Company Overview
A Bangalore-based agrochemical company, established in 2011, specializes in biological pest control products and plant growth supplements. The company focuses on delivering innovative crop protection and pest control solutions directly to farmers through a widespread network of branch offices. Recognized for its innovation, the company received a prestigious national award for innovation in 2017.
Challenges Faced
Despite its success, the company encountered several operational challenges that hindered its growth and efficiency:
- Multiple point applications caused difficulties in data consolidation.
- Product traceability was inadequate, complicating quality control.
- Duplication of transactions led to errors and inefficiencies.
- Lack of inventory visibility affected stock management.
- Production and dispatch planning were chaotic and uncoordinated.
- Finished goods costing was inaccurate, impacting financial analysis.
- Payments and receipts could not be centralized, complicating cash flow management.
- Managing inter-branch transactions and consolidated reporting was cumbersome.
Solutions Implemented
To address these challenges, the company adopted an integrated ERP and Sales Force Automation (SFA) solution comprising the following modules:
ERP System Highlights
- Bill of Materials (BOM): Structured product components for accurate production.
- Production Planning & Orders: Streamlined manufacturing schedules and order tracking.
- Material Requirements Planning (MRP): Optimized procurement and inventory levels.
- Inventory Management: Real-time stock visibility and batch tracking.
- Procurement, Payables, and Receivables: Centralized financial operations.
- General Ledger and Consolidation: Accurate accounting and consolidated financial reporting.
- Multi-company System: Enabled one-click generation of consolidated reports across branches.
Manufacturing and Logistics
- Introduced production control with MRP implementation.
- Enabled close monitoring of work-in-progress (WIP) at every stage.
- Improved stock transfer efficiency and accuracy among branch locations.
Sales Force Automation (SFA)
- Mobile field reporting with geolocation for sales reps.
- Customized beat plans to optimize sales routes.
- Real-time stock visibility to service orders effectively.
- OTP-based order booking through a mobile app.
- Simplified sales returns and improved collections.
- Enhanced access to customer data for better relationship management.
Outcomes and Benefits
The integrated ERP and SFA solution transformed the company’s operations by:
- Eliminating duplicate data entries, reducing errors.
- Providing accurate costing information for finished goods.
- Enhancing production and dispatch planning efficiency.
- Centralizing payments and receipts for better financial control.
- Facilitating seamless inter-branch accounting and consolidated reporting.
- Empowering sales teams with mobile tools and real-time data.
- Allowing management to focus more on research and development due to streamlined operations.
Leadership Perspective
The CEO and Managing Director expressed that the new systems made day-to-day operations significantly smoother, freeing up valuable time to concentrate on the company’s core strength: innovation and R&D.