Submarine battery-maker takes Greentree on board to streamline systems
Pacific Marine Batteries was all at sea, with an out-dated accounting system, until Star updated its systems with a new integrated suite that makes manufacturing of its hi-spec naval batteries easier too…
Pacific Marine Batteries is the sole supplier of the main system batteries for each of the six Collins Class submarines owned by the Royal Australian Navy.
Weighing in at a whopping 440 tons, each battery takes up to a year to manufacture and is both a precision job and a hazardous one.
Initially, set up by Pacific Dunlop in 1991, Pacific Marine Batteries is now privately owned. Located in the heart of South Australia’s Osborne Maritime precinct – to enable it to support the navy’s submarine fleet nearby – the company employs 30 staff on the factory floor, with a further 12 in administration. Its facilities are some of the most modern of their kind in the world.
Although part of an extremely hazardous industry, the company has won a South Australian WorkCover award for excellence and innovation in safety. It also enjoys ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHS AS4801 accreditation. This means it manufactures the complex batteries to the highest standard.
However, despite this product excellence, the company found itself badly in need of a new accounting system. Platinum, its incumbent system, was outdated, had limited support and had become a mass of add-ons that did not work together very well.
The financial controller for Pacific Marine Batteries, Kenneth Andersen, decided the company needed an integrated solution to simplify the finance team’s job, as well as to better support manufacturing and sales.
Integration propels way forward
Andersen considered a number of alternatives to replace the old system. The main contenders were SAP Business One, Sage and Greentree.
Greentree, through its Australian business partner, Star Business Solutions, won out, not least because it offered an integrated manufacturing module. This was the one feature Andersen had decided was crucial even before he went looking for a replacement.
Because the Greentree solution includes an integral manufacturing module this means that whenever Pacific Marine Batteries undertakes a production run, Greentree automatically removes the material used from the inventory. And, because it is fully integrated, it also automatically updates the general ledgers and other dependents.
Greentree’s system also appealed because it seemed to be both more accessible and more flexible, says Andersen. “The fact that it had HR [payroll] and Fixed Assets readily available also counted for a lot.”
The ease with which information could be accessed for reporting purposes was another drawcard.
Close tracking
Greentree went live on the 1 March. Because all the accounting functions are integrated, and because Pacific Marine Batteries use the job-costing module, Andersen is now able to track all transactions and costs. He can drill down to the initial entries, regardless of which module an entry may have been created in. This allows the company to track project costs and see exactly where they originate. Previously, the finance team had to generate reports themselves.
“I like the online update of any information I want,” Andersen says.
Greentree’s cross-functionality pulls all linked data together so staff are able to get a progress report on any process or sales order, regardless of which department the resources are coming from, adds Anderson.
“But you can still report department-wide if you choose, which is good – it gives you another angle to look at.”
Pacific Marine Batteries also uses the customer relationship management (CRM) module for quotes. Previously, it had to use an add-on to do this. This meant a lot of fiddling around, says Anderson, whereas creating a quote is now quick and easy – and an integrated process.
The company has seven users in its finance team, plus another eight users in distribution/stores/manufacturing. Andersen says all of them adapted to Greentree easily.
Pacific Marine Batteries now enjoys simpler processes when it comes to accounts and administration, and it can easily access all its stored information.
For more information
>Star Business Solutions
www.starbusinesssolutions.com.au
PH: +61 3 8415 8315
OR: +61 2 9499 3377
ACT PH: +61 2 6243 3611
sales@star.cd
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At a Glance
Pacific Marine Batteries
Business Objective
To update accounting system and replace with an integrated solution that was also integrated with manufacturing production.
Solution
Greentree accounting suite, including HR (payroll) and Fixed Assets; Greentree integrated manufacturing module; job costing module; CRM module.
Business Benefits
The fact the the manufacturing module is integrated with the accounting suite means after a production run Greentree automatically removes material used from the system. Because all accounting functions are now integrated and there is also a job costing module, transactions and costs can now be tracked easily and reports generated; cross-functionality pulls all the linked data together; CRM module is also integrated, which means creating quotes is now simple to do.
Further Reading
To read more about this solution provider visit their ERP online exhbit in the ERP Pavilion or visit their CRM online exhbit in the CRM Pavilion
