Masibus streamlines processes with MBS

Masibus Process Instruments has reduced its inventory and has sped up transaction processing by implementing Microsoft Business Solution (MBS), says Akhtar Pasha

Microsoft Business Solution (Navision) offers the best value for money for an SME like Masibus, says K Subramaniam

Masibus Process Instruments has a turnover of Rs 10 crore. Established in 1975 and located in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, the company focuses on instrumentation and software related to process control. Over the years, Masibus has gained expertise in manufacturing process control, system integration for SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition), industrial automation and design and development of customised products or software. The company has 10 branch offices in India and 112 employees.

Masibus’ products are used by some large private sector organisations such as Hindalco, Reliance Industries, Nirma, Larsen and Toubro, BHEL, NTPC, SAIL and the Gujarat Electricity Board. Masibus is also an OEM to Tata Honeywell, Prima Automation and consultant to Birla Technical Services and Punjab Lloyds.

Too many legacy systems

Prior to the implementation of Microsoft Business Solution (formerly known as Navision Business Solution), Masibus was using three different legacy systems—inventory management software was used for stock keeping, sales management software for marketing and Tally for maintaining accounts. Market dynamics called for a faster delivery cycle with improved customer service and real-time information. There was no integration in functional areas at the company’s Gandhinagar office. This led to duplication of data and downtime, which, in turn, caused delays in delivery.

Masibus deals with 30 different products and the absence of an online information system for tracking finished goods led to improper forecasting of production, inefficient trading with vendors and market data not being available to the marketing team for stock analysis. Stock count from the branches never matched. K Subramaniam, managing director, Masibus says, "[The deployment of] A complete management information systems (MIS) was delayed and inaccurate information was flowing back and forth across departments." The company was making incorrect business forecasts due to inefficient Product Planning and Control (PPC). As a result inventory costs were high. Masibus was unable to forecast demand for its products. Lacking operational synergy, the company was running in fire fighting mode. Passing the buck had become a routine task, leading to poor team spirit. All of this was affecting production.

Liquidity was another area where Masibus failed in tracking outstanding payments from its customers and suppliers. Masibus’ collection period is 70-75 days, which aggravated the problem. Earlier the company used to export data to an Excel sheet and send the printed statement across to concerned departments. Reminders were send once or twice a month regarding outstanding payments.

Wanted, an ERP solution

Therefore, it became imperative for Masibus to implement an enterprise business solution. The company wanted a solution that would do away with duplication of data entry, help speed up the process of recovering pending receivables with automatic reminders and integrate systems and processes more efficiently. Masibus wanted to build strong customer relationships through the information and systems in place and take timely decisions.

The search for an SME ERP solution

Masibus started by attempting to write an ERP system based upon the legacy DOS-based application in use. After losing six months, it started scouting for branded ERP software. The company evaluated Delhi-based Eastern Software Systems’ Makess ERP package before zeroing in on Microsoft Business Solution. The latter was picked because it was an internationally recognised brand. Subramaniam says, "We picked up Navision because of its excellent product support, shorter implementation cycle and [the fact that] its products can be customised to suit local requirements. Additionally we found that Navision met most of our present and projected needs."

In February 2002, Masibus took a decision to become a ‘Navision Solution Centre’ (NSC) and decided to implement Microsoft Business Solution, which consists of modules such as general ledger, fixed assets, sales and receivables, service management, customer relationship management (CRM), inventory and manufacturing.

Customising and deploying

Masibus wanted a few additional modules. It customised the solution to include features such as classification of inventory, debt stock analysis, fast, slow and non-moving product analysis.

By September 2002, Masibus was ready for Phase I. The company formed a seven-member implementation team and trained them in using the solution. In December the team was ready for the rollout of Microsoft Business Solution at its Gandhinagar office. It took 18 weeks to complete the implementation using an IBM eServer x205 running Windows 2000 and Microsoft SQL Server 2000. Company sources state that the first phase was executed at the cost of Rs 25 lakh. However, being a Navision Solution Centre, Masibus got the package at a discounted price.

Future plans

In phase II, Masibus is planning to rollout Microsoft Business Solution in all its 10 offices located at Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Baroda, Ahmedabad, Pune, Nagpur, Kota and Hyderabad. The plan is to go live by October 2003 and this will cost an additional Rs 5 lakh. In phase III, which is slated for 2004-05, the company plans to set up a B2B portal wherein dealers and vendors can directly trade with Masibus.

Subramaniam adds, "Being a Navision Solution Centre we have two customers in the SME segment who want us to implement Microsoft Business Solution. We hope to finalise the deal in the next two to three months."

Benefits

Subramaniam concludes, "Microsoft Business Solution (Navision) offers the best value for money for an SME like us. It was very convenient to lay down our business needs and map them with Navision’s
solution."

The ERP system generates automatic reminders (e-mail alerts) for outstanding payments that are sent to parties with pending payments. Masibus is in a better position to forecast production demand by means of regular updates on stock in hand that let the company take effective purchase decisions. ERP has helped Masibus get more efficient at marketing to targeted customers through the CRM module. As it is an integrated system that is run company-wide, there’s no question of duplication of data.