Indonesian snacks manufacturer Sari Murni Group (SMG) is moving legacy enterprise resource planning (ERP) workloads and processes to a single, cloud-based ERP system.
This aims to strengthen reporting capabilities, streamline business processes, and facilitate data exchange between two business units of the company - Sari Murni Abadi in West Java and Sari Murni Jaya in East Java.
After a rigorous evaluation process, considering various vendors, SMG selected IBM Consulting Indonesia to help the company deploy RISE with SAP – a managed cloud service.
SMG’s director Teguh Ilham told iTnews Asia that earlier, the management had to wait three to four weeks to receive critical reports, particularly profit and loss (PNL) statements. These are now available by the first week, helping upper management make informed and timely decisions, he said.
Ilham added that cloud-based solutions have helped the company integrate production and finance into the business system, eliminating the challenges faced by custom ERP systems, providing a holistic view of operations and fostering data-driven decision-making.
According to the company, it used to face reporting challenges and data extraction inefficiencies due to disparate systems across internal departments, leading to redundant data reporting.
The implementation of SAP's solution enhances reporting capabilities, streamlines business processes and facilitates data processing across the organisation.
Transforming the company’s operations
According to Ilham, real-time visibility into inventory levels has enabled better forecasting, demand planning, and cost optimisation, which ultimately results in reduced stockouts and overstocking, and helps in effective tracking and tracing mechanisms for inventory movement.
SMG has eliminated the departmental silos with the integration of systems and processes for better collaboration, improving efficiency, leading to reduced redundancies and faster turnaround times.
For instance, the finance department has streamlined its workflow by eliminating duplicate work and establishing a direct data flow from production to finance, enabling seamless processing and completion of reports within the costing system, Ilham said.
The implementation of RISE with SAP has helped SMG acquire operational data, and now it is planning to integrate data from various applications to derive more targeted insights, aiding management in strategic decision-making.
Recognising the price sensitivity of products in certain market segments, the organisation is working to enhance manufacturing processes to minimise waste and optimise efficiency, ensuring competitiveness in the market, said Ilham.
