EoW July 2007

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EuroWire – July 2007 61
english technology news
Infor, USA, has completed a major ERP
implementation at Australian cable
manufacturer Tycab.
Tycab replaced three disparate, ageing
and paper-intensive systems with Infor
ERP SyteLine, a business specific solution
which provides customers with a lower
total cost of ownership.
The centralised solution has provided
Tycab with single barcode scan func-
tionality for picking and shipping, and a
paperless shop floor for manufacturing,
helping the manufacturer to streamline
operations, achieve high service standards
and gain market share.
Tycab is a specialised manufacturer of
quality electrical cable products used
across a broad range of industries,
from automotive wiring harnesses and
aftermarket, to welding and switchboards.
Tycab’s speciality is its ability to produce
quality cable quickly, with smaller
minimum run sizes. To alleviate some
of the impact on service standards that
the company’s ageing green screen
and paper-based systems were making,
Tycab realised it needed a solution
that was specific to its business. A key
challenge was that Tycab was operating
three disparate systems: its front-end
customer service and dispatch manage-
ment system (OSAS), a separate, twenty-
five-year old manufacturing system with
a green screen (Dataflex), and an in-house
e-commerce system which handled
accounts, order placement and inventory.
Tycab reviewed six manufacturing soft-
ware suppliers before selecting Infor as
its business management system. “Infor
understood our needs more than anyone
else,” said Ash Labib, manufacturing
manager at Tycab.
“While we wanted a system that was easy
to implement and use, we found that out-
of-the-box solutions fell short in supporting
the unique processes that had given us our
competitive edge over the years.
Infor had the business specific solutions
and domain expertise that could provide
us with the best processes for efficiency
improvements, but also the flexibility for
customisation which we needed.”
Syteline is easy to customise without
loss of integrity and this enabled Infor’s
professional services team to tailor the
solution to meet Tycab’s business needs
for handling spools, multiples and sets,
and volume picking and shipping.
The system went live in two stages to
minimise operational disruption. The first
phase (purchasing, financial, customer
services and dispatch operations)
went live in June 2006, followed by the
manufacturing operation in October
2006.
Benefits to Tycab included accurate
information and data, a paperless
warehouse, tighter shipping control
(for example, Tycab no longer ships to
customers with credit hold), and improved
track and trace which enables the
company to quickly find stored inventory
in a very large warehouse and optimise
inventory for reduced wastage.
Infor – USA
Fax: +1 678 319 8682
Email:
Website:
Tycab Australia Pty Ltd – Australia
Fax: +61 3 9794 0031
Email:
Website:
Infor helps Australian cable manufacturer to
achieve better service standards