Overview

SJS Products had outgrown the limitations of its legacy green-screen application and needed a modern ERP solution to streamline and standardise its business processes to support ongoing expansion. With SAP Business One, SJS Products has reliable, real-time visibility into its operations.

Case Study: SJS Products, Inc.

Objective

To provide the streamlined processes and end-to-end visibility needed to enable the business to operate efficiently.

Solution

SAP Business One

Organisation

Founded in 1968, SJS Products, a Jamcor Corporation, is a provider of consumer electronics hardware solutions, specialising in injection molding, die casting and electromechanical components. The company has global production facilities and provides local support, with a focus on collaborative engineering design to provide bespoke solutions for its international customer base.

A flexible solution that will grow with the company

Ability to identify and address supplier relationship management issues

Significant time savings through immediate access to information

Why SAP Business One?SJS Products was steadily expanding, and becoming increasingly frustrated by the limitations of its cumbersome, green-screen legacy application, which no longer met the information demands of the business. Spreadsheet reports had to be created manually, and the delays of accessing and manipulating data made it a challenge to track inbound and outbound shipments. As Colleen Jordan, Buyer and Planner at SJS products admits, “we needed to bring ourselves in the new Millennium.”

“Having recognised that our legacy software was inadequate and poorly aligned to our day-to-day activities, we set out to find a modern ERP solution that would grow with us. We looked at several different solutions but SAP Business One was the only truly open-ended product, with the ability to expand functionality through add-ons as our needs evolved. Because SAP is widely used and recognised, this offered us the possibility of straightforward integrations with customers in future.”

“The months leading up to the switch were quite intensive, getting databases ready for migration,” recalls Colleen. “Implementing SAP Business One was an opportunity to thoroughly modernise our business processes, although when you’re moving from a legacy application that pre-dates Windows, that prospect can be a little daunting. But once you get past the initial fear, it’s actually a straightforward process and the benefits are immense.”

The Benefits“SAP Business One gives the ability to track a document from beginning to end, whether that’s purchase orders, sales orders or production orders. For purchasing, it’s been a huge time saver – it’s easy to bring up a PO, pinpoint multi-line items, and check what has and hasn’t been delivered. It takes just seconds to duplicate a PO for frequently ordered parts, instead of creating new document from scratch. I can look up a vendor to find out when and how we last ordered a particular product. Those kinds of tasks used to be an all-day event with our legacy business software – it’s like the difference between night and day.”

“Now, with SAP Business One and the freight control add-on, we have the tools to better manage suppliers. For example, we can tell when a haulage company has a track record of failing to show up on time. By shining a spotlight on

problems and bottlenecks, and providing rapid access to contextual information, SAP Business One allows us to nip any performance issues in the bud or switch to a different logistics provider before the matter starts to impact our business.”

“Moving from our legacy application to SAP Business One was like trading a Gremlin for a Ferrari!”Buyer, SJS Products

“By shining a spotlight on problems and bottlenecks, and providing rapid access to contextual information, SAP Business One allows

us to nip any performance issues in the bud.”

Buyer, SJS Products

“Now, we have accurate reporting available on demand, which help us with business planning and strategy. With standardised business processes built on best practices, we don’t have to develop workarounds or shortcuts, so it’s much easier to get into good habits,” Colleen attests.

“SAP Business One isn’t just one of those systems you buy and then have to keep paying for bandage fixes – SAP understands what an evolving company needs from a technology roadmap, so we benefit from regular updates and enhancements.”

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Working with Sapphire“It was important to have the backing of the right partner to provide the assistance and technical support we needed to get the most from our SAP Business One investment. Sapphire is a very responsive, helpful partner that is easy to work with. They give us the focus we need, and over time can introduce us to further add-ons that have the potential to change the future course of our business.”

“It’s important to get all your personnel on board with training (we currently have 25 users), as there’s a learning curve to surmount, which highlighted how behind the times our legacy solution was. But following an introduction to the basics, we’re continually learning as we go, with the confidence that we can count on Sapphire to guide our business success.”