companies using ERP, ERP, case studies

ERP software has the ability to connect and transform every aspect of an enterprise. Today’s Software-as-a-Service model provides businesses with a level of efficiency that helps them work smarter, faster, and more cost-effectively. Because of ERP’s many measurable benefits, organizations across a wide range of industries have adopted it to help them improve their operations and bottom line. Learn more about companies using ERP and how they’ve found success below.

What is ERP Software?

ERP stands for “Enterprise Resource Planning”. This type of software is used by businesses to plan and oversee routine operations, such as supply chain management, manufacturing, services, project management, customer relationship management, risk management, compliance, accounting and procurement. ERP software helps to automate and organize these business activities, as well as connect departments for better communication and capture data about operations. Overall, ERP software enables businesses to function more effectively.

ERP software can be used as individual applications, or as a complete suite to allow for the flow of data and communication between applications. It can be hosted via on-premise servers or in the cloud.

What Types of Companies Use ERP?

ERP can be useful to any company that would benefit from automation and integrated communication between business functions. It has proven to be particularly useful for companies in the manufacturing space. Common industries that benefit from ERP software include:

Case Study #1: Noble Biomaterials

The types of companies that use ERP widely vary. Despite operational differences between industries, organizations find success thanks to how tailored ERP systems can be. One such company is Noble Biomaterials. Founded in 1997, Noble Biomaterials began as an intelligent materials company that sold silver fiber technology for its antimicrobial properties, such as reducing the odor in gym shorts or socks. Today, it has grown into a multinational sole-source technology supplier of medical components and antimicrobial products to the US military and various healthcare organizations. The items Noble produces can be found in hospitals, burn units, military installations and US embassies around the world. 

The decision to seek out ERP software came after the company experienced significant growth. Initially, the motivation was optimizing their financial and accounting operations, but eventually management and IT teams also wanted one source of truth to support company-wide processes, like sales forecasting and planning, maintenance planning, quality management and fixed asset management. They wanted real-time data, visuals, and metrics for all manufacturing operations and business processes. They also wanted to replace manual paper-based solutions for project management and collaboration.

Their ERP solution was implemented to cover discrete sales, requisition to purchase orders for indirect materials, Fixed Assets and Return Material Authorizations. They also implemented a new Rolling Sales Forecast application and a QAD Enterprise Platform extension for capturing criteria business categorization fields.

Noble Biomaterials now sees numerous benefits such as:

  • One source of truth covering all operations
  • Enhanced data collection and reporting
  • Automation of shop floor operations, eliminating the need for overtime
  • Time and cost savings
  • Automated barcoding and serialization that replace manual tasks
  • Replacement of third-party application to manage sales forecasting
  • Buy-in from end users thanks to an easy interface

“Another benefit is the enhanced capture of production data from the plant floor through the implementation of QAD Production Execution. We address every step of our operating process and as a result, we now have real-time data reported at every step of the operation. It has eliminated some of the manual tracking in other systems as well.”  – Tom Bross, Chief Financial Officer

Read the full Noble Biomaterials case study to learn more. 

Case Study #2: Veoneer

Veoneer is the world’s largest company focused on safety electronics, Advanced Driving Assistance Systems (ADAS) and Collaborative and Automated Driving (AD). They design, compile, and sell state-of-the-art software, hardware, and systems for active safety, autonomous driving, occupant protection and brake control. Veoneer is a spin-off company of Autoliv, but after separating in 2018, it needed to quickly implement its own ERP system, and it wouldn’t be an easy process. The company operates multiple sites in different locations, as well as four warehouses in different districts.

In addition to needing fast implementation, Veoneer was also looking for the ability to consolidate its data and maintain security across all of its sites and across all functions in real-time. They also wanted all of this to happen without causing any disruption to their customers. They needed an ERP partner that understood the challenges automotive manufacturers face today, like the unprecedented disruption the industry is undergoing.

They decided to implement QAD Adaptive ERP thanks to its robust architecture and anywhere, anytime accessibility. Implementation was quick, and Veoneer has already seen cost savings thanks to using the cloud. Without an on-premise solution, they don’t have to invest in routine maintenance functions or worry about revenue-disrupting downtime. They also see cost savings when it comes to infrastructure and can make faster, more strategic business decisions now that they have real-time, easy-to-access data consolidated in one system.

“I have never seen another ERP implementation with such a short implementation time frame. The project went off without any glitches, even with the quick pace. It was the smoothest, shortest implementation I’ve ever seen.”  – Navin Agarwal, Head of Finance

Read the full Veoneer case study to learn more.

Case Study #3: De Bortoli Wines

As part of the Food & Beverage industry for over 90 years, Australian winemaker De Bortoli Wines has grown to become the sixth largest winery in the country, exporting to 75 countries worldwide with bottling plant operations in Europe and distribution in the UK. Over the last several years, the company has been on a quest to become a zero-waste winery. They’ve optimized their water management, energy efficiency, and waste management and are now working on converting 10 to 15% of their vineyards to organic operations over the next five years.

Due to its size, De Bortoli has a complex vertically and horizontally integrated business model. It can be thought of as a collection of multiple connected businesses. There’s a business that grows the grapes, one that makes the wine, one that sells the wine, etc. Because of this, the company needed to leverage the right technology to control its supply chain, maintain compliance across all verticals and support their high level of quality. 

They partnered with QAD for a just-in-time scheduling solution to optimize these areas. De Bortoli is already seeing benefits regarding:

  • Compliance
  • Grape-to-glass traceability
  • Supply chain scheduling 
  • Better use of growers’ resources
  • Improved grape management for better quality

“Our agribusiness supply chain scheduling has allowed us to focus on quality, compliance, and optimization simultaneously. We’ve been able to optimize our growers’ resources by giving them 15-minute delivery slots rather than waiting for hours. It also improves our quality when we bring through the information into our winemaking systems. We get traceability all the way from the vineyard throughout our systems, throughout the manufacturing plant, through to the bottle. And our quality has obviously improved by the fact that we’re not leaving grapes sitting in trucks, and we can blend all the way through and get the quality that our consumers expect.”  – Bill Robertson, CIO

Read the full De Bortoli Wines case study to learn more. 

QAD Solutions for Companies Using ERP

These are just three of the many companies using ERP systems that have seen measurable benefits to how they’re able to operate. If you would like to read more about QAD Enterprise Resource Planning success stories, visit our customers page and explore the customer success section of our Blog.

For more information on how QAD’s solutions can help more effectively manage your business, or if you are looking for resources and expertise for your next ERP implementation, don’t hesitate to contact us or visit our Customers page for more success stories.

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