In 2000, Hynds Pipe Systems, a New Zealand provider of drainage and watermain products, began to recognise that the pressures of its growing business which had expanded to include several new sites, were too much for its existing manual legacy system.  “We were attracted by the benefits an ERP system could offer.  It was a necessary step to take. Our staff were also keen for the change,” says Adrian Hynds, Hynds Pipe Systems’ managing director.

Previously, the company operated without any manufacturing management software. Stock transfers for instance, were managed manually, then keyed into the system. Gathering accurate financial data for reporting and performance measurement was often a time consuming and unreliable process. Also, the existing manual processes around planning could present challenges.

“Now we have over 160 users, from factory schedulers and dispatch staff to customer-facing staff, finance and logistics planners all using this centralised system to which they have access to up-to-the minute data integrated across all operational areas,” says Hynds.

Hynds has significantly improved timeliness and definition of its financial reporting, customer service and other operational process efficiencies as the result of a successful ERP rollout, using Movex.

 “We have already achieved at least two out of the key business objectives we set out when the system went live last year.  A lot of effort and investment went into deploying the new application, hardware and developing the infrastructure to support it. Today, that effort is more than paying off,” “For instance, the timeliness of period accounts has been boosted greatly. For much of the time now, we get information back on site performance and financial results around 300% quicker than was previously possible,” he continued.

“Having more defined processes that are supported in a centralised manner are also beginning to bring us cost savings. A user might be on location in the country, but we can still support them remotely, particularly in relation to needs such as stock movements or customer sales orders.  We have 18 sales branches and seven factories throughout New Zealand, now all operating with the same processes - and with our centralised I.S. team able to assist online, whilst talking to the user on the phone. That creates significant process and turnaround efficiencies,” he said.

Movex is now helping to benefit the business across key operational areas that includes customer ordering and transactions, purchasing processes, manufacturing, financial management and distribution.

Improved customer service
“Much of our business is contract sales management, where we receive future orders within a process that needs to be managed carefully. Stock management and production management are particularly important for an organisation like ours that both manufactures and distributes,” he said.

“We are starting to generate efficiencies in manufacturing by producing the right products and being able to manage production resources better, which in turn, will improve our level of customer service”.

Movex is also providing efficiencies by helping to define and centralising processes through all parts of the business.

“Previously, there were very few standard processes across the company, so things like quotes or process orders were done differently according to the region or branch”.

“Now, sales orders, quoting, purchasing and invoicing are all standardised across the company,” he said.

Implementation
Hynds Pipe Systems undertook an eight month evaluation process and short-listed from five vendors down to three, choosing Lawson as its preferred vendor. “We were looking for a partner that was going to be there with us in the future. This was our top priority, as we plan to be around for a long time, and want a technology partner with will too,” said Hynds.

“We also wanted a committed New Zealand team – not just a presence, but a team we knew would be there to back us up fully and that would support the system locally. Lawson was the one that stood out in this respect,” he continued.

“The implementation went very smoothly and to plan. There was a great deal of emphasis put on training staff before going live, something that we have maintained since then also.  We still have a team that has developed and grown with the system together”.

“We were lucky in that we had access to some really knowledgeable people, who knew exactly how our business operated and who were able to work on the project,” says Hynds. “Their commitment to making this work cemented the project’s success and has contributed to the results we’ve seen thus far.”

July 2005