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MFG/PRO case studies
BPW implements with MFG/PRO a complete system with 30% decrease in inventory
The Company BPW-RÁBA Axles Ltd. in Hungary is a majority owned subsidiary of the German multinational BPW Bergische Achsen, European market leader and manufacturer of non-driven axles used in trucks and trailers, a high tech company in this field. The BPW-RÁBA site in Szombathely, Hungary, employs 580 people, and its annual turnover exceeds 50 million USD, 80% of which comes from the production of heavy axles, the remaining 20% from agricultural axles of low hauling speed with or without brakes, hauling and other agricultural equipment and spare parts. Quality and customer satisfaction are of major importance to BPW-RÁBA which was certified by with ISO 9002 certificate obtained in 1992 (Lloyds Register).
The Challange
In 1994 BPW-RÁBA started the new product line for agriculture besides the heavy axles it has been manufacturing. The characteristic of the new product line is a very wide variety of finished products which can be manufactured individually or in small or medium size series. The system installed at that time was not able to handle the different requirements for the production runs of 4,000-5,000 kinds of finished goods and the connected 40,000 kinds of semifinished products. A lack of integration between distribution, manufacturing, accounting, systems was also hindering a successful transition process. BPW-RÁBA identified Zero percent of end-item stock as a must, since it only manufactures according to customer orders.
The Selection Process
BPW-RÁBA formed a project team of key staff from financial, materials management, manufacturing and information systems departments. MFG/PRO was chosen from a short list of the 7 leading software products then available on the Hungarian market. Price and functionality played an important role in selection, but the deal was clinched by the Hungarian references in the manufacturing arena using MFG/PRO successfully, and their experience that ISYS-ON - QAD's local partner - could provide high quality support within Hungary. 'MFG/PRO was able to suit all our needs, from distribution to the manufacturing including the financials which have to abide to the Hungarian fiscal regulations,-says BPW-RÁBA's financial director Éva Biácsi.
Meeting the Challenge
The same team that selected MFG/PRO took on the challenge of the project implementation. All necessary resources that were required were made available by a fully committed management team. We were very happy that we were able to implement MFG/PRO in the area of distribution and manufacturing in only 6 months, followed by another 6 months for the complete financials. That was much easier then we expected,- says Márton Teravágimov, general manager of BPW-RÁBA and adds, - This sequence was the most logical for us since we needed accurate data from the production, distribution or materials management areas first to be able to feed the financial system and get meaningful reports. -Another challenge was the integration of MFG/PRO to SAP's R2 System located at the mother company BPW in Wiehl, Germany. ISYS-ON Information Consulting Ltd. implemented EDI to directly import sales orders taken at the German headquarters and incorporate them automatically in MFG/PRO.
The Benefits
'MFG/PRO now enables us to plan more flexibly. This is an important requirement for us since our lead time from order acceptance to shipment of the products is only three weeks,' says plant manager Ibolya Csontos. We have been able to reduce our stock by 30%, -adds Károly Darázs, materials and purchasing manager,- and have reached a target of only 5% of stock compared to sales in our heavy axles product line.- The full integration of all business areas now enables up to the minute stock information, and the month end close is 50% faster than before. -Since we went live on MFG/PRO we have had financial audits by Price Waterhouse every half year with no major issues,- says Éva Biácsi.
The Summary
A fully integrated information system, up to the minute data, reliable inventory information, more flexible production planning, a month end close 50% faster than before, and a 30% decrease in inventory on hand are just a few effects that MFG/PRO has had on BPW-RÁBA since its implementation of MFG/PRO. -All this, plus the reliability of Progress, an easy to learn and use development environment, has left us with no system problems whatsoever. This has proved that MFG/PRO the right choice for us - says IT manager Lajos Tóth. -We have never once regretted our decision for MFG/PRO and ISYS-on and would chose the same combination again today.- closes BPW-RÁBA General Manager Márton Teravágimov.
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