Alto Den-Sin Streamlines Business Processes, Improves Operational Efficiencies with Navision


SITUATION
Alto Den-Sin Singapore Pte Ltd (Alto Den-Sin) manufactures high-pressure cleaning equipment which are used in many industries. Established in Singapore 15 years ago, Alto Den-Sin has since expanded its operations to Malaysia.

The company’s vision is to become the global leader of water blaster and ultra high-pressure cleaning equipment. To achieve this goal, Alto Den-Sin operates a highly efficient production process and is committed to short lead-times and timely deliveries to customers. It has to always ensure efficient coordination between its sales, administration and production staff, and freight forwarders to make sure its products are delivered on time.

For a number of years, Alto Den-Sin had been using an accounting solution named ACCPAC running on the Windows platform. However, as Alto Den-Sin’s business expanded, the solution could no longer keep pace with the company’s growing requirements.

As Alto Den-Sin’s demand for information grew, it realised that the information available from the system was limited. “There was insufficient data recorded for detailed analyses of the company’s performance,” says Alto Den-Sin Finance Manager Jesilynn Luar. And this seriously hampered the management’s decision making process and jeopardized the company’s goal to “know our markets and customer requirements like no one else.”

The ACCPAC solution was also not easily customizable, so the possibility of increasing the number of reports was also limited, Luar points out. To do any form of customization required the expertise of the vendor’s consultants and this was a costly affair.

Even the information residing in the system was not timely and easily available, Luar adds. And because the solution was not tightly integrated there was a need to manually update the system from different sources. Having to constantly re-key information from documents such as invoices and delivery orders inevitably resulted in errors and delays.

The tedious process of re-keying data meant that the system was not real time and this also affected the management’s ability to make fast decisions. “Our business processes were inefficient due to duplication of work by different users,” she adds.


SOLUTION
The shortcomings of ACCPAC made Alto Den-Sin source for a better and more versatile solution. In addition to the upgraded version of ACCPAC, Alto Den-Sin also evaluated offerings from SAP and JD Edwards as well as Microsoft Business Solutions – Navision.

Alto Den-Sin chose Navision after concluding that it best fits its business needs. Currently, the company is using Navision’s General Ledger, Accounts Receivables, Accounts Payable, Warehouse and Distribution, and Production modules.

The Navision solution was deployed at Alto Den-Sin’s headquarters and another subsidiary in Singapore by the end of 2004, and rolled out to its Malaysian subsidiary in April 2005. The migration to Navision in both Singapore and Malaysia was handled by apBIS Consulting, a Microsoft business partner. The company also helped train Alto Den-Sin’s Navision users, and provides hotline support and customization services.
According to Luar, Navision was ideal for Alto Den-Sin because it was a powerful, user friendly and feature-rich solution from Microsoft.

“When I first viewed the demo of the system, I realised it was very user friendly. This was important as our users are not technically inclined. As Navision is a Microsoft product, our staff were comfortable with its familiar Windows-based interface,” she explains.

With the deployment of Navision, all the impediments to business growth resulting from the limitations of the previous solution have disappeared. The need to do manual updates and have duplicate inputting of information, and the handicap of not having real time business information is now a thing of the past.

BENEFITS

Streamlining Business Processes
Navision has helped Alto Den-Sin streamline its existing business and operational processes, improving efficiency and productivity. Because Navision is tightly integrated and connected, the different divisions and subsidiaries can input their data directly into the Navision system. Re-keying in of such data at the headquarters is no longer required nor is there a need to do batch processing.

This has had a positive impact on the process of closing accounts. “With the old system, we needed five days to close the accounts. With Navision, we can finish it in three days, sometimes less,” Luar comments.

Access to Comprehensive Business Information
Users are now able to satisfy detailed reporting requirements from the head office due to Navision’s ability to customize and record a wide range of information. This provides the management better access to accurate and reliable information, thus enhancing the planning and decision making process.

This has also made Alto Den-Sin’s production processes more efficient. Because the Navision system provides accurate real time information, Alto Den-Sin is better position to operate on a Just-in-Time basis. “Under the old system, we could never be sure if the information was current.”

“For example, if stock inventory information was not updated in a timely manner, we may fail to order materials in time and this will cause production delays. If we can’t deliver our goods, it will affect our sales,” Luar explains.

“Navision allows us do detailed reporting for the management. We can easily drag and drop information from Navision into Microsoft Excel to conduct detailed real-time analyses. Navision enables us to have better control over our operations,” acknowledges Luar.

Promotes Transparency
Navision’s ability to capture a a vast array of information has helped promote transparency at all levels of the company.

“With Navision, we have access to so much more information than before. We have comprehensive information about our customers, products they buy, discounts given and so on. And we can easily drill down to get more detailed information,” says Luar.

This allows the management to detect and track issues affecting the business much earlier, and to take corrective actions. It also prevents manipulation of data and facilitates better management of staff.

User Friendly, Easy to Maintain
As no single solution can meet a company’s business requirements 100 per cent, some customisation is usually required. According to Luar, Navision is extremely easy to customise compared to the previous solution.

“In fact, Navision is easy enough to allow our internal power users to do basic customisation,” she says. For more advanced requirements, Alto Den-Sin engages apBIS Consulting to handle the customisation. She points out that customisation costs was higher with ACCPAC as the company had to depend totally on their consultants.

For Alto Den-Sin, having a user friendly and easy-to-maintain software is a key consideration. “Solutions from SAP and JD Edwards were too technical for us. Navision, on the other hand, is very user friendly for our staff and maintaining it is also relatively easy,” adds Luar.

“Navision has more than met our expectations and we have no regrets switching to it,” Luar concludes.

End.