Visibility, control and ease of use among key anticipated benefits
SSL WinMan, a leading supplier of .NET ERP Software solutions for manufacturing and distribution companies that support both lean and traditional methodologies, is delivering its WinMan.NET ERP solution to Leafield Marine, world leader in the design, development and manufacture of air valves for inflatable structures.
Renowned for its engineering strength and quality of manufacturing, Leafield Marine operates in an area of business where mistakes can literally be a matter of life and death. From technically complex valves used by leading life raft manufacturers through high volume, low cost products to specialist, low volume valves used in commercial and military mission critical applications, Leafield works to exacting quality management standards certified to BS EN ISO 9001:2000.
Originally part of a larger group of companies, Leafield Marine was the subject of a management buy out (MBO) in December 2006. A key element of the MBO was the need to separate itself from a business IT perspective from the group's aging and heavyweight ERP system. Historically Leafield had found the system cumbersome and geared more to the requirements of a sister company so it consciously looked to source a more modern, agile replacement.
Financial Director Tim Chapple describes why after a thorough review of 5 shortlisted contenders, WinMan from SSL WinMan was the only real choice. "WinMan has very powerful production planning capabilities which is an area we had already identified we needed to improve on as a company. This linked with the rich ERP functionality within WinMan offered us a way to gain complete visibility and control of what was happening throughout the company. And, being based on the latest .NET technology, we know that it will provide the most seamless integration with the other systems within the company."
The decision to invest in WinMan was taken in mid May and Leafield Marine is aiming for a go-live date of the 30th September. Anticipated benefits include much greater ease of use which will result in everyone within the company being able to use the system, thereby spreading the specialist knowledge base throughout the company. Previously only a select few personnel had access to the system due to the non-intuitive complexity of the system which required very considerable levels of training in order to use it.
In a similar way, due to the complexity of the former system, all reports had to be requested from a system specialist in the sister company which invariably involved a considerable time delay. Now, with WinMan's detailed management reports and the ease with which these can be generated and customised, Leafield will be able to bring this vital business area back in house. The increased visibility resulting from these reports will enable greater delivery date accuracy and ultimately increase customer satisfaction levels even further. As Chapple concludes, "With WinMan it feels much more like we are much more in control of our own destiny and it will be a key enabler to relocating later in the year."
