In any business set-up, knowledge is power and timeliness everything! Knowing the right things at the right time and having the right things exactly when they are needed can move a business forward. On the other hand, a lapse of information can break the entire system, leading to chaos, frayed nerves and an unsavoury business reputation. So found Real Talent Engineering (RTE), an ancillary of Brakes India Ltd.
A tradition of breaking boundaries
As a leading manufacturer of automotive and non-automotive braking systems and ferrous castings, Brakes India Limited has earned itself the reputation of being a pioneer. The company, which was established in 1962, is now a joint-venture of the TVS Group, India and Lucas Industries Plc, UK (now integrated with TRW).
The company has consistently shown a penchant for setting benchmarks among other industry players. For its significant contributions to the industry, it was conferred with the TPM Special Award, while the company’s foundry division at Sholinghur was recognised with the Deming award for TQM. However, the going hasn’t always been this smooth; the company has had its share of hiccups. One such deterrent to progress was RTE’s difficulty in reconciling their business needs with the legacy system that they were using. They were growing rapidly in all directions, necessitating easy accessibility to information across multiple channels. However, the legacy software that they were using was far too limited in its scope and could only meet our financial management requirements.
The company found that stores, operations and other channels could not access crucial information. The lack of end-to-end integration was in turn wreaking havoc with customer delivery schedules.
To change or not to change
Though the company realized that an efficient ERP system would allay much of their difficulties, they hesitated in making a complete shift. There were a number of fears that they had to face like, Would the transition bring the company and business to a halt? Would the expenses incurred on IT and infrastructure be worth the effort? Which, among the many ERP solutions available in the market, should they opt for?
With so many players offering ERP solutions, the real challenge lay in finding the perfect fit for the organization. The company went through a serious round of evaluations, clearly defining their requirements and delivery expectations. Finally, based upon this document, three vendors—including RODE— were shortlisted. While the other two did have equally attractive features, RODE’s availability as a SaaS model won hands down.
A perfect solution for small and mid-sized enterprises, it helped RTE get all the benefits of a full-fledged ERP solution without the costs. Its ‘plug and play’ feature allowed the company to scale up or down depending upon their requirements. Moreover, the solution had been developed locally and demonstrated a great understanding of the local environment. Best of all, since the solution was available online, the company would not have to invest in additional IT staff or servers.
On the road to success – the RODE way!
Since implementing RODE, RTE has found their processes falling into place. Not only did it give them a better grip over unwieldy operational processes, it also allowed them to get better control over their resource planning and production activities. This in turn helped them to honor their customer delivery schedules, keep a tab on material consumption, track returnable and non-returnable items, and generate centralized and local reports.
Security concerns were addressed by the technical team from the parent company, who visited Ramco and carried out the due diligence. After viewing security measures at the Ramco site, they were convinced about RODE’s efficacy in ensuring security.
With RODE, all that RTE needed was an Internet connection with good bandwidth. The transition from the legacy system to RODE was seamless and quick and the company was able to go live in less than 12 weeks! Overall, RODE model is an ideal option for a company that has clear goals and expectations and does not require extensive customization.
To know more on Ramco’s ERP on the Cloud
The complete case study is also available on SlideShare.
