This article is reproduced from The Australian dated April 21, 2015
Enterprise resource planning is usually synonymous with “expensive” and “protracted”, so completing such a project in eight months is almost unheard of in the business world
But leading newsprint producer Norske Skog Australasia has bucked the trend by implementing a complex ERP system in that timeframe.
It has implemented cloud computing-based asset management software from Ramco Systems for a variety of areas, including project management, procurement, asset and maintenance management, inventory, subcontracting, and general ledger.
The move is part of the company’s aim to adopt a single cloud computing platform as legacy enterprise systems Maximo and PeopleSoft are put out to pasture.
SAP and Microsoft were also in the running to replace the ageing systems.
The next phase will cover human resources and payroll. The “single-digit” million-dollar projects span five years covering 800 users across three locations: NSW, Tasmania, and Kawerau, New Zealand.
More than 400GB worth of data, upwards of 3000 tables and 100,000 assets were migrated from the old platform to Ramco’s systems.
Norske Skog Australasia vice-president Eric Luck said the Ramco solution provided real-time visibility for spare parts and materials, and improved processes for workflow and contractor service ordering.
Mr Luck said the single platform would reduce costs and eliminate the complexities of managing multiple systems.
Norske Skog counts Fairfax Media and News Corp Australia, publisher of The Australian, as clients.
“We are targeting companies who normally spend $5 million-plus on ERP,” Ramco CEO Virender Aggarwal said.
“We’re giving these customers an alternative: to not be a prisoner to legacy ERP, where they pay huge sums for upgrade cycles.”
Ramco is also working on a dashboard for key performance indicators and other information that can be displayed on mobile devices for Norske Skog .
“This information will be about slicing and dicing data warehousing information for management,” Mr Aggarwal said. “I’m not sure if there are other examples of projects this size that have gone live in such a short time.”