C&D
Foods Ltd
5
. The Project
5.1 The eBusiness Solution – business requirements
|
Extranet
|
| An
Extranet is a private network that uses the Internet protocol
and the public telecommunication system to securely share part
of a business's information or operations with suppliers, vendors,
partners, customers, or other business |
The specific
business requirements laid down were in three distinct areas. To date
the implementation focus has been exclusively on the first area. Firstly,
there was a clear opportunity to introduce sizeable efficiencies into
internal business processes through the implementation of a Web-enabled
back office system. Efficiencies were targeted through the integration
of financial accounting, inventory control and planning systems. The
intention was also to make use of web-based workflow to streamline
administrative processes such as creditors administration, invoicing,
human resource management and the generation and distribution of management
reporting.
Secondly,
upon completion of the back office system implementation, the next
focus was to be the implementation of web-based software tools to
improve planning, control and category management processes. Examples
of such software include, (a) collaborative planning tools to facilitate
information sharing and decision making with the major retailers,
(b) communication tools to allow inventory levels in remote locations
to be monitored easily and cheaply, and (c) reporting tools to allow
category managers to access customer specific sales and account
information from remote locations.
Thirdly, the project was focused on an opportunity to introduce
a C&D Foods supplier Extranet (see Extranet sidebar), to facilitate
electronic communication and information sharing, particularly EDI
over the Internet , production planning collaboration, and supplier
performance information.
The above business requirements were planned for delivery in chronological
order.
5.2 The eBusiness Solution – technical
details
The ERP solution implemented by C&D Foods consisted of two key
elements:
TASK
Financials
TASK Financials offered the financial management component
of the overall ERP solution. The package provides sophisticated
cost control and budgeting capabilities to enable back-office administration.
The package provides the following functionality:
- General
ledger
- Creditors
Ledger
- Debtors
invoicing
-
Cashbook
-
Debtors Ledger
- Payroll
- Asset
Register
The product is built on a modern architecture, and can be deployed
in a range of user environments. It can run on a Unix or Windows platform,
with either an Oracle or Microsoft SQL Server for the database. This
flexibility is
designed to offer maximum scope to incorporate new technologies as
they emerge. C&D Foods have transitioned
their technology infrastructure onto a Windows platform and Oracle
database environment.
TASK Financials was designed with product integration in mind. The
use of Extensible Markup Language (XML is
an emerging standard for data exchange.) standards provided a platform
to provide integration with third party
applications, such as TROPOS.
TROPOS
|
Operating
Systems
|
•
Windows NT is a Microsoft Windows
personal computer operating system designed for
users and businesses needing advanced capability,
who need faster performance and a system a little
more fail-safe than Windows 95 and Windows 98.
• UNIX is an operating system that originated
at Bell Labs in 1969 as an interactive time-sharing system.
|
TROPOS
was developed by SSI as a modular ERP system to support the process
model of manufacturing and the concept of demand-pull. TROPOS has
been used in chemicals, pharmaceuticals, food & drink, textiles,
paper, packaging, metals and electronics. The system was designed
to achieve two key objectives:
- to
integrate a company's supply chain and associated business processes
-
to increase the velocity of that supply chain, thereby improving
asset utilisation, and decrease stockholdings, driving out excess
costs and eliminating non-value added activities.
The
system is designed for platform and database independence and to
support rapid adoption of new technologies. TROPOS offers server
choices of Windows NT or UNIX (see Operating Systems sidebar), and
Windows 95 or NT Clients or access from standard Browsers. Databases
are Oracle and SQL Server.
TROPOS contains the following core modules:
- System
Control
- Resources,
Products and Processes
-
Sales & Distribution
-
Warehousing & Inventory
- Process
and Materials Planning
-
Scheduling
-
Purchasing
- Production
Monitoring
-
Plant Maintenance
- Hazards
Management
-
Financials
There
are also a number of optional modules available:
- EDI
Electronic Commerce
- Human
Resource Management
-
Export Documentation
- Bar
Code and Radio Data Collection
-
Visual Planner
-
Business Intelligence and Reporting
SSI
designed TROPOS based on the CODA-Financials application. However,
the TROPOS Finance Link module enabled C&D Foods to integrate
its chosen TASK Financials application into the overall ERP solution.
|
