Canning-machinery maker Belvac Production Machinery Inc. upgraded its ERP system to better manage spikes in demand for its products.
Historically, Belvac’s market has been highly cyclical, with an often overwhelming surge of orders coming in during major upswings. To manage these spikes in demand, as well as better coordinate the activities of its facilities in the United States and abroad, the company recently implemented an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system from IFS North America (Schaumburg, IL).
Belvac chose the IFS Applications product because of its flexibility, and the fact that it allowed the company to gradually replace its legacy system without disrupting normal business and manufacturing activities.
“Our initial implementation phase was meant to replace the functionality of [our existing system],” says Belvac director of information systems Chuck Brooks, explaining how the company took advantage of IFS’ modular design. “After an initial go-live, we implemented non-core modules, including customer-relationship management, a sales configurator, and vendor and customer portals-the more advanced features of IFS. We [brought] these features online gradually during the remainder of 2007.”
According to Brooks, “Our implementation of IFS Applications will help us manage the cyclical nature of our business and add value to the customer. Greater visibility of transactions within our company means that we can manage for reduced cycle times, and faster turnaround of customer equipment and spare parts orders. Soon, our customers will be able to access their account directly through IFS Portals and get up-to-the-minute information on their order status.”
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