Westomatic is a leading vending machine manufacturer, based in the UK. The hot and cold food and drink solution specialist supplies various factories, offices, hospitals and airports across the UK with innovative vending machines.
In May 2014, the Newton Abbot-based company deployed a customized SAP Business One solution for manufacturing, including several modules from the B1 Apps range, with support from SAP partner IIS Group.
Business Challenges: Poor Visibility into Inventory, Unreliable Reporting
After experiencing issues around reporting and inventory management, Westomatic realized it needed to reduce the number of solutions it was using to complete processes.
Ashley Rote, Financial Controller, Westomatic, explains some of the problems the organization was experiencing using a popular accounting and payroll software package, and supporting solutions. “There were a number of reports that the former system was unable to complete,” he said. “These had to be done manually and two systems were used to complete tasks. In terms of costings, the former solution didn’t have the visibility we now access and the stock control is a big improvement.”
Alongside the range of tools within SAP Business One, the IIS Group assisted Westomatic in further extending these functions with modules from the B1 Apps range – including tools for production, production, configure to order, trial kitting and email.
Real-Time Inventory Control for Greater Efficiency, Lean Management
“As a result of the tools now at our disposal, the visibility into real-time stock levels is really important and the option to check available items to build is really beneficial,” says Rote. “We use the trial kitting add-on to estimate what components are required and that provides the company with flexibility on what needs to be orders and what can be committed to.”
The accurate insight into the company’s inventory has been of major benefit to the organization, which has a commitment to sourcing more than 90 percent of the components and materials used when manufacturing vending solutions.
In addition, the systematic nature of SAP Business One has allowed Westomatic to streamline processes and improve productivity through a series of automated tools within SAP Business One. These have led to the reduction in static stock being stockpiled. “The MRP function in SAP Business One plays a major part in our operations and we try and automate as much as possible for things such as purchase orders. This has been a massive improvement on what we had before in terms of stock control,” says Rote.
He adds: “In terms of our supply chain, whereas previously we would’ve ordered in bulk for the six months ahead, we are now lean and are able to order what is required for builds for the next two months. SAP Business One has given us greater visibility overall in terms of stock and orders coming through.”
IIS Group Innovation Summit 2015
Join IIS Group at its third annual Innovation Summit on Wednesday, September 9 at Croke Park in Dublin, Ireland. Talk to the IIS team of experts to find out how to super-charge your SAP Business One solution. See also how to easily manage business expenses with Concur, run faster with SAP HANA, and become more flexible with a cloud solution. Get your questions answered on site in interactive demos, witness the live product launch of Surfer Mobile, and hear the latest news from IIS Group CEO Morgan Browne.
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