The project, named ASTRA (Advanced systems to rejuvenate activities) was introduced to reduce work redundancy, enhance integration of logistical and financial systems and create a real-time information reporting system. It was a first for the hatchery industry in India.

SHL evaluated different enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions from a galaxy of vendors and finally decided on SAP. "We felt that SAP offered an integrated product and that all the modules would suit our requirements. Everything was a tight package and we knew we wouldn't have to worry if there were any changes in the future. The main reason was that we were sure about SAP." reveals Sridhar. The implementation of the project took seven months. Intelligroup Asia was the implementation partner. "There were instances when Intelligroup suggested better ways of doing things, which eventually made things simpler for us. Their project management methodology and functional expertise came in handy." continues Sridhar.

There were around 8 members from SHL and 10 from Intelligroup who were engaged in implementing this solution. One of the main hurdles faced was that many team members from SHL could not give much of their time during the implementation as they were also busy in carrying on their regular functions. Further, most of the end-users who needed to be trained to use SAP, were employees living in remote farms and hatcheries; they had to prepare flock reports.

"Though the implementation was smooth, it was quite challenging as it brought about a transition from manual processes and users took time to catch up. The implementation also brought about a lot of realignment in our mindset. Today, there are 48 regular users and SHL intends to develop a second line of users." Sridhar reports.

During the implementation, there were some more points like humidity and temperature conditions in the sheds that were also addressed in the plant maintenance module of the IT solution.

Time to reap benefits

The new IT solution served SHL's fundamental business requirements. The ERP solution has also helped the company to adapt to an ever-changing business and IT environment. It has enabled SHL to decide on an initial solution to meet current requirements and then add solutions or new applications at any time as the operational needs change and grow. by implementing an ERP system, SHL has automated procedures and been successful in streamlining many of its business processes. The other benefit was the time and money saved. Improved forecasting was instrumental in helping the company expand its operations further.

Sridhar reports, "Before SAP, reconciliation of material consumption per entity was a huge undertaking at the end of each quarter. There were few controls over intra-company material transactions, making it difficult to follow inventory or materials from one entity to another."

As recording of all material transactions was being done manually, this led to a lot of time-consuming paperwork. Besides, this process was marred with errors. Even if a small mistake was detected, one had to go back and search through all the papers before pinpointing source of the problem. At consolidation time too, there was a lot of reworking, which became tedious to handle for the firm.

"It took almost 10 days to tally everything and prepare the final statutory reports. We even had to recruit more people for this work. We had become an accountant-heavy organisation," says Sridhar. "Now, we require just a couple of hours to get the financial reports ready. The work load has reduced and we can utilise our manpower and skills in other areas such as purchase, etc," continues Sridhar.

Earlier, the company lacked overall visibility of inventory. There used to be tons of maize in go-downs and there was no way of knowing if the stock was past its expiry date.

"With SAP, inventory control has improved tremendously. We come to know every small mistake made by the operator and we can pinpoint problems easily. Monitoring has become tighter and we can reduce inventory costs in a year's time. SAP ensures that the goals of inventory management are met," says Sridhar. As inventory control can be conducted in real-time, surplus and stagnant inventories can be avoided, and, in addition, other errors can also be prevented, the company believes.

Sridhar shares that the ERP solution from SAP has helped SHL increase the level of control on the company's sales front. He reports that the sales personnel of SHL book orders from the farmers usually in the coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh, and they make the payments by cash or a demand draft, which is then deposited in the nearest bank. this often resulted in delays and chances of misuse of funds. SHL also introduced a temporary receipt system through which a sales order would be booked once the receipt with original remittance reached the regional office. Thus, it became easy for the company to detect discrepancies. His take on the ERP solution is that it is a major tool for reducing costs and the order cycle time. "As decision making is quicker, SHL also has the advantage of being able to respond to customer needs in a better way," adds Sridhar.

Moving ahead

From better allocation of resources to less duplication of work, business processes have improved substantially since the ERP solution deployment. "Strategic and financial governance are within easy grasp- we have a transparent view across all lines of businesses, enabling us to make accurate decisions, retrieve information and track profit margins. With SAP, the company has achieved a range of business benefits such as improved service levels, streamlined operations and decreased overhead costs," analyses Sridhar, considering it as a great foundation for the future. "We are satisfied with the implementation of the SAP ERP. We will be fully satisfied when we are able to extract the maximum benefits from it and ultimately achieve our business goals," concludes Sridhar.

In a nutshell, SHL's steadfast growth and impressive market share, somehow didn't translate to a healthy bottom line. It required an integrated IT solution to offer management a drill-down view of every aspect of the business, in real-time. And with this clear insight into its own operations, the company is back on track in the fast lane.