Pacific Marine Batteries propelled by Greentree and Star

When it was time for a new accounting system, the submarine battery supplier found Greetree’s integrated manufacturing module was an attractive proposition...

Pacific Marine Batteries’ are the sole supplier of the main system battery for each of the six Collins-class submarines owned by the Royal Australian Navy.

Weighing around 440 tons, each battery takes up to a year to manufacture. Initially set up by Pacific Dunlop in 1991, Pacific Marine Batteries is now in private hands.

The company employs about 30 staff in the Adelaide factory, with another 12 in the office, and has one of the most modern facilities of its kind in the world. Although part of an extremely hazardous industry, the company won a South Australian WorkCover award for excellence and innovation in safety. Pacific Marine Batteries enjoys ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHS AS4801 accreditation.

Pacific Marine Batteries decided they needed a new accounting system. Platinum, the incumbent system, was outdated, had limited support, and was a mass of add-ons.

Financial controller Kenneth Andersen decided the company needed an integrated solution to simplify the finance team’s job.

Andersen considered a number of alternatives to replace the old system; the main contenders were SAP Business One, Sage and Greentree.

Greentree through their business partner Star, won out, not least because it offered an integrated manufacturing module – one feature that Andersen had decided was crucial before he went looking for a replacement.

The manufacturing module means that whenever Pacific Marine Batteries does a production run, Greentree automatically removes the material used from the system. And because it is fully integrated, it also automatically updates the general ledgers and other dependants.

Greentree also appealed because it seemed more accessible and more flexible, Andersen says. “The fact it had HR [payroll] and Fixed Assets readily available also counted for a lot,” as did the ease of creating information for reporting purposes.

Close tracking capabilities
Greentree went live on the 1st of March. Because all the accounting functions are integrated and because Pacific Marine Batteries use the job-costing module, Andersen is able to track a transaction or cost and drill down to the initial entries, regardless of which module it was created in. This allows the company to track project costs and see exactly where they originate. Previously, the finance team had to generate reports.

“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 for any process or sales order regardless of which department the resources are coming from.

“But you can still report department-wide, if you choose, which is good – it gives you another angle to look at,” he says.

Pacific Marine Batteries also uses the customer relationship management (CRM) module to do its quotations; previously it had to use an add-on to do this, which meant fiddling around. Creating a quotation is now quick, simple and integrated.

The company has seven users in the finance area and another eight or so in distribution/stores/ manufacturing, and Andersen says they have all adapted to Greentree easily.

Easy to use and logical
Pacific Marine Batteries now has simpler processes, and can easily access its stored information. Greentree is propelling the company into the future.

For more information
www.StarBusinessSolutions.com.au

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