After implementing the new solution the company has automated the following processes:
- Customer relations management
- Supplier relations management
- Sales order placement and monitoring by customers
- Work order placement and monitoring
- Inventory turnover management
- Sales order placement and monitoring by suppliers
- Collection and analysis of business statistics
- Production cycle management
- Inventory management
- Production planning
- Shipment planning
They use data communication between the different iScala installations that are located in remote branches.
As a result of the implementation, SoyuzBaltComplect product output grew by 40%. Output quality grew by 30%, while production costs were reduced by 40%. Warehouse operation was optimized and inventory turnover was increased by 65%. Order processing was increased by 90%. Quality of customer service grew by 80%. As a result, the company's sales grew by 65%.
In the long term, it is planned to further reduce time costs of the sales department by 45% by implementing an automatic data exchange between the different installations, as well as with external systems, based on the Epicor Service Connect integration platform. Furthermore, a project to move to the latest version of iScala has also been launched.
Aleksandr Pushkin, IT Director, comments: "The iScala ERP system offers full functionality, stable operation, and rapid data processing. At the same time, it provides an intuitive, convenient interface which is easy to understand and use by any employee, regardless of their position within the company."
In a conversation with Vladimir Menshikov, senior business application consultant for SoyuzBaltComplect Co., Ltd. he explains the positive impact iScala has had on his company:
Vladimir, what are the main reasons why your company decided to migrate to Epicor iScala 3.0?
Before migrating to the latest version of iScala, we used a rather old version which didn't give us the functionality we needed to make it easier for users to work with, reduce mistakes, and enhance efficiency. We had developed new business processes and faced a decision about how we were going to implement those in the ERP system. We could either choose to use externally developed applications, but we felt that we had enough of those and didn't need any more, or we could increase the amount of manual work we did but that would lead to numerous errors, or we could resolve the challenge by migrating to a new release.
How would you estimate the improved efficiency, ease of use and reliability, of the system after migrating to iScala 3.0?
After migrating to the latest version of iScala, the company and users can already take advantage of a number of benefits. It's easy and quick to use, it's now easier for users to enter sales orders because it allows users to create an individual order "heading" design where they can keep all important fields, and there's no need to jump from tab to tab to enter values. Manual errors have been reduced due to the new table interface for order data entry, which allows users to add required columns and delete those that are not required for order data entry. Due to the additional customization opportunities, the system settings can be adjusted better, this reduces the need for users to intervene in the process. For example, we really like the new auto accounting system which directs the user to accounting entries.
What has your company achieved due to migration to iScala 3.0? Has efficiency, reliability, and ease of data processing been improved?
After the project was completed, the product yield of SoyuzBaltComplect grew by 40%. Product quality grew by 30%, while production costs dropped by 40%. Warehouse operation was optimized, while its turnover grew by 65%. Order processing was increased by 90%. Service quality grew by 80%. As a result, our company's sales grew by 65%. With iScala 3.0, we see a decrease in time-related costs, largely due to increased speed of processing. However, our hardware is old, so upgrading our server farm is one of the next stages.
Which goals connected with use of iScala 3.0 does your company set for the future? What business advantages do you expect to achieve with iScala 3.0?
In the long run, SoyuzBaltComplect plans to reduce the operating time of the sales department by 45% by implementing an automated data exchange between the iScala installations, as well as with external systems. We expect to achieve even faster operation both by upgrading the server farm, and by taking advantage of the new functionality. Right now we have just successfully completed the first stages of the implementation. We now want to move on to the next, more interesting stage, such as the implementation of Epicor Service Connect, a business integration platform.
What is your advice for your colleagues from other industrial organizations that consider a migration to iScala 3.0?
iScala 3.0 has established a reputation as one of the best in Russia for manufacturing and industrial organizations. As for those considering migration to iScala 3.0 at the moment, I would advise them to do that without procrastinating, but also without being in a hurry. It's better to install a test version first to identify the potential pitfalls of how it will work with the other programs and system that you have in use across your organization.