Site Supply SAP Business One Case Study
The background
Site Supply is a company specialising in the provision of print and embroidery services. Site Supply offers a wide range of workwear products, such as uniforms, promotional items, and custombranded merchandise. Their services cater to various industries and businesses, providing custom solutions for their clients’ branding and promotional needs. With a focus on quality, customisation, and tailored services, Site Supply aims to meet the unique branding requirements of companies, organisations, and events, utilising print and embroidery as their primary offerings.
Choosing SAP Business One and APH Solutions
Challenges Before Implementing SAP Business One
Prior to adopting SAP Business One, Site Supply encountered significant hurdles with their former software. The former software had not been updated for an extended period, leading to a lack of essential reporting functionality. Moreover, the company grappled with frequent personnel turnover, which resulted in communication issues and a lack of consistency. Each change in personnel necessitated re-explaining the business situation, hampering progress and creating inefficiencies. The implementation of SAP Business One aimed to address these challenges faced by Site Supply, primarily focused on reporting limitations, and the need for a more cohesive and adaptable ERP system.
Why SAP Business One
Despite considering three other viable options, Site Supply recognised the critical need for a reliable and local partner. SAP Business One emerged as the preferred choice due to its robust features and adaptability. The decision ultimately revolved around selecting a suitable partner, leading to the choice between APH Solutions and another service provider.
Site Supply’s initial choice of a SAP Business One partner was influenced by their claimed experience with a similar industry, particularly in print and embroidery. However, this decision was founded on misleading information, resulting in suboptimal outcomes.
The initial implementation of SAP Business One with another partner led Site Supply into a two-year cycle, primarily focused on integrating multiple functionalities and features. This approach resulted in a rigid system that didn’t align well with the business requirements. The emphasis on rapid integrations instead of a more gradual, tailored approach hindered the testing process and adaptation to the software.
Why APH
Transitioning to APH Solutions for SAP Business One implementation and subsequent Managed IT Service upgrade proved to be a more fruitful experience. Site Supply found the initial interactions and engagement with APH Solutions notably better compared to other potential partners. The direct involvement of the business owner provided continuity and a more cohesive understanding of Site Supply’s needs.
“It’s good to deal with a business owner, you know you’re getting continuity when you’re dealing with the business owner” – Martin
SAP Business One Implementation
It was important to Site Supply that the SAP B1 integration was completed with minimal custom functionalities as they wanted to utilise more of the standard functionality.
APH delivered SAP B1 to suit the specifications of Site Supply, this implementation lead to various benefits, such as increased productivity, streamlined workflows, and improved warehouse efficiency. The related efficiencies likely translated into cost savings for Site Supply.
“The workflow is through the building” – Martin Bullock
Produmex Scan
Produmex Scan, a warehouse management tool was implemented for Site Supply as a replacement for their previous Warehouse Scanning Solution provided by the previous partner. This significantly enhanced operations and facilitating more flexible and efficient workflows throughout the business premises.
“The warehouse is very efficient” – Martin Bullock
Codeless Platform
Web Integration
Site Supply have a number of web interfaces for customer ordering. Prior to APH integrating this with Codeless Platforms, Site Supply would regularly conduct manual checks with their previous web integration by their past SAP Partner. Charlie Heywood (Director at APH) stated “Although they had the web integration previously, users were still having to go into every order to check the orders manually, which we have now irradicated out by making the integration just that bit better”
APH was able to integrate the web interfaces into their SAP System leading to increased automation and reduced errors.
UPS Integration
Although SIte Supply’s previous SAP Partner Integrated UPS, it had some issues such as the UPS integration not writing back a consignment note on SAP. This kind of small issue made the integration seem messy, however, APH is now working closely to iron out all the kinks.
Site Supply plans to further leverage automation by integrating their Magento website, aiming to enhance overall business operations and improve customer experience.
“The UPS Integration is much better, it was messy before” – Martin
Conclusion
To conclude the transformation Site Supply underwent by transitioning from an outdated ERP system to SAP Business One, emphasising the critical role of a suitable and reliable partner in this successful digital transition. The collaborative efforts with APH Solutions led to streamlined operations,
increased efficiencies, and a more adaptable IT infrastructure, positioning Site Supply for future growth and success.
