INDUSTRY WATCH
Aiman says: “Because our core
business is offering bespoke solutions,
it was only natural that we would
expect the same from our ERP system.
“We needed a system that could
be customised to meet the needs
of both the manufacturing and
contracting pieces of our business
without incurring significant costs or
long implementation delays. We also
wanted a solution that could be scaled
easily to meet the demands of our
growing business.”
It was for precisely these reasons,
the ease of customisation and rich
industry-specific feature set, that
Havelock AHI decided to work with
Epicor as their ERP partner.
“The decision to select Epicor ERP
began to pay dividends during the
implementation stage itself,”
said Aiman.
“The Epicor ERP solution architecture
is extremely user friendly and requires
very little technical knowledge. So
unlike most other IT implementations
that require the involvement of the
vendor and partners, we managed the
entire implementation in-house.
“The only module that we did
consult with the Epicor team on was
accounting since this is one of the
critical modules that ties everything
else together.”
Epicor were equally impressed with the
technical know-how of the Havelock
team and in 2014 recognised
Havelock with their prestigious
‘Achieving Last Mile and Leveraging
Epicor Framework’ end-user award.
Facilitating business growth
With between 75 to 80 users
accessing the system across the six
Havelock locations in the GCC at any
time, one of the biggest benefits
has been the improved visibility and
transparency across all departments.
Citing a recent example of an order
of cashier counters for Mothercare,
72
INTELLIGENTCIO
Aiman Mahmoud, senior IT manager with Havelock AHI
Aiman explains: “The sales cycle of
every single customer from tender to
fulfilment is unique.
“Flawless execution hinges on tight
integration and co-ordination between
our associates in sales, engineering,
purchasing, manufacturing, shipping
and accounting.
“Deploying Epicor ERP has allowed us
to rely on systems rather than manual
processes, improve communication
between departments, streamline
operations and ultimately ensure that
we deliver the highest quality product
and service to our customers.”
With the Epicor ERP system now serving
as the backbone of their business,
Aiman and his team are beginning
to benefit from its rich functionality,
specifically its reporting features, to
improve business operations and aid
management decision making.
“We are currently working on
building customised reports for each
department,” he says.
“For example, our associates in
purchasing now have granular
visibility of purchase orders which
ultimately contributes to improved
OTD, arguably one of the most
important manufacturing metrics.
“In addition to departmental reports,
we are also working on developing
data rich reports and dashboards
for our senior management team
that will give them a clear snapshot
of the health of the business and
allow them to make more informed
business decisions.”
Aiman concludes, “At Havelock
AHI, our core values are offering
our customers outstanding quality,
service and value, attention to detail
and continuous improvement.
“We are also committed to providing
our associates with an exciting
and rewarding work environment.
Choosing to partner with Epicor has
provided us the platform we need to
stay true to our values, and at the
same time grow our business.” ¡
www.intelligentcio.com