Integrating the accounting function

By deploying Microsoft Dynamics AX9, PPIL has been able to streamline its processes to a great extent, writes Nivedan Prakash

Positive Packaging Industries (PPIL), an integrated packaging company, offers a wide array of flexible packaging solutions to its clients. Besides Flexible Packaging, the company also specializes in the manufacturing electro mechanically and laser engraved rotogravure printing cylinders, metalized film and CPP/PE film.

Headquartered in Mumbai, the company has manufacturing facilities in India, Nigeria and UAE and branch offices in major cities of India, Accra (Ghana), Durban and Johannesburg (South Africa), London (UK) and representation in various other countries.

PPIL's manufacturing facilities in India are strategically located and are equipped with state-of-the-art machinery and equipment. The company has built a strong client base consisting of both international and domestic companies. The company also exports its products to nearly 30 countries across Asia, Africa, Europe, Middle East and the Americas.

Business challenges

With increasing volumes, activities and manufacturing facilities, PPIL was finding it difficult to manage and track transactions. The available financial accounting system had limitations and it was time consuming to compile and consolidate data.

Anil Kale, CFO of PPIL, said, “We have been in this business for 15 years. We were using the basic accounting system based on Tally software. Being a multi-location company, we function in a decentralized manner and consolidate at the head office level. As the existing accounting package had severe limitations we were looking to move to a better one.”

Integration across functions and manufacturing facilities was becoming difficult. The company was looking for integrated accounting software for integration and use across the company by all of its divisions and offices.

“When we were evaluating such packages, we realized that instead of going for an in-house developed package, ERP was the best option that we could go for. Besides, we were also looking for a brand name. As our business grew, it became a necessity as otherwise we couldn't cope with the growing competition,” said Kale.

Kale added, “We decided to go in for an ERP package because with an ERP system I can look at any of the transactions at any point of time while sitting at the head office. This was not possible in the earlier package. Since the earlier package was a preliminary version, we wanted to go for a higher version looking at our business growth. The security and reliability of transactions is vital and this is only possible with ERP.”

Making a choice

PPIL finally decided to go in for Microsoft’s Dynamics solution and selected Tectura as the implementation partner. With over 5,000 implementations under its belt, Tectura was selected to deploy the Dynamics solution because of its strong domain knowledge, expertise, and understanding of the best practices of the process manufacturing industry.

The other factors that favored Tectura were its close partnership with Microsoft, global presence and established local and global success. The system integrator followed a stringent and proven implementation methodology known as TECTURA Solution Framework (TSF), which aligns with Microsoft Dynamics Sure Step Methodology.

The business processes were mapped during the initial assessment stage, called Diagnostic, wherein a pre-analysis of the company’s business was conducted from the process, organization, systems, compliance, informatics dimensions, critical areas were identified, the current status evaluated and a detailed technology roadmap laid down. With a mix of pre-built functions and business processes, the PPIL team was given a strategy to seamlessly migrate its data into the new system.

The solution also included a complex integration of PPIL’s existing production systems with Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 enabling seamless data transfer between them and eliminating delays in material requisitioning, ordering, inventory monitoring and sales order processing.

“We started this deployment around one and half years back. Earlier, we started the deployment with version 3 of Microsoft Dynamics i.e. AX3. However, during the process of implementation, version 9 i.e. AX9 was released by Microsoft. We decided to go in for the latest version, wherein AX9 successfully addressed all of the problems or shortcomings that we were encountering in AX3,” asserted Kale.

PPIL had gone live with AX3 in December 2007. The company then decided to migrate to AX9 afresh and this implementation began in March 2009 and was completed in less than a month. The solutions are also geared to support the organization’s changes in business processes subsequent to the implementation.

“Microsoft has created an Indian localization team that looks after the statutory and regulatory issues at the local level. Since we are in a multi-state country and with many rules and regulations, the creation of the Indian localization team helped address such issues. So, along with AX9, we are getting localization support as well,” commented Kale.

Initially, the total investment including both software and hardware came to about Rs.1.5 crores for PPIL. As its requirement grew, the company bought additional licenses.

Better integration and reduced overheads

After the deployment of AX9, the accounts, sales and production functions of PPIL are working together, resulting in efficiencies going up and a reduction in overhead costs. The deployment also included sales order, purchase order and inventory management systems, logistics, local taxation, general ledger, accounts receivable, accounts payable, banks, fixed assets and these were seamlessly integrated with other applications and this has helped in easier and timely accessibility and faster response time.

Kale said, “We needed uniformity in the financial accounting system. Dynamics AX9 is a codified system, which is similar across divisions. Here, any division cannot enter the code as it wishes. It needs to consult with the IT department which allocates the code according to the needs of that particular department.

“There are various divisions and their requirements are quite different. Therefore, standardization and uniformity are the great advantage of this type of accounting package.”

“Microsoft Dynamics AX and Tectura have helped us streamline our existing business and operational processes resulting in improved efficiency and productivity. This has also helped us access the data standalone and consolidated at any given point of time,” said Kale.

Tectura integrated the expertise to understand the company’s most pressing business and technology challenges with the innovation to solve them. With a proven track record of working with global manufacturing companies in end to end implementation programs and multi-location projects, a resource pool of highly skilled and knowledgeable functional consultants with an in depth understanding of manufacturing industry challenges, Tectura ensured time bound transitions of critical applications, increased efficiency of users in the company, enterprise-wide process visibility and data access within the budgeted time.

nivedan.prakash@expressindia.com