This archive report was first published on 29 June 2021.
Efficiency Key to Business Growth ¶
Businesses in Kenya are constantly evaluating ways to operate effectively and efficiently in managing the flow of materials from their suppliers to the production and delivery of finished products and services to their customers.
According to a recent study, most businesses undergo three key phases: sourcing of raw materials or products, processing or packaging of products and services, and marketing or sale of the end products or services. However, the business processes are often not interlinked and mostly generate manual procedures that involve paperwork and physical verification.
This is primarily caused by different systems applied by suppliers, internal business departments, and diverse channels of customer interactions, subjecting businesses to inefficiencies and discrepancies that often impact customer satisfaction and delays in payment.
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software has been adopted by many businesses in Kenya to integrate and manage their operations efficiently. SYSPRO 8, for instance, is a business management solution that streamlines and integrates processes across finance, marketing, manufacturing, HR, procurement, supply chain, and other departments.
By deploying SYSPRO 8, businesses can collect, store, manage, and interpret data for operational efficiency and quick decision-making. The system also offers businesses the flexibility to deploy on-premise, in the cloud, or both.
One of the companies that has benefited from SYSPRO 8 is Synresins Limited, a mid-sized company that is the largest manufacturer of synthetic resin in East and Central Africa. According to Mira Shah, the CEO of Synresins, the new ERP has enabled the company to enhance its quality assurance and guarantee the quality of its products.
“The new ERP has enabled us to enhance our quality assurance. We have put controls in our system that ensure no product can be sold to a customer without our lab team approving it. When a product is ready for sale, the sales team cannot generate an invoice until the lab team approves the product on the system. These configurations enable us to guarantee the quality of our products and ensure internal processes are adhered to,” says Mira Shah.
Synresins has also applied the ERP towards tracking its raw materials and managing the cost of acquisition. The module has enabled the company to track the raw materials they import, the cost incurred, and the time it takes to get them from the supplier.
Another company that has benefited from SYSPRO 8 is Mission for Essential Drugs and Supplies (MEDS), a faith-based, nonprofit organization offering Supply Chain Services in Warehousing and Distribution of Medicines and Medical Supplies. According to Alex Kimondo, an ICT Manager at MEDS, the organization sought a solution that could give better control of its operations, simplify its supply chain management, and increase operational efficiency.
After deploying the ERP, MEDS has seen tremendous improvement in collaboration between departments, which has in turn improved efficiency across the organization. It has also gained greater visibility of operations, increasing speed, efficiency, and overall customer satisfaction.
While there are still teething problems in the ERP adoption process, including hesitancy by customers and suppliers, if well implemented and integrated, ERPs can easily transform businesses and organizations by eliminating inefficiencies within supply chains.
