Piolax gets a fix on future growth with Syspro

Automotive components supplier, Piolax Limited is implementing a fully-integrated Syspro enterprise resource planning (ERP) system from K3

Piolax manufactures industrial fasteners and precision springs for the automotive industry.

Its clients include Nissan and Honda.

Increasing customer demands and evermore stringent industry standards were putting Piolax's existing IT system under pressure; the cost of upgrading the largely bespoke, Unix-based system was prohibitive and after shortlisting five suppliers, the company decided on a 20-user Syspro solution from K3.

Piolax holds the TS16949 quality standard required of automotive OEM suppliers and Syspro allows the company to fulfil the requirements of that standard - from manufacturing techniques to the necessary supporting reference manuals.

The new Syspro system includes the Mobile Applications module which allows three-way matching of machines, tools and works orders via a wireless barcoding system - as an early adopter of wireless barcoding technology, Piolax found its existing system was experiencing increasing delays in the transfer of data as the number of transactions grew.

Some shipments go direct from Piolax to manufacturers' lines and with the prospect of severe penalties for late deliveries, there is little margin for error.

Often faced with hundreds of boxes ready to ship and a truck waiting to leave the factory, the new system facilitates the real-time recording of stock movements allowing the company to maintain delivery performance at 98% plus; and it is future-proofed to allow further expansion - Piolax is also currently increasing its warehousing capacity.

Syspro's Document Flow Manager (DFM) module allows Piolax customers to call off weekly orders via EDI against a three month rolling forecast, and for Piolax to issue advanced shipping notices against those weekly orders.

Meanwhile further efficiencies and cost savings will be introduced through the system's comprehensive document management suite.

Duncan Cornwall, financial director says, "After evaluating five ERP packages we chose Syspro because it is a single business system, whereas others were a series of packages bolted together".

"We have learned from experience that when you bolt software together it is only as good as the weakest link in the sense of development and upgrades " Piolax Limited is part of the Japanese-owned Piolax Group which employs over 1,000 people across its European, Asian and US operations.

The Syspro system is being implemented according to a best-practice blueprint prepared by K3 against the company's existing manufacturing and business processes.

Syspro e.NET technology will be used to introduce customisation where necessary, without impeding the upgrade path.

It is expected to go live in March 2007.

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