Assembly in Action: ERP Streamlines Shipbuilding Operations
Founded in 1999, Austal USA (Mobile, AL) manufactures a wide range of aluminum oceangoing vessels, including freighters, high-performance military craft, and high-speed passenger and vehicle ferries.
Recently the company found its business expanding to the point where it was having trouble keeping track of costs, inventory and billing. The result was a lot of waste and unnecessary expense. To solve the problem, Austal implemented an IFS Applications system from enterprise resource planning specialist IFS North America (Schaumburg, IL).
“Our recent significant growth has caused a need to reduce the amount of manual processes within our business, and create more visibility of our costs and inventory,” says Terry Schroeder, Austal USA director of supply chain management. “We chose IFS Applications to aid in the automation of tracking our costs and project schedules. We were impressed with what IFS Applications could do for our business, such as increase our visibility of costs, material lead time and inventory, as well as provide us a reliable process for tracking project schedules.”
In addition to allowing the company to meet the reporting requirements of any contracts it has with the U.S. Navy, IFS Applications enables the company to closely track work in progress; look up parts using keyword searches; and streamline its financial reporting system. IFS Applications is also specifically tailored to promote a lean approach to shipyard management and manufacturing.
For more on enterprise resource planning, call 888-437-4968 or visitwww.ifsworld.com.
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