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FH Arge began operations in 1990, specializing in wholesale and retail trade of liquid fuels, mineral oils and car accessories. It now administers a wholesale fuel and gas company as well as fuel oil wholesale companies throughout southern Poland. In the Cracow region, Arge is one of the largest private wholesale dealers in fuels and one of the leading independent companies specializing in the distribution of liquid fuels. Arge also has operations in the retail trade. The company administers a network of fuel stations in Southern Poland also trading in lubricants, industrial fluids and spare parts. Annual turnover exceeds US $50 million.
The challenge
Although many areas of the company’s operations were computerized, the system was rather labor-intensive.
It was difficult—sometimes impossible—to generate much of the information essential to running the company. Likewise the degree of integration of the software modules supporting financial management and distribution left much to be desired. Krzysztof Kordeusz, president of Arge, explains, “The analytical tools we had at our disposal were too weak to meet our needs, and the frequent system failures and slow operating speed of the database were arguments for making a change. Apart from
this, the reorganization of the company at the time made it easier to take the decision to purchase an integrated system that would support company management.” At the same time, the distribution network was developed, and the company’s trade expanded enormously as it took over retail sales at fuel stations. As the quantity of information generated grew, it became increasingly apparent that the company needed
some way of efficiently analyzing the data. The existing system was in no position to match such requirements and it was becoming increasingly necessary to keep track of the holding company’s current situation, introduce efficient mechanisms for revenue
control and to process and routinely analyze data. The solution
Arge resolved to select a universal, modern solution independent of the system and hardware platform, with an Oracle database in the system. Selection criteria covered functionality, openness, security of data processing and analytical tools. An
additional requirement was the modularity of the system so that future expansion would be easy. Krzysztof Kordeusz again, “IFS was one of the few vendors to realize the value of a localized system. Apart from this, the component-based architecture
appealed to us. We eventually chose IFS Distribution and IFS Financials.
Implementation
The solutions were implemented simultaneously, in July 2000, while Arge continued its normal operations. The company began modernizing its computer hardware and network and training, and made some indispensable structural changes. Altogether a team of
12, divided into two groups, was trained who would operate Arge’s financial and distribution systems in the future. Krzysztof Kordeusz adds, “IFS consultants conducted the training, and we are very satisfied with the work they carried out.” A special implementation team set the work schedule and pace for the system’s implementation. The few minor departures from this schedule were mostly the result of an expansion of the system to include other companies from the Arge group in the course
of the implementation process.
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