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Worldmark International manufactures identification products, and its business has grown globally with the demand for high quality products, particularly in the Electronics and Tele-Communications sectors where identification, branding and security are important. In some cases, such as the keys for mobile phone handsets, Worldmark products are an integral part of the product design. Labels are also supplied into the automotive and pharmaceuticals sectors. By definition, each new customer order is a design commission encompassing material specification, production technology and finished product quality. The main challenge in selling such a capability is being able to equip the sales advisers with a tool that will enable labels to be created, priced, manufactured and shipped locally, whilst also maintaining global standards.
Background
Worldmark works closely with its customers’ design teams to realise cost effective solutions while meeting strict quality criteria. Says Worldmark’s Business Systems Director, Alan Martin: "Our strategy is to supply our customers locally in the countries in which they operate. We pride ourselves in our flexibility and ability to respond quickly and effectively to our customers’ needs and, as we continue to grow, we need the capabilities of an effective Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system to help us maintain our competitive edge." IFS Applications software has been installed following an intensive appraisal of potential ERP suppliers. The investment is intended to provide a single common software solution out of the centralised computing facility, based in the UK and serving the entire Worldmark global operations. On completion the software will integrate the group’s manufacturing sites in the UK, Mexico, The Netherlands, Hungary and China. Previously all of these operations operated ageing legacy systems that had been developed independently and were not capable of meeting the future needs of an expanding international organisation. A multi-site, multi-currency and multi-language capability was a pre-requisite. IFS not only met these requirements, but it also provided the best fit for the business going forward. Since it was formed five years ago, following an institutional buy-out from the Jarvis Porter Donprint group, Worldmark has expanded globally and now employs around 600 people worldwide. Turnover was around £36 million in 2004, with double-digit growth expected during the next two years. Estimating new jobs and quotations
"Our legacy system was highly bespoke and shaped to the company over the years, so introducing a more generic package presented a number of challenges for us, but it was also seen as an opportunity to review business processes and make improvements in the way things were done," explains Alan Martin. "Because of the variable nature of our products, Worldmark relies greatly on its front end processes – estimating new jobs and providing quotations. This requires a considerable amount of technical knowledge, covering materials and production processes. So for a sales person to quote for a label, it is important to ensure that they are confident in the product information they are supplying, and that the resultant quote is accurately costed."
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