The confectioner is implementing virtually all of the BaanERP applications except for engineering and transportation. To date, the company has gone live with several applications, including Purchasing, Raw Material Inventory, General Ledger and Accounts Payable modules. By tackling the process methodically, we can simultaneously align key business processes in order to leverage the functionality and strengths of the software solution. Ultimately, the number of users for the BaanERP system will be about 500. About 50 will use the BaanSCS Planner.
Training is ongoing and was initiated shortly after the implementation began.
As Maack indicated, another side to supply chain management is optimizing internal operations to maximize production and resource utilization for a high return on assets. Previously, scheduling and rescheduling production to cope with routine events, such as changes in demand, product changeovers, and material constraints, was an overwhelming task because the company's information systems were not operating in an interactive, real-time environment. Maack firmly believes the integration of enterprise information with the aps technology and production information will provide increased visibility into trouble spots early enough to resolve issues before they can have a serious impact. We also believe sophisticated modeling and analysis tools will give us optimal flexibility to plan for the future, evaluating various scenarios and making timely decisions on capacity planning and capital investment. In addition, Maack anticipates that the new APS software will allow Russell Stover to help customers improve their forecasting to better align supply with demand.