Initial condition, selection, and a project with EU funding
For many reasons, it was becoming increasingly clear that Severochema’s existing business information system was no longer fit for purpose. Not only did it lack the possibility to expand to meet the company’s future needs, there were concerns about the system supplier, not least uncertainty about its ongoing support capabilities. The decision was therefore made to search for a replacement with an emphasis placed on in-depth production functionality due to Severochema’s recipebased production. Other requirements included the development potential of the system, contractor stability, and the degree of support offered. The company decided take advantage of an EU funding programme entitled “ICT in Enterprises” which was available at the time although this did subject the project to a number of specific mandatory rules.
The procurement procedure for the new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution would need to cover all facets of the business – purchasing, sales, trade, marketing, pre-production process, production, warehouse management, quality management, accounting and control, planning, logistics, and costing. Severochema would also require an application and database server as well as a licence for 35 users. The tendering process was launched in the autumn of 2009 and involved the selection committee evaluating 337 parameters of the new system to determine whether each required area of functionality came as standard, was possible with additional programming by the supplier, or was an impossibility. Out of a shortlist of 9 suppliers, the proposal based on the QAD ERP solution by Minerva rated the highest rating by a large margin, achieving the best overall scores for industry references and bid presentation in addition to high scores for system functionality with regards to chemical production, business-specific processes and legal compliance. The delivery and implementation of the new information system was co-funded by the European Union under the Operational Programme Enterprise and Innovation and was completed in December 2010.
Implementation and benefits of the QAD ERP system
As Severochema works with mineral oils and alcohol, the implementation was particularly demanding as the system needed to incorporate excise duty, traceability, reporting (with strict governmental requirements), complex costing, packaging management, as well as the relevant Intrastat nomenclatures. As Roman Oberer, Sales Director, and the project manager for Severochema at the time of implementation remarks, “The QAD ERP solution is a powerful tool for managing production and this is where we appreciate it most.” He continues, “The implementation was absolutely smooth in that area and I have to say the whole implementation project turned out a success.
The functionality of the system is what we need for our business, providing us with the necessary reports and enabling us to monitor the core business. The system is comprehensively supported by Minerva Czech Republic which has also guaranteed its ongoing development.”
QAD ERP future development and enhancement
Following the successful implementation of the QAD ERP system, Severochema is planning further enhancements, for example in the area of shipping where the company will be introducing automated data capture via barcode reading which will improve efficiency and eliminate error-prone, manual data entry.
Other planned enhancements include the creation of warehouse/alcohol cards and alcohol content monitoring for alcohol inventories. Severochema will also use the m.b2b (B2B portal by Minerva) to improve its customer ordering capabilities.
