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Orient Ceramics and Industries Limited, a U.S.$5.5 million (INR 125 crore)
ceramic tile manufacturing company, was looking for new ways to maintain its
lead in the marketplace. Fresh competition in the field and an easing of certain
taxes by the government were challenging its position in the market.
The company deployed Microsoft® Dynamics NAV® in just under six
months to improve inventory and warehousing. The solution also helped reduce the
order processing time from three days down to the same day. Activities such as
financial data consolidation, which took up to four months, are now available
within days.
What's more, the management feels confident that its decisions are based on
trends and analysis and not just business acumen.
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| Situation |
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Orient Ceramics and Industries Limited is a leading ceramic tiles manufacturer in India with a 100,000 ton per year manufacturing facility at
Sikandrabad, Uttar Pradesh in the outskirts of New Delhi. The company has state-of-the-art technology and uses third, double, and single fast-firing methods for manufacturing tiles. Its products include glazed white, colored,
printed, and decorative wall and floor tiles of sizes ranging from 108 millimeters (mm) x 108 mm to 400 mm x 400 mm.
The company has been accredited with an ISO 14001, 9001 certificate. It has also received the OHSAS 18001 for environmental and pollution controls (an international occupational health and safety management system certificate) for its manufacturing facility at Sikandrabad from ABS Quality Evaluations, Inc.
Orient’s sales revenue in 2004–2005 was U.S.$ 5.5 million (INR 125 crore). Apart from manufacturing tiles, the company also trades several other products used by the construction industry such as bathroom fittings, cisterns, vitrified tiles, and sanitary ware.
Real estate and construction is booming in India. With the rationalization on the excise duty by the government of India, the tile manufacturers are seeing a big spurt. Orient has grown its business 350 percent in the last decade.
As it moves into the next growth phase, the company felt the need to quickly resolve some problem areas that might hinder its growth. Its main problem was order processing and stock status. It could take the company up to three days to track the stock at its seven depots and factory before shipping the material to the customer.
However, competition has increased. With the price differential between vitrified tiles, granite tile, and ceramic glazed tiles narrowing steadily, the company felt the pressure to deliver the order quickly to maintain its lead in the marketplace. Also, the customers were not willing to wait. If material is not available at one vendor location, large real estate projects move on to the next vendor that can quickly deliver large quantities of tiles. Orient needed a solution that would keep track of the stock and process orders quickly.
Another issue facing the company was the lack of a central data repository. Each depot, factory, and the head office maintained its own database masters, which were not updated regularly. This led to data discrepancies. To avoid multiple
sources of the same data, the company needed a single solution that would encompass all its depots and head office.
The finance department was using Tally, a local financial application. This was not connected with the legacy line of business application. Therefore, the consolidation of financial information and even simple tasks, such as invoicing and following up on payments due, was a time-consuming process.
The lack of an IT solution to manage the production process, which was a completely manual process, was also an issue. The management felt that by deploying a single solution that managed all aspects of the business, it could resolve many of the issues facing the company.
While the organization already had the basics in place (PCs connected on a LAN at each location) it needed a business solution to streamline its business processes. |
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We have a real-time overview of the company at anytime. This helps us save time, money, and effort organizing [and] managing financial information.
L. Sunder Rajan
General Manager-Finance, Orient Ceramics and Industries Limited
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| Solution |
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The management initially considered J. D. Edwards and evaluated the solution.
However, the management realized that the cost of acquisition, cost of
implementation, and the duration of implementation would affect the company's
profitability.
Orient then approached Trident Information Systems Pvt. Ltd. to learn what
technologies from the Microsoft stable would be suitable for the organization
Trident recommended that the company use MicrosoftDyanmics NAV
because it is easy to customize and quick to implement.
Orient decided to implement Microsoft NAV end-to-end. In the first phase,
which began in February 2005, the company implemented finance, sales and
receivable, purchase and payables, inventory management, and fixed assets. The
solution went live by July 2005, in just under six months.
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| Benefits |
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Improved Inventory Management
Better inventory management and distribution was one key business need of
Orient. The company wanted to know what had been produced and at which warehouse
the available stock was located. The company has been able to streamline its
inventory management processes.
Order Processing Time Reduced from Three Days to One
The Orient management was facing one serious problem. It took the company three
days minimum to complete a single order as it did not have access to information
such as what stock was available at any depot or dealer.
With the help of Microsoft NAV, Orient is able to collect and use accurate
inventory data in real time, thereby improving the warehouse efficiency. It has
visibility of accurate inventory data throughout the organization and can
service its customers better. "We have been able to cut down the order
processing time from three days to the same day. This is a big achievement for
us."explains Anurag Sharma, Senior Manager-IT, Orient Ceramics and Industries
Limited.
Faster Consolidation of Financial Data
The company would spend up to four months after the close of the financial year
to create its balance sheet and trial and balance accounts. This was primarily
because data from each one of the seven warehouses, factory, and the head office
had to be reconciled. Because no single application connected the data across
the organization, the finance department took data from various systems and
collated it manually.
With the new solution, Orient Ceramics can access compiled financial information
at any time and can create the financial reports within days of the closure of
the financial year.
"We have a real-time overview of the company at anytime. This helps us save
time, money, and effort organizing [and] managing financial information."
comments L. Sunder Rajan, General Manager-Finance, Orient Ceramics and
Industries Limited.
More Informed Decision Making
The company wanted to make informed decisions. In the past, the decisions were
based more on the management's business acumen.
"Microsoft NAV helps us spot trends and gain insight into business
activities. It helps us make decisions that will help us succeed in the next
decade." comments Pankaj Goyal, Finance Controller, Orient Ceramics and
Industries Limited.
About Trident Information Systems Pvt. Ltd.
Trident Information Systems Pvt. Ltd. was started in 1997 by young and
enthusiastic professionals with a common vision.
Trident Information Systems is a wholly owned subsidiary of the well-established
Bharat Industrial Works Group founded in 1948, today a leading name in the field
of construction, and has specialized in fabrication and erection of steel
structures, mechanical equipment, piping, and more.
Bharat Industrial Works Group caters to the needs of the infrastructure sectors
such as power plants, steel plants, fertilizer plants, and aluminum plants.
Microsoft Dynamics
Microsoft Dynamics offer integrated business applications and services
that allow small and midsize organizations and divisions of large enterprises to
connect employees, customers, and suppliers for improved efficiency. The
financial management, customer relationship management, supply chain management,
and analytics applications work with other Microsoft software, including the
Microsoft Office System and the Microsoft Windows® operating system, to
streamline processes across an entire organization. This gives businesses
insight to respond rapidly, plan strategically, and execute quickly. Microsoft
Dynamics are delivered through a worldwide network of channel partners
that provide specialized services and local support tailored to a company's
needs. For more information about Microsoft Dynamics, go to:
www.microsoft.com/india/dynamics
Contact Microsoft
Dynamics India
Call : +91 99999 09 654
SMS "DYNAMICS" to 8243
or e-mail at
connect@microsoft.com |
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| Solution Overview |
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| Company |
| Orient Ceramics and Industries Limited
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| Industry |
| Construction & Infrastructure |
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| Industry Size |
| Large |
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| Customer Profile |
| Orient Ceramics and Industries Limited, is a manufacturer of ceramic tiles with sales revenues of U.S.$ 5.5 million (INR 125 crore). |
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| Business Situation |
| The company was using disparate legacy solutions at its warehouses, corporate office, and factory. Because data was not available in a single location, the management was unable to make informed decisions in a timely manner. |
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| Solution |
| Based on the recommendation of Trident Information Systems Pvt. Ltd., the company decided to deploy Microsoft Dynamics NAV. |
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| Benefits |
>> Improved inventory management
>> Reduced order processing
>> Faster consolidation on financial information
>> More informed decision making
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| Software and Services |
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| Hardware |
| Intel Xeon, 300 megahertz (MHz), 2.0 gigabytes (GB) RAM, 80 GB hard disk drive, RAID-1 |
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| Partner |
| Trident Information Systems Pvt. Ltd. |
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| "We have been able to cut down the order processing time from three days to the same day. This is a big achievement for us"
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Anurag Sharma
Senior Manager–IT, Orient Ceramics and Industries Limited, Orient Ceramics and Industries Limited
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