Electrothermal, a leading manufacturer of laboratory heating and cooling equipment and part of the Bibby Scientific Group, has invested in a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, Infor XA, supplied by Open Business Solutions, an Infor affiliate.
The system was selected because it is designed specifically for the discrete manufacturing sector. Electrothermal’s new system went live in July 2012, automating all its business functions, including purchasing, selling, stock management, materials management, costing, engineering, planning and financials.
“Our existing systems needed replacing and with the acquisition by Bibby Scientific, Infor XA was the natural choice. This is the standard business software used by all Bibby European sites. As well as the material requirements planning (MRP) functionality it provides, Infor XA also includes a fully integrated accounting solution that eliminates the need for time-consuming, labour-intensive reconciliation between our old systems,” says Ian Waldie, Materials Manager at Electrothermal.
It is anticipated that the system will provide a real-time of view of production from initial order to completion. By using the system, Electrothermal hopes to gain tighter control of materials and visibility of stocks to enable the company to order what it needs and when it is needs it. This will help to manage manufacturing costs better and improve customer service because Electrothermal should then benefit from a clearer view of order lead times.
