Johannesburg, 01 Nov 2005
Maizey Plastics, a pioneer in the South African plastics industry and national distributor of signage materials and semi-finished engineering plastics, has awarded a multimillion-rand enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementation contract to Microsoft Gold Partner GijimaAst.
GijimaAst will adopt a two-phased approach to rolling out a Microsoft Axapta solution that will address Maizey Plastics` supply chain management, financial management and customer relationship management (CRM) requirements.
Maizey Plastics operates a national distribution network with 18 branches, 450 employees and 160 terminals.
The Microsoft Axapta solution was selected as a replacement to Maizey Plastics` incumbent legacy system, which was not adaptable to the growing needs of the company or its nationwide distribution channel.
After a comprehensive consultation process between Maizey Plastics and GijimaAst, the decision was made to adopt the latest Microsoft Axapta technology, incorporating the solution`s rich product functionality.
"Microsoft Axapta is a flexible, integrated solution that, once fully rolled out, will provide a holistic range of solutions to satisfy our requirements for real-time business information gathering, including CRM, financial management and supply chain management," says Lanzi van Rensburg, financial director at Maizey Plastics.
The product implementation includes Microsoft Axapta, SQL Server 2000, Windows Server 2003 and Windows Terminal Server 2003.
According to Gerhard Kruger, Manager Microsoft ERP Solutions at GijimaAst, the solution is in phase one of the implementation stage and is expected to be fully operational by March 2006.
"The initial roll-out plan is to establish a solid foundation for the Axapta product suite to streamline and standardise all business processes across the entire organisation at a national level, while improving data accuracy and integrity," he says.
Phase two of the project, he adds, will create an improved customer experience through the electronic accessibility of information and processes. This will form the basis on which Maizey Plastics will deploy additional rich functionality, including a barcode scanning solution.
"Once the Microsoft Axapta solution is fully deployed, we will realise greater efficiency for all of our employees, which will translate into vastly improved customer service through increased productivity and improved inventory control," says Van Rensburg.
"Furthermore, the Axapta solution will allow Maizey to expand into new regions, provide much needed access to online business information, while improving decision-making processes across the entire organisation," she concludes.
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