of the system has yet to be implemented, in part due to Bartoline needing to focus on a substantial new business contract it had gained, but Simon Barton is enthusiastic about the step- change that MRP will bring about for the company, once up and running.
"We have a concern over dispatch and invoicing," he elaborates. "We need MRP to tell us when stock is low and automatically reorder to replenish in good time for us to fulfil orders. At present, these functions are not integrated and this is holding us back."
Once fully implemented, Bartoline will be equipped with an effective back-office network and at a future point will be looking to develop supply chain communication over the Internet with EFACS' Customer Information Centre (CIC) function, where customers may access selected information on their account directly over the Web.
"We need to build in Capacity Planning too, but it is important to be able to walk before you run," Simon observes. "We have to learn the system thoroughly and put procedures in place to support it. I estimate that, particularly because our business is seasonal, it could be up to a year before we really feel all the benefits of the new system."
He adds that without the commitment to make the system work, the investment is pointless. "The project must be driven from the top, and the team responsible for overseeing it must have the drive, ambition and dedication to see it through. All members of our team have been present for every important meeting and all the demonstrations."
Simon also notes, rightly, that the system ultimately can only be as good as the data entered, and has gone to great lengths to plan what should be put in.
Initial transfer of legacy data from the incumbent system to EFACS included between three and four thousand customers and eight thousand parts. The data was converted onto spreadsheets and uploaded via DTS packages by the Exel implementation team. This was achieved over the Christmas period last year, with training commencing Jan 1st 2002 to coincide with the start of the company's financial year, ultimately going live on June 1st.
"We're still on a learning curve," Simon concludes. "The company is running more smoothly and is more efficient as a result of implementing EFACS, and I anticipate that we will enjoy cost savings deriving from improved stock control once MRP is in place. Certainly we have better management information than ever before, which enables us to make better decisions more quickly."
