International Operation Supported by IFS ERP and InfoConsulting

Unlike many start-ups, Inno-Comp Kft. has used an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system since its foundation. Initially, as a subsidiary of TVK, they implemented the BPCS system used by the parent company, which they used for three years, but then the renewal of the licenses became due and the idea of acquiring a different ERP system arose. In the end, they decided to change and implemented Megatrend’s InfoSys system, which they used until 2009. At that time, the need for an international, multi-currency, multilingual system, which could also support the subsidiary in the Czech Republic, began to come to the fore.

Tamás Kenyeres, CFO of Inno-Comp Kft., prepared a medium-term strategic plan for the company’s IT infrastructure to be implemented in the future, the focus of which was the new ERP system. Around this, he organized the company’s assets, external relationships, such as computer-controlled production equipment, banking relationships, invoice registration, receivables management system, outsourced payroll, and business intelligence solution for controlling. He was therefore looking for an ERP system that was open enough to be able to cooperate smoothly with the elements of the imagined future IT infrastructure and able to meet the needs of Inno-Comp, which had grown from a small company to a medium-sized company, capable of managing multiple currencies and languages in parallel, and with an international background that can also effectively support the Czech subsidiary. Another important aspect was the easy handling and user-friendliness of the system, as well as the ability to easily implement the unique requirements of the company.

Finally, the IFS ERP and the JD Edwards systems seemed suitable for the company, of which the selection team set up by Tamás Kenyeres chose the IFS system.

Based on the favourable experiences gained with the system and the local implementation team, after four years of use, Inno-Comp was the first in Hungary to upgrade to the then current latest version of IFS ERP, which they used with satisfaction for a decade. Prior to the system update, HR and maintenance support were added to the requirements in addition to the existing functions.

Passing the year 2020, the upgrade became more and more relevant again, partly due to the obsolescence of the technologies that form the basis of the system, but the possibility of exploiting the new functions appearing over time in the constantly developing product also attracted the interest of Inno-Comp more and more.

As an experienced ERP user, Inno-Comp Kft. embarked on the implementation of the IFS system. There were colleagues for whom the implementation of IFS was also already the third implementation at the company. Therefore, thinking in a system and cooperating did not cause any problems for the company’s employees. Of course, like all changes, the implementation of the new system encountered some resistance, especially because the employees were already used to the operation and language of the previous system and knew it well. “My vision was that if we get through the first year with the new system, then colleagues will love it because it provides them with a lot of information. And that’s how it turned out,” recalls Tamás Kenyeres.

One of the company’s main focus markets is the automotive industry. In this area, continuous development and cost reduction is a fundamental requirement. For this reason, the maximum use of the possibilities of the ERP system in the area of automation is particularly emphasized. Product innovation is primarily realized in the development of new materials. During the development period, the user selects the appropriate raw material based on many tests and qualifications. For Inno-Comp, IFS ERP enables the safe construction of the requirements system and its compliance during production. Another important requirement in the automotive industry is traceability, which is also provided by the IFS system if data is entered accurately.

The management of production, the picking of production materials, the preparation of mixtures and the identification of finished products are supported by a barcode system.

Customizations to meet individual needs could be easily implemented in the system, and data can be simply exported to other satellite systems, such as banking software, Advanced Budgeting, applications conducting PLC data traffic, or WEB EDI.

During the recent system update, there was generally no need to reengineer the business processes, but at the same time, the implemented product version allowed Inno-Comp to replace the functions of some of the satellite systems with ERP features.

Regarding the implementation, Tamás Kenyeres considered it important to emphasize the professionalism of InfoConsulting’s consultants: “InfoConsulting’s consultants were able to provide solution with IFS ERP to every need that arose, and even helped with how it would be advisable to organize certain processes differently.” The financial director also highlighted the commitment of the project team, which consists of specialists from the customer, Inno-Comp, and the supplier, InfoConsulting: “An ERP implementation is always a complex task, errors inevitably occur, however, if there were any deviations from the plans, the project team immediately focused on finding a solution, and corrected in a short time instead of trying to sweep the problem under the carpet”.

During the most recent version update, the implementation took place at the Czech subsidiary (Inno-Comp Bohemia) in parallel with the Hungarian company. Thanks to InfoConsulting’s global presence, the simultaneous implementation in the two countries went smoothly.

The key benefit of an ERP system is that a data record has the same meaning everywhere.

With the continuous development of the solution, the company’s administration has become more efficient. With a reduced number of administrative staff, they can perform more complex analyses, and in addition, the flexible ERP system creates the opportunity to automate many processes.

Tamás Kenyeres considers the main benefit of the IFS ERP implementation to be that it provided a suitable basis for the execution of the medium-term strategy developed back in 2009 for the IT development of Inno-Comp. However, according to the CFO, IFS ERP also serves as a kind of innovation platform for the company: “It’s great that it boosts one’s thinking, you can always come up with new things with its help.” Turning to specifics, Tamás Kenyeres highlighted the speeding up of data capturing and information flow. Reporting has become faster, and reports now contain considerably more accurate information than before. The company can perform cost calculations much more precisely than before, which, the CFO states, is essential for salespeople to make appropriate business decisions. Breakeven calculation has also been simplified, and is now available from the system at the click of a button.

The new product version provides Inno-Comp with several options that allow IFS ERP to continue to play the role of an innovation platform in the company’s operations. Among these, the IFS Lobby, a role-based dashboard that can be customized for each user, clearly indicates to employees which activities they need to deal with in order to ensure efficient and smooth company operations. With the help of manufacturing visualizer functionality, bottlenecks in production can be easily identified and resolved. And with customization options that do not even require extensive programming, Inno-Comp is able to continuously adapt the solution to their changing needs.

As a result of continuous development, Inno-Comp uses more and more functions of IFS ERP and uses them more and more extensively. After the implementation of the new product version, the company focuses primarily on making the most of the new version’s features in addition to the previously well-known functions. Within this framework, the primary task is to customize the Lobby interface for all employees, thus making their work more efficient, but optimizing the system’s other screens with tools that do not require programming is also an area to be exploited. Inno-Comp’s plans also include the exploration of the manufacturing visualizer as well as the particularly deep project support functionality of IFS ERP.