Pipelife Polska S.A.,
Case Study: Pipelife Polska S.A.
Location: Multinational Located in Poland
Industry: Manufacturer of Plastic Pipe Systems
About the Company
Pipelife Polska S.A., established in 1996, is a member of a multinational holding established by Austrian concern Wienerberger and Solvay of Belgium. It is one of market leaders in manufacturing plastic pipe systems in Poland. The company, employing more than 200, has an annual volume of trade exceeding PLN 100 million and has been steadily developing its distribution network. In order to bring its products closer to end customers, Pipelife exports its products to Germany, Spain, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Scandinavia, the Baltic countries and to eastern markets.established in 1996, is a member of a multinational holding established by Austrian concern Wienerberger and Solvay of Belgium. It is one of market leaders in manufacturing plastic pipe systems in Poland. The company, employing more than 200, has an annual volume of trade exceeding PLN 100 million and has been steadily developing its distribution network. In order to bring its products closer to end customers, Pipelife exports its products to Germany, Spain, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Scandinavia, the Baltic countries and to eastern markets.
Primary Task
The need to integrate management support processes due to a comprehensive scope of company operations.
Offered Solution
Implementation of an Exact Globe integrated IT system.
Benefits
The trade department uses Exact to enable the on-line monitoring of sales, which results in a better quality of services and increased customer satisfaction. The financial department has better coherences of warehousing,manufacturing, purchase and sales data ensured.
Situation
As the company has an impressive scope of operations, it was difficult for it to make good business decisions in the past. The company needed new business solutions to integrate the
management processes on a comprehensive basis. January 2001 was a breakthrough period, as the company decided to implement new, integrated software. Exact Software was chosen, guided by a short rollout time foreseen for just a few months. All modules including finance/accounting, warehousing, sales and manufacturing were implemented until the end of October. Data from all the inherited applications were migrated in the same month to Exact Globe. Implementation Process On November 5th, a set of modules for 100 in all company locations throughout Poland was implemented. It would be logical to suspend the rollout until January 2002. However, due to less intensive sales, the rollout was accelerated to allow for training courses in operating the system. In the result, the company could make full use of all Exact Globe functionalities from the very beginning of 2002. This meant a successful implementation, mostly due to an excellent organisation of the process. Grzegorz Hauser, project leader at Pipelife, emphasises efficient communications on key issues. The project would collapse without personal involvement from both sides and without a high level of IT knowledge and awareness. The implementation required a number of compromising solutions. Some procedures and rules in the company were changed. However, in some instances the system was tailored to meet expectations of Pipelife. System Rollout The first days of work with Exact Globe involved certain technical problems but Exact consultants present at Pipelife offered immediate assistance in solving the difficulties. In addition, Pipelife launched a hot line for all Polish locations. The main challenges were the human factor and barrier breaking, and not technical issues. It was necessary to convince employees to the new work style and to teach them how to use the new solution. A number of corrections were introduced in the procedures and instructions that proved impractical after the rollout. Grzegorz Hauser says that the software provided much easier access to data, and the company started to seek ways for efficient use of that opportunity. Pipelife decided to introduce Crystal Reports standards provided with the Exact Globe system, and it also purchased a Crystal Enterprise module which enables access to data, provides their further analysis and processing with a standard web
browser. Each person at Pipelife can generate necessary reports at his or her disposal with Internet Explorer or Netscape, which have been subdivided into various categories including finance, accountancy, warehousing, controlling, logistics, sales and IT.
Results & Benefits
After four years of using Exact Globe, Pipelife is still satisfied with the product. Daniel Dajewski, Commercial Director in the company, noticed improved work time efficiency and productivity of employees. The new system positively affected corporate finance management. At present, the decision on the product portfolio is made, based on precise calculations, and using improved flexibility in financial resource management. The monitoring over commercial terms, control of costs and transport management also contributed to higher financial results. The trade department benefited most from the opportunity to monitor sales, liabilities and budgeting in real time, and from easier supervision of compliance with agreed terms of trade (reductions, terms of payment). All this contributed to higher customer satisfaction. The financial department feels comfortable with coherent warehousing, production and sales data. Fast closing of accountancy periods, together with automated reporting facilitate ongoing control of financial resources, liabilities and receivables as well as reporting in multiple standards.
