Y SOFT Corporation is an international company offering unique printing solutions that enable companies and organizations to effectively control costs, reduce waste, increase user experience and have a positive impact on the environment. With international expansion the goal, the company were looking for a world-class system that also had a perspective for the future. Martin De Martini, CIO of Y Soft, adds: “In the end, we decided on IFS Applications not only thanks to the system, but also the approach of the supplier company. Their consultants really arranged everything we needed and fully adapted to our specific requirements.”
The need for a comprehensive solution
Y Soft was originally established as a student spin-off. Over time, it has become the number one in the field of printing technologies and is the manufacturer and supplier of the YSoft SafeQ printing solution. Y Soft technologies help companies and large organizations optimize printing, copying and scanning not only at HQ level but also throughout their branch network. The goal of Y Soft is customer satisfaction in all aspects and the constant search for ways to provide the customer with the highest quality at a given price. Whether it means optimal financing, technological advantages, simplicity or excellent customer service.
In connection with the company’s dynamic growth, there was a need to find an enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution that could support key business processes and allow a single system to replace a number of legacy applications and also provide localized business support in regions where Y Soft operates. After a comprehensive evaluation of the enterprise software market, the ERP system IFS Applications was selected.
Marcel Fejtek, COO at Y Soft, added: “IFS appealed to us as it is able to cover a wide range of business processes and operations in one application. We were looking for one solution that would replace as many of our legacy systems as possible, not only for the company’s management in Brno, but also for all our branches. The ability to improve the system on our own was also important to us, which has historically proved to be the most effective way to further develop these systems. Because we consider ourselves an innovative company offering the best solutions, we logically expect the same from internal systems.”
Implementation
The implementation was started in 2015 with go-live in the Czech Republic planned for September 2016 and deployment to the international branches of Y Soft was to take place by October 2017. Although the implementation was accompanied by a large number of custom modifications and it was also in the Czech Republic, the first implementation of the new IFS Applications 9 system went ahead with no problems.
Martin de Martini, CIO of Y Soft, added: “During the implementation, we solved a lot of past problems and our employees benefitted from this greatly. However, even though we had these internal problems, the ERP system supplier approached this in an exemplary manner. The consultants spent literally days and nights with us and solved everything that was needed with our staff. I dare say that without them, we might have cancelled the whole process and go back to the old system. Perhaps I will speak for everyone when I say that today we are all happy that we have a system that continues to support the growth and management of the company. Looking back on some processes, I now wonder how we could have done them years ago. In short – the birth was painful, but it definitely paid off. Without such a system, we would no longer be able to manage the company. “
Key implementation challenges
- Optimization and horizontal integration of internal processes of the organization.
- Introduction of a “multi-site” concept
- Introduction of modern elements for work organization and communication.
- Centralization of process standards across branches in global destinations.
Further development
The work of the ERP system does not end with the implementation project, and in line with the development of Y Soft, a number of development requirements have been implemented.
“I appreciate that InfoConsulting was able to offer us bespoke consulting and speed of delivery that helps us keep up with our pace of innovation,” says Tomáš Krejza, Senior ERP Consultant at Y Soft.
Benefits of implementation
- Centralized functions of the IFS Applications system are used at various levels according to the processes in the companies of the Y Soft Corporation group. Agendas are used globally and it was possible to fully replace the original ERP system.
- The global solution is based on a single database. Enterprise Explorer (IEE) is available to all users from a single link.
- Integration of IFS Applications into internal systems has increased productivity and ensures consistent and efficient management of data from a variety of sources.
- All companies of the Y Soft Corporation group are created in a common database. A supply chain matrix is created between the locations of these companies. This matrix defines delivery and transport conditions, including times for different modes of transport. The system uses the constraints set in the matrix for unified inventory management. Requirements for inventory in locations are automatically or manually provided through distribution orders. Distribution orders control the processing
of Purchase orders (on the customer’s side) and Customer orders (on the supplier’s side).
Implemented solution
- IFS Financials
- IFS Human Resources
- IFS Engineering
- IFS Projects
- IFS Manufacturing
- IFS Supply Chain
- IFS Sales & Service
- IFS Maintenance
- IFS Business Enablers
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