The Customer
Russell Finex is a market-leading manufacturer of industrial separation equipment, including vibrating sieves, screeners and self-cleaning liquid filters. The company is based in Feltham with subsidiaries Belgium, USA, India and China.
The Challenge
Russell Finex contacted CBO in 2011 for an independent review of its ERP system. The company felt the system was not fully supporting its business needs and it had never been deployed to any of the subsidiaries. We were asked to assist with ERP system selection, including evaluating the option of upgrading with the incumbent supplier.
The Solution
During our review of RF’s business processes and systems, it became apparent that the existing ERP system was perfectly capable of supporting the company’s operations. The difficulties it was experiencing were largely a result of the ERP having been implemented on a departmental basis. Problems with engineering and production planning were therefore symptoms of the lack of end-to-end process and information flow.
RF dismissed going to market for a new system and also decided to delay upgrading with the incumbent, which would have achieved nothing without improved processes.
CBO conducted a full business process modeling and definition exercise using the XSol process modeling tool and helped to align the existing system through a series of ‘proof of concept’ workshops. RF adopted the new processes with their existing system and then opted to carry out an upgrade to deliver additional benefits.
RF is now using the latest version of its chosen software, which supports the new processes. It has improved lead times and reduced the effort required to engineer its products. The company’s manufacturing processes are greatly improved and continual improvement through LEAN exercises is taking place. The system is now being deployed in the US and Belgium, with India and China to follow.