ERP software eliminates data duplication

When Heatex tried to provide a new distribution facility with its existing IT system, major shortcomings in the system were revealed and the company decided it had to introduce new software quickly.

When Heatex tried to provide a new distribution facility with its existing IT system, major shortcomings in the system were revealed and the company decided it had to introduce new software quickly.

Heatex employs 96 people and has a turnover of £10 million.

It designs and manufactures electric process heaters and thyristor control systems for use in hazardous areas, to a variety of industries, including oil, gas and petrochemical, pharmaceutical, marine and utility.

The company has an extensive range of standard products but also custom engineers to individual client specifications.

Heatex has established a new warehousing and distribution centre in Wymondham, Norfolk, close to its existing design and manufacturing facility in Watton.

The company wanted to provide the new site with access to its financial, sales, purchasing and inventory systems but found its existing IT was unable to cope.

Heatex was using a bespoke system made up of disparate applications, heavily dependent on spreadsheets and manual intervention.

There was duplication of data at the Watton plant, no access to the system at Wymondham and no real-time view of the business.

After evaluating a number of systems, it chose Syspro ERP from K3.

Rather than give a standard product demonstration, K3 recommended preparing a blueprint of the Heatex business, against which it would map the required functions of the Syspro system.

Peter Smithers, managing director at Heatex, said: "We were impressed with the way K3 made the effort to understand our business, and that it didn't make extravagant, unsubstantiated claims about the system, as some of the other vendors did." Implementation of the 30-user system has just begun - just two months after the two companies first met - and it is due to go live by the end of October.

The Syspro system will deliver real-time integration of information between the two sites, as well as individual departments and Peter Smithers expects significant business benefits, including reductions in stock and work-in-progress, together with enhanced customer service.

He added: "The new system will eliminate the re-keying and resultant duplication of data completely - that means we will have much improved management reporting and decision-making based on a standard set of key performance indicators (KPIs)." The company is also planning to introduce web applications to improve its service to customers in terms of product configuration and speed of quotation turn round.

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