APS, which manufactures parts for automotive companies including Toyota, Land Rover, Nissan and Ford, had felt that conforming to increasingly demanding industry standards was being hampered by the limitations of the company’s existing 14-year old computer system.
Due to this, and because it is preparing for assessment for the latest ISO/TS16949 automotive standard, APS decided to implement the new Access Supply Chain system.
The company produces mandatory daily reports for quality control and it is in the area of reporting that Paul Smith, director of APS, is expecting significant gains.
I expect the Access system will save us a week a month just in the preparation of management reports, he said. Currently we have 10 or 12 managers each spending two hours or more every month preparing reports on Excel spreadsheets, and manually checking prices and stock movements. This will all be automated in the Access system using Crystal Reports and as well as saving time, it will obviously eliminate the potential for error.
With real-time financial reporting, the company will also be able to respond immediately to any changes in the business situation, while, on a practical day-to-day level, the automated e-mailing of purchase orders will save two or three daily trips to the fax machine for purchasing staff.
