HLC (Wood Products) Ltd
Industry : Pallet and Wooden Case
Manufacturing
Scenarios : Business Operations
Company Profile
A 20-year-old family business employing 60 staff, making
100,000 pallets per month and servicing a customer base of 300.
Situation
The company had experienced recent successful trading conditions and was
keen to exploit a growing market for tailored and recycled pallets. As part
of the growth strategy, the company had invested in a new building to house
a fully automated production line together with a new office suite. This
provided the potential to double the production capacity. However, the
company’s IT systems were a serious obstacle to progress. They consisted of
a mixture of automated and manual systems making it difficult to extract
meaningful and timely management information.
Solution
The solution involved the deployment of the Navision
business management system to manage many of the administrative tasks. The
former accounting system was replaced by a Navision finance solution. The
sales, purchasing and inventory systems were incorporated and a payroll and
human resources facility added. This brought together many of the processes
into one centralised solution.
Benefits
HLC has significantly reduced their inventory and
administration costs while improving the services provided to their clients.
Background
Navision based financial management solution provides
HLC with a significant return on investment
Founded in 1981, HLC has over 20 years experience as a successful
manufacturer of bespoke and recycled wooden pallets. The company established
its reputation by using its expertise in helping hundreds of UK based
clients in a variety of industries.
HLC was keen to expand its market share and had made a significant
investment in new manufacturing and office facilities. These new facilities
provided the potential to more than double its manufacturing output.
However, the major stumbling block was its outdated information management
systems. These consisted of a mixture of manual and automated systems that
made it difficult to detect meaningful trends in the business. The
requirement was a solution that provided a flow of information across the
company about what was really happening to their customers and inventory.
The key was to ensure that the selected system supported all operations in
ensuring timely deliveries of quality products.
Working with Cambridge based Anglia Business Solutions the company deployed
a state of the art system tailored specifically to meet the needs of the
business. A totally integrated Navision solution provided the base for a
powerful management information solution. It provided the company with
improved access to up to date information and assisted in greatly reducing
the stock levels. The system has helped to radically improve the company’s
efficiency by reducing much of the previously unproductive administrative
tasks while providing instant information on significant business trends.
Company background
HLC was established in 1981 and is a privately owned manufacturing
organisation. The main activities of the company include the manufacturing
and supply of wooden pallets and wooden boxes mainly to the paper,
cardboard, agricultural, chemical and plastics industry. The company
occupies a large site in Norfolk comprising storage yards, assembly and
machine shops and offices. It employs 60 staff, produces over 100,000
pallets per month and services the needs of over 300 customers.
The company was aware of significant growth potential in its chosen markets
and, due to its industry reputation, was well placed to harvest the
opportunity created in its chosen sectors. As part of its expansion
strategy, the company had invested in the development of new premises. These
were aimed at doubling the manufacturing capability of the organisation.
One cloud however, on the expansion plan was the HLC internal IT systems.
These had been built up over the years across disparate solutions. They
consisted of a combination of automated and manual systems and had become a
liability in the quest for profitable expansion.
As General Manager Ryan Lewis pointed out, “We had an old fashioned UNIX
based accounting and payroll system, a separate contact management system,
an EXCEL based production scheduler and various manual means of recording
inventory levels. Pulling together the information to manage the business
growth was becoming a nightmare. What we needed was one centralised source
of information that we could rely on”.
The Selection Process
The company needed a flexible powerful modern company
wide business management system capable of meeting its very specific
requirements. Apart from the normal financial reporting requirements, the
system also had to cater for a number of discrete manufacturing and
inventory type applications specifically configured to how the company
worked.
The company heard about Navision from a supplier in the timber trade, whom
had previously worked with Anglia Business Solutions on a very successful
deployment of the system. “Having seen Navision in action, we were most
impressed with its versatility” explained Ryan. “However, it was outside of
our planned budget for the replacement system. We spent a considerable
length of time evaluating lower cost alternatives but none of them could
provide us with the flexibility we needed. We could either spend our budget
on a system that met some of our needs or extend the budget to acquire the
ideal system to meet our growth objectives. We selected Navision and it was
the right choice”.
The Business Solution
HLC selected the Navision ERP system as the platform of choice based on its
combination of powerful functionality and integrated development facilities.
As Ryan explained “We were very impressed with the functionality of the
Navision product. As experienced IT users, we understood the design concepts
of the system. However, it was the integrated development environment that
really appealed. We needed a system that precisely matched our way of
working. The development facilities were key to tailoring the solution to
meet our very specific needs. Once this was delivered, we could focus on
reducing our internal administration costs and inventory levels while
providing us with unparalleled access to relevant management information”.
“Anglia Business Solutions worked well with us to produce a solution that
was right for our business. The initial Solution Model mapped how the
complete system would work for us. From this analysis, they developed
working prototypes that we were able to test to ensure that our business
objectives were met. The complete solution was fully tested using data
transferred from our old system. Once we were satisfied that we had covered
all of the requirements, we went live.
The transition was relatively painless and the support from Anglia has been
excellent”.
The new system enabled HLC to take advantage of new ways of working. It
records unit volumes of all timber products based on bill of materials and
unit weight. It also provided bills of materials for all pallets together
with full manufacturing instructions. This enabled the analysis of all
orders by width, length volume and weight. In addition, it facilitated the
cutting of wood by size or weight for mixed packs. Wastage is also recorded
as well as the control of pallet component usage designed to reduce
overstocking. The system features include the ability to purchase timber in
mixed length packs and in multiple units of measure. It also provides
customised works order functionality as well as the ability to substitute
bill of materials products.
Business Benefits
The new management reporting system has already provided HLC with
significant advantages over the previous method of operation. It has greatly
reduced the data duplication activities throughout the organisation, which
has improved the accuracy of information. This has helped to reduce overall
inventory levels held by over £50,000, giving a return on investment period
of 7 months.
As Ryan Lewis explains “ Our previous variety of systems was a real
stumbling block to our ambitious growth plans. It meant that we had great
difficulty in ensuring that our inventory was at the right levels to meet
our client delivery commitments. Working with Anglia Business Solutions in a
partnership arrangement meant that we could explain what we wanted and they
did the rest. The complete system was delivered to timescales and within
budget. It has exceeded our expectations and is already proving to be a
significant aid to our expansion plans. Apart from releasing a significant
amount of working capital, the report writing features means that we now
have access to an unparalleled level of accurate and timely information.
This is proving vital in targeting our future growth opportunities”.
Hardware & Software
Navision Financials
Windows 2000
BackUp Exec.
HP Netserver
HP Workstations
HP Laserjet Printer
Services Required
Solution Model
Business Consultancy
Project Management
Navision Bespoke Design
Navision Programming & Testing
Navision Financials Integration & Testing