The EPR technology changes made by Hansen to both production and non-production function functions of their business and how they are related to each other
This essay covers the founding of the Hansen Company, its development of the E.R.P technologies and it’s the consequent effects in production and non-production functions of their thriving business and the relation of both phenomena.
While constructing their own house in the mid-1950s, Bert and Dawn Hansen out of necessity attempted to create a reliable toilet valve. It worked with such efficiency that they decided to make some more in their home garage and distribute them throughout the country via rail. Thus, the Hansen Company was founded. Since then, the company has grown into a huge conglomerate. It services agricultural, horticultural, marine engineering, commercial and domestic markets (Hurtarte, Wolsheimer & Tafoya, (2007). It is the leading producer of polythene pipes, threaded pipes, check valves and over a thousand more different ready products under the brand. Due to its keen interest in export, the Hansen Company has established branches in countries like Australia, Asia Canada and the United Kingdom.
One of such noticeable expansions and new ventures occurred in the mid 1980’s when the founders’ son, Carl Hansen, finished engineering school. His trades as an engineer gave him great ideas such as using the right technologies in the manufacturing of materials and his enthusiasm with the new products served to strengthen the company even more (Edwards & Humphries, 2005).
The company was rapidly growing. The nine year Enterprise Resource Planning system was becoming increasingly tedious and outdated and there was need to develop one that would fit the growing accounts of the company. In the old system information was keyed in by hand and stored in numerous spreadsheets instead of the preferred central system. The raw materials that were processed outside the main company were recorded outside, therefore making planning difficult. Also, this lack of integration caused double entry of similar information hence causing disruption of inventory control ad slow forecasting. This system was unable to cater for export documentation and multicurrency requirements.
Hansen quickly realized that there was need for a new system. Before a definite decision could be made, seven systems were evaluated and three were shortlisted for in-depth study. The financial officer of the Hansen Company, Katherine Hanham, states that “the complexity of our manufacturing requirement is similar to that of larger organizations.” She goes on to say that as the company starts to expand into the Canadian market, a strong business process has to be in place to be able to plan adequately, particularly with the long distribution time to Canada ((Edwards & Humphries, 2005).
The most suited system, basing the argument on the strength of the product within manufacturing, was Microsoft Business Solutions’ Axapta. “we liked the fact that it was an international product that was still at the beginning of its life cycle and we also had a lot of confidence in Adaptable Solutions as their managing director Duncan Cox had extensive experience implementing IT systems within the manufacturing industry”, says Hanham.
The implementation of the system took a total of six months. It was implemented by Hansen himself and a chosen team which composed of the managing director, Hanham, Vaughan Woodgate from network management and Cox. The first phase involved rolling out of the financials and inventory modules. The second took a while longer to guarantee that the key employees were trained.
The implementation of the system
The implementation was such a success due to the hands-on approach and commitment of Hansen to the project. Cox states that the team at Hansen defined their key business requirements from the onset and they had a clear vision for what they wanted to achieve. Axapta was a good fit, especially when it came to production and scheduling.
Axapta came with easily accessible and flexible tools that enable the system to be customized for the benefit of the product. This has enabled fine tuning to better suit the company’s needs.
The system has improved customer service since its inception. The manufacturing processes are better, production planning and scheduling is tighter and accurate business forecasting essential to the company’s production plan is provided. Information provided to customers is meaningful. Better services are offered (McNamara, 2013).
Results were realized as soon the system began functioning. Some of the operational efficiencies brought forth by this system include accurate financials, manufacturing inventory and forecasting. Not having to duplicate information has served in saving a lot of time and employees who used to spend copious amounts of time keying in information put their energies to use in more essential parts of the company (McNamara, 2013). Due to the fact that information is processed in no time the changes are reflected in the system. Clear business decisions can be made.
Since the inventory is very well managed, scheduling has improved dramatically. It highlights the products that need to be made, the materials that need to be bought for the production of various items and any shortcomings in finished products.
The finances have also enhanced as the currency changes happen automatically. Distributors are sent statements via email and invoices can be generated at will.
Investment of the system in growth
Hansen Company will continue to use the system to store all the information across the company. Hansen is one of the pioneer adopters of the Axapta system. It is very functional in manufacturing industries. The system has built a reputation for itself due to its efficiency in the most difficult aspects of the industry which are scheduling, forecasting and planning for production.
References
Edwards, H. M., & Humphries, L. P. (2005). Change management of people & technology in an ERP implementation. Hershey, PA: Idea Group Pub.
Hurtarte, J. S., Wolsheimer, E. A., & Tafoya, L. M. (2007). Understanding fabless IC technology. Amsterdam: Elsevier/Newnes.
Jrliem (2011, March 8). ERP System - Enterprise Resource Planning Software Solutions. Retrieved November 7, 2013, from http://whatiserp.net/erp-basic-knowledge/erp-system/
McNamara (2013). Operations Management. Retrieved November 11, 2013, from http://managementhelp.org/operationsmanagement/index.htm
Wailgum (2013). ERP Definition and Solutions. CIO, 1-11.
