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Systems Plus

Case Study

Getting IT right for an Italian confectionaries manufacturer

For a global chocolaterie maintaining consistency in taste and delivery is gargantuan task! It is quite impossible to keep operations manual and as the supply chain becomes more intricate, it becomes imperative to find the “sweet spot” – the balance between business and technology.

Find out more about how we helped a world renowned Italian confectionaries manufacturer get IT right by hitting the sweet spot!

Challenge

Absence of a synergized cascade of knowledge on both IT and business processes

  • Out of system action within remote centers of operation as a direct result of knowledge gaps
  • Lack of knowledge retention as a result of high attrition amongst on ground staff
  • Limited local team to offer operational and user support resulting in delays in issue resolution
  • Absence of proper training exercises which meant longer, often incomplete learning curves

Impact

Low process adherence with massive cost implications

  • Increased inventory and warehousing costs as a result of cross docking of materials and finished goods
  • Additional administrative costs as a result of manual intervention in implementing processes
  • Opportunity costs associated with delays in delivery as a result of partial process automation

Solution

Dedicated knowledge management efforts

  • Understanding the key process gaps through business process assessment
  • Determining how IT can be used to bridge gaps and facilitate automation
  • Simplifying learning material to make it more concise and easy to use
  • Identifying process owners and determining their training needs
  • Creating an environment which facilitated ownership and improvisation

Getting IT Right

Setting up a Centre of Excellence

  • Visiting the plant and understanding the in-plant operations and the delivery model
  • Plan corrective measures and remediation – quick fixes, short term and long term
  • Documenting of the AS-IS processes and converting them into intuitive online learning modules
  • Devising and implementing a rigorous training framework to develop local business champions
  • Identifying KPIs and devising a checklist to track individual performance as per the requisite parameters
  • Educate users to improve process compliance
  • On ground support on the technology and the business process front
  • Providing metrics for performance evaluation of the departments in question

The Tech

  • Thorough understanding of SAP systems and processes
  • Technical know-how to suggest changes in system design for further automation
  • MS Powerpoint, Visio, Excel and Word

Pay – Off

Increased productivity and efficiency, Decrease in cost of operation

  • A better managed physical inventory resulting in a drop of 17% in GRN postings
  • Inventory mismatch reduced by 10%
  • Improvements brought about in a span of just 5 months post implementation
  • Significant reduction in costs due to automation and increased user efficiency
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