Case Study

Hill's Panel Products (HPP) needed a truly integrated financials and logistics solution in order to manage the growth of their business activities.

By implementing the Distribution and Manufacturing module, HPP have switched to utilising Sales Orders for their production planning. The switch has resulted in the ability to manage complex orders much more efficiently, removing the need for a huge number of Bills of Materials.

A single Sales Order may include diverse items from across their product range. For example, fittings from the fittings warehouse; cut and edged panels in standard and non-standard sizes; board supplied full sheet or cut, part-finished or not, and a variety of door types. Using additional fields functionality enables them to record such information as components, styles, door production information, etc.

HPP run their own transport and distribution operations. Load planning is a vital issue for them due to their extremely varied range of products and extensive customer list. De Facto ERP enables them to manage load order and drop order with maximum efficiency.

HPP opted for De Facto’s Business Intelligence system in order to gain information from their shop floor which is linked to data already stored in their De Facto ERP. Previously having to use a standalone product to pull information together, HPP are now able to use BI to easily measure which product groups occupy the most manufacturing resources. Utilising the BI module has enabled HPP to significantly cut costs in this area.
 
Since the implementation, HPP are also able to build extremely quick ad-hoc reports that can run without taxing the performance of their servers as all the data cubes that collate the information are refreshed to schedule overnight. 

Operating multiple product-specific warehouse areas within their sites, communication and effective management of resources is vital. Warehouse Management System (WMS) filters enable the viewing and utilisation of only those products particular to an individual functional area of a warehouse.

Having enabled the staff to manage their own operations at their own level, the full range of items in the Sales Order is then brought back into view for transport planning purposes. 

The De Facto WMS solution has had multiple benefits for HPP. Previously manual processes are now entirely electronic based with considerable automation. Production has become more efficient, along with load and drop planning. Changes in business processes have been implemented, enabling the switch from 'made for stock' to 'made to order', with consequent gains in efficiency and turnaround.

Having already witnessed dramatic improvements in the way their business operates thanks to De Facto ERP, Hill's Panel Products (HPP) was confident that De Facto would make a success of their website too.

The new online presence would need to be impressive enough to make HPP stand out in a competitive market – and the website that De Facto’s Online Services team delivered achieved exactly that. 

Our web developers and designers went above and beyond expectations, producing an outstanding website that has proved exceptionally profitable for the company.

One of the key aspects that sets HPP’s website apart is its unique ‘builders’. These allow any customer to design a bespoke product in a step-by-step fashion. The system then cleverly produces a pictorial representation of what the final product will look like, based on the customer’s precise requirements.

For example, HPP’s easy-to-use sliding door builder gives customers the freedom to pick the exact measurements, shape, finish and a variety of other specific details for their sliding door. The customer’s vision is then realised in front of them as the system presents an image of their finished dream door.

The builders provide customers with a memorable, enjoyable experience not available on your average E-Commerce website.

Meanwhile, seamless integration with De Facto ERP facilitates the smooth flow of data between the website and the core database. Information regarding sales orders, customer details and order histories is updated on a real-time basis, ensuring no time is wasted on duplicate data entry – allowing HPP staff to better use their valuable hours elsewhere.

The website has been a big hit with HPP and their customers alike, causing a significant shift in terms of the percentage of revenue generated online. Since it went live, more than 6,500 orders have gone through the new website and HPP’s turnover this September was four times as much as turnover at the same time last year.