Reasons for choosing IFS
"Our aim is to run the business as a global operation rather than a collection of national businesses that consolidate together, " explains Business Systems manager, Chris Stanghan. "The new IFS system provides a single point of reference giving worldwide visibility of stock and product availability. Its flexibility and easy analysis of global market information, gives us the tools we need to become a truly international global
business." One of the reasons for choosing IFS was its ability to handle mix-mode manufacturing. This was important because of the different nature of production activities carried out in the UK and the USA. The latter being more project orientated. In the UK the
emphasis is on discrete manufacturing requiring support for lean manufacturing techniques, incorporating demand planning, Kanban, (stock control) and repetitive production schedule management. Both the UK and the US plants have design and development facilities and there is a need for more collaborative development. To support this and under a separate investment programme, Vinten Broadcast is installing new computer design facilities,
common to both sites. These will incorporate product data management (PDM) files which are also compatible with IFS for use in planning and manufacturing standards control. "These measures will allow our product development groups to co-ordinate activities and if necessary work concurrently on joint projects. We can also extend the network to involve other strategic trading partners. As well as reducing project
time-scales, we believe that this capability will enable us to achieve some significant competitive advantages in our marketplace," said Chris Stanghan. IFS was also highly rated in the delivery of e-business functionality, another key requirement aimed at giving Vinten Broadcast customers a consistent excellent level of service 24 hours a day, around the world. Supported by IFS Portal technology, this
feature allows customers to set up on-line access to the IFS database to obtain quotations, place orders and obtain an up-to-date report on the progress of current orders. The choice of IFS followed an intensive evaluation process, which included a candidate system, already installed within an associate company within the company's parent VITEC group. In commenting on the decision, Planning Manager, John Dunnell, said: "All of the competitive ERP products appeared to offer several combined point solutions and integration, whereas with IFS all elements of the solution were seamlessly IFS. In the
final analysis IFS was a clear winner and we were able to reach a unanimous decision. And as Users we have responsibility for this decision, which makes a change from the traditional approach where a 'preferred' corporate solution is driven by the IT
department. However, this also places the onus on the team to ensure a successful implementation. We were impressed with the way the IFS software allows for the implementation to be handled in a manageable incremental fashion and we are moving forward to
this stage with confidence."
For additional information, contact:
Christine Murphy, Marketing Manager
Telephone: +44 (0)1494 428900
Fax: +44 (0)1494 428907
E-mail: christine.murphy@ifs.co.uk
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