 |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
IT company manages international business with Sage
CS/3 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Client profile
Netherlands company Tulip Computers is an
international marketing and sales organisation that develops build-to-order
personal computers, notebooks, and servers and communication products for the
professional IT user. Founded more than two decades ago, it has customers in 40
countries. Its headquarters are based in Amersfoort, in the middle of the
country.
|
|
|
|
 |
| |
“Although Sage CS/3 is less complex than SAP, it has
produced more management information in three months than we were able to
produce after two years using SAP.”
Gerard Daniels
Financial Controller
Tulip Computers |
|
 |
|
Most of production has
been outsourced to Ingram Micro, and today Tulip Computers International
centrally provides a link between a number of National Sales Offices and Ingram
Micro for purchasing and sales processes.
The challenge
Innovation, shorter
product life cycles and the challenge of eCommerce are facts of life in the
hardware industry. Being able to respond rapidly to changes in the marketplace
demands quick, easy access to reliable information. Recognising this, Tulip management
comprehensively reviewed their IT systems and business processes.
The main application
in place at the time was SAP, with some of the National Sales Offices having
their own local systems. Once Tulip’s production facilities had been sold to
Ingram Micro, the scope and cost of ownership of SAP far exceeded requirements,
creating frustration among both users and management.
The search was on for
a more manageable solution, which would offer low cost of ownership and rapid
access to accurate management information. Tulip wanted to consolidate the
systems in place across Europe into one standard solution, while maintaining
the flexibility to allow for local variations.
Tulip wished to
integrate and automate the purchase and sales processes to use a shared
database of standard items, with central product life-cycle management for all
subsidiaries. Tulip also wanted the chosen system to offer integration with
barcoding for registering outgoing serial numbers.
Rapid implementation
and euro-readiness were also high on the agenda.
|
|
|
| Solution
summary |
|
| Sage software: |
|
Sage CS/3 – Finance/Distribution/ Manufacturing modules |
| Database: |
|
Oracle 7 Enterprise Server |
| Hardware: |
|
2 x Tulip QR (Dual PII/450 MHz XEON 1 GB internal
memory, 6 x 9 GB hard disks, Mylex RAID5 disk controller) with DLT4000 tape
unit for backup |
| No. of users: |
|
64 connected via WAN |
|
| |
|
|
The solution
From a field of 110
suppliers, Tulip, in conjunction with Berenschot, drew up a shortlist of three,
and took the final decision to implement Sage CS/3 from Sage Enterprise
Solutions. Among the deciding factors were product fit (with only one minor
area needing enhancement), price/performance, the timeframe for implementation,
cost of ownership, and local Sage Enterprise Solutions representation in the
countries where Tulip’s National Sales offices are based.
With the system, Tulip
purchased a full range of finance, distribution and manufacturing modules,
along with tools such as AutoQ, EDI Input and EDI Output Data/System Manager,
and report generating/writing software.
Implementation of the
Sage CS/3 system began with the Netherlands and Belgium in June 1999, based on
a blueprint for local implementation. These countries went live in October,
with the UK following shortly after. During early 2000, the system rolled out
to Germany, France and Italy. The local presence of Sage Enterprise Solutions
contributed to this smooth implementation, with the project coming in to time
and to budget.
The benefits
A key requirement for
the Tulip business is efficient management of the product life cycle of the
hardware. An up-to-date evaluation of which products and product combinations
contribute to the company’s margins, and which should be phased out, is
essential for firm control of the business.
Product portfolio
management and maintenance of the product life cycle for the whole product
portfolio are handled centrally. Products with low(er) margins, or unavailable
products, are assigned ‘obsolete’ status and cannot be sold by any subsidiary.
Now the Sage CS/3 system proposes alternatives to these obsolete products, so
that customers’ needs can be satisfied with released products of a similar
configuration and with a healthy margin.
Assessing the margin a
product makes is essential to determining its life-cycle status. Product costs
are determined centrally on a standard cost basis. This enables Tulip to review
the margin objectively, disseminate reliable information to the local offices,
eliminate locally differing interpretations, and carry out true standard
reporting. Maintaining the product set centrally also contributes to clear
reporting. All the subsidiaries use the same product number, making analysis of
the product portfolio for the entire group very easy and avoiding manual
corrections.
The central server
concept enables Tulip to improve the efficiency of its IT departments.
Management of the entire application can be performed in-house avoiding
unnecessary cost or dependence on Sage Enterprise Solutions. As Ardjan Kolster,
Project Advisor, comments, “After just three months, we have come to appreciate
Sage CS/3 for its user-friendliness, transparency, straightforward setup and
maintainability.”
Financial Controller
Gerard Daniels explains, “Although Sage CS/3 is less complex than SAP, it has
produced more management information in three months than we were able to
produce after two years using SAP.” The standard reports in Sage CS/3 fit the
needs of management and businesses in all countries, while the report writer
tool is used to easily access additional information.
A consolidated sales
report, collating sales and margin figures from the whole group, is produced
with Cognos software. The openness of Sage CS/3 enables reporting on an
overview basis using all kinds of classifications, based on the information
stored in the system. This openness also contributes to the link with external
data, such as barcoding for serial numbers.
The future
Tulip is an ambitious
and forward-looking organisation that has achieved notable success in the
highly competitive IT industry. The scalability and flexibility of Sage CS/3
helps support Tulip’s expanding user base and business processes. Not
surprisingly, Tulip intends that the system will play a major role in the
company’s evolving eCommerce strategy. Gerard Daniels comments, “Sage CS/3 is a
system that invites improvement and learning. The implementation has met our
expectations and we look forward to further enhancing the system.”
For more details on the solution provided for Tulip Computers, please
contact Sage Enterprise Solutions on 0845 600 5999 (UK only) or +44
(0) 118 927 0100.
| View this article in PDF format |
 |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
