Frank Collier Business Systems (+27 41 373 3225): Business Software with Real Return on Investment

Frank Collier Business Systems, based in Port Elizabeth, South Africa supply Business Software with a Real Return on Investment. Some of the software packages that we supply and support are Syspro, Preactor, Qlikview, IRS, Ping and Travis. We have decades of experience in implementation, design and maintenance.

Assuming that your company needs to improve its Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment score, and that your supply chain includes one or more small manufacturing outfits that qualify as beneficiaries under Code 600, here is a practical idea that might also improve your supply-chain efficiency.

Firstly, select those suppliers that qualify. They must satisfy the following criteria:

They must be at least 50% Black owned

They must be at least 25% Black owned with a B-BBEE status of between level 1 and level 6

There is no point in making the investment unless you can see some form of return. Would there be a benefit to you if these suppliers became more efficient? Would the level of quality improve? Would it help your production planning if they delivered on time? If the answer is yes to any of the above, read on:

You decide to assist a selected group of suppliers by providing them with a business management system and the training that goes with it. You would expect the following return on investment:

The suppliers become more efficient and make more profit (they may even avoid going out of business because of your help), and become loyal suppliers willing to give you the best service they can;

the quality of their products improves, so you have less rejects to handle, and less chance of one of your products being rejected because of sub-standard components;

their deliveries become more reliable and predictable, thus reducing the chance of line stoppages in your plant;

you score some useful points for your B-BBEE rating.

The money you spend can be treated as a normal company expense from a tax point of view.

Let’s assume that your company does a turnover of R 100 million per annum with a net profit of 5% after tax.

We use the Generic Scorecard which allocates a maximum of 15 Weighting Points for Enterprise Development. These points are achieved if you spend 3% of your net profit after tax (R 150,000). This is known as the Compliance Target.

You elect to spend R25,000 each on six suppliers (R 150,000 in total), all of whom have a turnover of less than R 35 million and qualify in terms of the criteria stated above (technically, they are known as Qualifying Small Enterprises or Exempted Micro-Enterprises).

The calculation follows: Spend: R150,000 / Compliance Target: R150,000 X Weighting Points: 15 ; Score = 15 (the maximum you can obtain for Code 600). Obviously, if you spend less than R150,000, your score will drop proportionately.

In addition, you score additional points in terms of Code 500 (Preferential Procurement) because you can multiply your spend with these suppliers by a factor of 1.2, because you have assisted them in terms of Enterprise Development.

You need to ensure that the grant you make to these suppliers actually achieves the returns mentioned above, as well as the B-BBEE points. For more on the business management system see Orwin Lite or call us on 082 653 9279.

ERP, Business, Software, Intelligence, Solution, Syspro, IQ, Elite, Enterprise, Manufacturing, Distribution, Accounting, IRS, MIDP, DA190, Contact, Management, CRM, MRP, Advanced, Production, Scheduling, Preactor, Finite, Capacity, Planning, RFID, Travis, Qlikview, Managed, Service, Agreement, Development, Associative, Database, Asset, Tracking, Verification, Register, Control, Radio, Frequency, Identification, Tractec, Impact, Encore, Award, Industrial, mid-market, SME, ROI, Inventory, Optimization, General, Ledger, Accounts, Receivable, Payable, Product, Configurator, Purchase, Orders, Sales, Lot, Traceability, Bill, Materials, Engineering.

SYSPRO enterprise software is the foundation of successful supply chain management.

SYSPRO meets the comprehensive information technology needs of emerging companies with a totally integrated solution that encompasses: ERP, APS, CRM and E-Commerce. SYSPRO software enables companies in a variety of industries to maximize the planning and management of business processes to better position themselves in their respective markets, ensure customer fulfillment, and ultimately, to improve bottom-line results.

SYSPRO software is a complete, best-of-breed solution that delivers outstanding value based on exceptional price/performance and functionality. The software is key to companies seeking to enhance profitability in an evolving supply chain-based economy. The software adheres to exacting standards such as IAS, as well as helping you comply with the FASB 52 requirements, and provides financial documents in XBRL format ready to be consumed.

SYSPRO software is designed to leverage the strengths of Microsoft® solutions and other technologies to optimize the abilities of manufacturers and distributors. The software supports Microsoft® SQL Server 2000, SQL Server 2005 or indexed data files. It runs on Microsoft Windows servers such as Windows 2000 Server and Windows 2003 Server, as well as Linux and various flavors of UNIX. The rich user interface runs on a Windows-based client, while the available thin client is able to run via a browser.

The SYSPRO product offering includes a choice of more than 40 application modules, ranging from accounting, sales, purchasing, inventory, ABC (Activity Based Costing), Web Services, APS (Advanced Planning, Scheduling), RMA (Return Merchandise Authorization) Remote Site Interface to Engineering Change Control (ECC), CRM/SRM (Customer Relationship Management/Supply Relationship Management), EDI, Bar Coding, and Product Configuration. All modules are scalable and interactive in a client/server environment. This wide selection enables the tailoring of solutions specific to the needs of individual companies and numerous vertical industry segments.

SYSPRO e.net solutions is a new component architecture that gives authorized individuals the ability to interact with SYSPRO data over the Web as well as from remote devices, including palm pilots and cell phones. SYSPRO e.net solutions is a component-based framework that provides a standard way of directly accessing the business functionality within the SYSPRO solution while maintaining the software's built-in business rules and security. In addition to enabling such functions as remote purchase order entry and inventory status determination, SYSPRO e.net solutions also facilitates the integration of other best-of-breed applications with SYSPRO software.

SYSPRO software is designed to facilitate the use of external and internal output devices, such as bar code readers, cash registers and shop floor data collection devices. The SYSPRO solution offers integrated graphics and on-line multimedia technology. SYSPRO continually enhances its software offering with the latest industry developments and demands through major releases and the introduction of new modules.

QlikView is a 'new generation' software tool that combines Reporting, Business Intelligence and Web Query into a single product. It has the most original approach to reporting and data analysis and was recently dubbed a 'cool BI product' by Gartner (who have now included it in their BI Magic Quadrant).

QlikView is very easy to implement and use. It can be installed in a productive environment in days (not months) and users are trained in a couple of hours (not days). The cost benefits that it offers are therefore significant.

Apart from its ease of use, it is very good at combining data from various sources (multiple databases, text files, Excel, etc...). This is particularly useful when people keep their budgets or any other key information outside the ERP system. It also allows companies to capitalize on their legacy systems by adopting the most updated tools and technologies.

Multiple deployment scenarios that support both centralised and decentralised configurations or both

Fully integrated data extraction and load facility that integrates all data sources.

Revolutionary Associated Query Logic (AQL) that removes the need for OLAP cubes and can eliminate the need for a data warehouse.

You finally have the freedom to ask questions that you could not predict in advance

QlikView creates endless possibilities of making ad hoc queries in a non-hierarchical data structure. This is made possible by the patented AQL - Associative Query Logic - for automatically associating values in the internal QlikView database.

The automatic associations of QlikView create endless possibilities for making ad hoc queries without requiring tediously defined structures and hierarchies, as is typical in other data analysis tools. QlikView promotes unrestricted analysis of application data, helping users make time-saving and accurate decisions.

Traditional OLAP technology was good enough at the time it was developed, but it has some major disadvantages. OLAP-based Hypercubes limit users to a small number of dimensions. Measures have to be defined when the application is developed and redefinition of a measure is time-consuming. The user interface is complicated for non-IT people to understand. Bottom line is that OLAP-based Hypercubes and Data Warehouses are expensive and time-consuming solutions to install.

QlikTech's patented AQL (Associative Query Logic) technology works in a different way, by building and maintaining a non-relational, associative and highly space efficient database that resides in RAM. The advantage of the AQL architecture is that the source data is retained and immediately available offline for analysis, all the way down to the source transactions. The result is powerful analytical capabilities provided through a highly intuitive user interface that encourages exploration and creativity.

The IRS System was created as a result of a need generated by the Motor Industry Development Programme (commonly known as the MIDP).

Component suppliers need to comply with the demands of the Department of Trade and Industry, and their customers, for the speedy completion of quarterly DA190 certificates.

The IRS System empowers the user to gather the required information more easily and accurately, and provides all necessary audit trails and reports to back up the DA190 Certificates and MIDP Claims it produces.

The IRS System runs independently of normal business systems but provides a powerful interface function, through which data extracted from the core systems can be drawn into IRS.

IRS runs on the Windows 2000 or 2003 Server operating system and runs on the SQL Server 2000 or 2005 SQL Server products. Client workstations require the Windows 2000 Work Station or Windows XP operating systems.

It is important to realise that IRS can operate either as a "stand-alone" system, or as a closely interfaced module of your core business solution software (ERP) system.

Using IRS in "stand-alone" mode would mean that every piece of data required by the system would be entered via the keyboard.

Integration allows much of the required data to be extracted from your ERP system and imported into IRS.

IRS has an extensive online help document, which you should consult to follow the steps required to set up IRS and to process DA190 data.

Implementation and ERP integration services are chargeable on a time and material basis. The customer has the choice of two methods of implementation, known as "On-Site" and "Remote" implementation, as explained below.

The first-time implementation of IRS is a process that includes the following steps, carried out by our personnel working with customer staff who understand and work with the relevant business functions and associated data. Install the software.

Run the DA190 and/or MIDP calculations until the customer agrees with the outcome.

On-Site Implementation thus incurs the cost of our consultants and any relevant travel and accommodation expenses.
For customers who do not have IT skills, or who cannot make IT resources available, the above process is the only realistic choice.

IRS is well documented, very stable, has passed audits for accuracy, comes with efficient install scripts and has voluminous on-line help, thus making it possible to change the order of implementation to give the customer more participation in the exercise.

Off-Site Implementation applies only to customers or their designated IT service providers who are capable of carrying out certain tasks, as outlined below. FCBS informs the customer of what information is required to be extracted from his ERP system, by means of the file formats and field explanations.

The customer extracts relevant data to ASCII files and sends them to FCBS via email, where they are imported into IRS, and various error reports printed and sent back to the customer so that his data can be corrected.

Repeat the above procedure until valid DA190 and/or MIDP documentation is produced and verified by the customer.

Once the customer accepts this initial run, the IRS CD is sent to the customer so that his IT people can install the system.

Experience has shown that about 20% of the time expended is actually spent on running IRS and analysing the results. The bulk of the expenditure has arisen in assisting clients to extract data from their ERP systems.

Assuming that the customer's ERP system is in reasonably good order, that he has the necessary skills to extract the required information, that data processing occurs twice (once for validation, once to produce final documentation), and that only one day is required for on site training, the cost of implementation can be reduced by as much as 50%.

The benefit to the customer is that he saves money because FCBS consultants spend less time on site. The benefit to FCBS is that resource is not locked up on one site for a continuous period, thus allowing more clients to be serviced.