The Ellerines Group is one of the latest companies to reap the benefits of a newly installed Sage ERP X3 solution.
The group was looking for a solution that could reduce its lead times, provide batch tracking for raw materials and streamline its supply chain, says Nazeem Aberdeen, an IT Executive at Ellerines Group.
“We wanted interaction with our sub-contractors in order to optimise our inventory through effective material requirement planning (MRP). It might sound like a tall order, but Sage ERP X3 provided exactly that, and is aiding us to meet our customer demand much more efficiently.”
With more than 650 stores trading under the names of Wetherly's, Ellerines, Town Talk, Furncity and Savells Fairdeal, the Ellerines Group has made a decisive footprint in communities throughout South Africa and the neighbouring countries of Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Swaziland and Zambia, for over 60 years.
Jeremy Waterman, Managing Director of Softline Accpac, says Sage ERP X3 offers deep and broad first-class functionality across financial, distribution, point-of-sale, warehousing, manufacturing and customer relationship management that is both scalable and fully integrated.
“It provides real-time information that is shared on a common database and user interface that is easy to use and understand. The comprehensive manufacturing and inventory control processes contained within Sage ERP X3 will enable Ellerines Group to assemble goods based on Bill of Materials (BOM) and manage its raw materials to finished goods manufacturing processes, ultimately optimising stock and streamlining manufacturing operations,” says Waterman.
Sage ERP X3 was implemented at two separate sites, one being the TEK plant implementation at Ellerines Group's new assembly plant of white goods. “The TEK project included the assembly manufacturing component, which is a new venture for the Ellerines Group. The key benefit here was the introduction of a supply chain process, where raw materials received are assembled and stored for delivery, to cater for the greater Ellerines Group's requirements of readily available supplied stock,” says Aberdeen.
The second implementation took place at Ellerines Group's Roodefurn, furniture manufacturing plant. “The critical success factor that we achieved with Sage ERP X3 in Roodefurn was the provision of a solution that could cater for the management of Roodefurn's raw materials. The solution also enables us to store and distribute finished goods to key customers on a particularly stringent time base. The Sage ERP X3 application included the financial modules, which were integrated to the group's financial systems, providing a comprehensive overview in real-time of all the various processes,” explains Aberdeen.
Times 3 Technologies, a business partner to Softline Accpac, was at the helm of the implementation, ensuring the successful implementation of Sage ERP X3 at the Ellerines Group. “Thorough planning and dedication effected a seamless change management for both TEK and Roodefurn. The results have been quite satisfactory, effectively reducing lead times and making batch tracking for raw materials a reality. The process has streamlined Ellerines Group's supply chain, is optimising their inventory and allowing them to interact with sub-contractors more efficiently. The inclusion of an MRP application, combined with the forecasting capabilities contained within Sage ERP X3, will significantly reduce time to delivery, allowing Ellerines Group to meet its customers' demands much more effectively,” says Ashley Ellington, a Director of Times 3 Technologies.
Nazeem Aberdeen from Ellerines Group says there are more developments in the pipeline. “The initial installation has had quite a significant impact on our operations, and to expand on the project, we are planning to optimise the manufacturing operations. We would also like to optimise our planning when it comes to machinery and resources, which will provide accurate costing during the manufacturing process, effectively allowing the business to set consistent margins across our manufactured goods,” concludes Aberdeen.
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