Enigma Thin Client Systems, a South African information technology company, has implemented SAP Business One to improve efficiencies across all its operations.
A distributor of global brands of thin client hardware and provider of related services, Enigma has taken advantage of SAP Business One to improve its tracking of unbilled services.
"Before we got SAP Business One, we were losing about R50 000 a year on unbilled services, simply because we had no means of tracking them," says Enigma owner, Peter Storbeck.
"The business is driven by detail, specifically in terms of serial numbers as they relate to warranties and repairs. We need to be able to track failure rates on equipment as well as the details of service calls made to our customers by our outsourced teams, including drivers and technicians, in the provinces.
"The solution has worked so well for us that we've been able to reduce headcount by one and run a considerable client base in six provinces with only five full-time members of staff.
"The enormous configurability of SAP Business One coupled with the tight integration of data and processes that the software enables, has given us much better control over the extensive variables in our operations - and tracks every item of our business in real-time.
"It has also put us in a position to be more proactive. The service module, for instance, enables us to automate the management of contracts and service level agreements - and it gives us reminders for licence fee renewals. So, not only can we keep our customers' noses clean, we can project and collect our own revenues more accurately and timeously.
"I've been in the information technology (IT) industry a long time and I've always believed that the right technology makes a far bigger difference to a small company than it does to a large corporate - because the margin for error in a small company is almost negligible. SAP Business One has now proved that principle in my own company. It really has helped me do more with less."
Cornel Schoeman, managing director of Britton Solutions, Enigma's implementation partner, says SAP Business One is ideal for small companies because its comprehensive functionality reduces their overhead burden, enabling them to compete very effectively with a minimum of human resources.
"The flip side of that is that businesses can be tempted to abdicate the responsibility of thinking things through, simply because they have SAP Business One to drive the business. Enigma Thin Client Systems had the wisdom and experience to know that their input on business processes was essential to getting the results they wanted out of the solution."
"Because it is so very configurable and powerful, we had to be careful not to get the rules and processes that we put into it wrong," Storbeck says. "Once we'd clarified and evaluated our expectations, it was easy to set the application up to deliver on them - and I've never regretted making the decision to go with SAP Business One. It's doing exactly what I need it to do."
Storbeck examined a number of alternatives before deciding on the SAP product. "SAP Business One was much more tightly integrated than any of the others and, because it comes standard with functionality like customer relationship management, it worked out significantly cheaper than the others. I've never liked spending money unnecessarily, and with SAP Business One I didn't have to."
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