"Our old ERP system was not meant for this kind of business and we had to complement it by using separate Excel spreadsheets and Access databases," says Arto Hellman, chief financial officer for Lautex Oy. "We wanted to find a new integrated system that could manage the entire order-to-delivery processes."
New system in place without customizations
When the company started to look for a new ERP system, they turned their gaze towards Epicor whose next-generation ERP solution proved to be the most flexible and advanced option for Lautex, who operates a subscription-based production.
"We wanted to find a system that already contains a so-called product configurator," says Hellman. "This allows a manufacturer to calculate the price and build their desired finished product from a ready-made database. Epicor has this feature and the system didn't need any customizations."
The implementation of Epicor proceeded without any major downtime. In the beginning of the project an introduction meeting was organized where the future users were able to test Epicor's functionality. The first employees introduced to Epicor were the "super users", who subsequently trained the other users.
"In addition to benefitting from the product configurator, we are now able to monitor the stock inventory in real time and our own staff can build the reports that the company needs," explains Hellman.
Advice for new ERP users
So, in Lautex's opinion, what does a company need to consider when they acquire a new ERP system? Hellman concludes: "It is of vital importance that the company management team fully supports the project. A strong and fully committed project team can then take the project from start to finish with glory!"