Counting the Gains at ICO Polymers

Microsoft Customer Solution Customer Solution Case Study

Overview "Microsoft Great Plains is a critical tool we will use, Country/Region: United Kingdom and trust, to help improve the efficiency and Industry: Manufacturing profitability of the business." Customer Profile Lyndon Wilson, Finance Director, ICO Polymers United Kingdom ICO Polymers is the world's largest producer of compounded rotational moulding powders. With 19 locations in 10 countries and on five continents, ICO Business Situation ICO needed to implement a single Polymers produces custom, engineered polymer powders for enterprise resource planning (ERP) rotational moulding and other polymer markets, including system in all subsidiaries worldwide, starting with the United Kingdom, textiles, metal coatings, and master batch. An entire year's providing faster and more efficient worth of data from the United Kingdom's Sage 100 system was access to financial data and reports for the company. migrated, and all accounting functions are now run on the new

system using Microsoft® Business Solutions-Great Plains® which Solution An entire year's worth of data from the enables a direct link with head office. United Kingdom's Sage 100 system was migrated, and all accounting functions are now run on the new system using Microsoft® Business Solutions-Great Plains® which enables a direct link with head office.

Benefits  Faster reporting  Month-end close time halved  Reconciliations improved  Standardised processes  Greater flexibility Situation had used Microsoft Great Plains ICO Polymers is the largest global successfully in the past. producer of compounded rotational moulding powders. It provides competitive Solution priced engineering resins for the industry, The U.K. was one of two subsidiaries that offering custom made powders for a variety were first charged with migrating to of applications including toys, kayaks, Microsoft Great Plains in order to boats, playground equipment, and understand and test the transition process. decorative garden products. Employing 95 people and with a turnover of £15 million, this would be a crucial project In recent years the company has for the U.K. branch. Lyndon Wilson, undergone rapid international expansion, Finance Director, ICO Polymers U.K., says, and at present has 19 subsidiaries based in "Our head office trusted us to know what five continents. In 2002, the company took we were doing, so we were told to find a the decision to locate all its servers at its suitable consulting company to work with headquarters in Houston, U.S. This us through the transition, and make sure it resolution, taken as part of a continuous wasn't too expensive." business improvement review programme, would help to streamline business between The company chose Tectura—a worldwide the parent company and its satellites. specialist in Microsoft implementation and a Microsoft Gold Certified Business At the same time, ICO Polymers decided it Solutions Partner. Despite the complexity would replace the various accounting and time consuming nature of the task, the packages used across its subsidiaries with transition went smoothly and ICO Polymers a single, standard package that would fulfill is now considering expanding the system the needs of both head office and into order processing. subsidiary offices. The aim was to improve financial reporting and, through With just several months to undertake the implementing a simpler and faster method transition, the U.K. office was tasked with of receiving data, leave regional managers migrating 126,000 transactions from its more time to concentrate on the actual Sage 100 systems to the new system, business. It would also enable each before going live. One of the most complex country to participate in best practice aspects of the implementation was the data implementation strategies. migration itself.

The company considered three different Tectura was responsible for analysing the systems: JD Edwards, Sage, and requirements for ICO's U.K. business Microsoft® Business Solutions-Great before configuring Microsoft Great Plains Plains®. The final choice was driven in part accordingly. The next challenge was to because ICO Polymers was already using migrate the data and then train and support Microsoft products extensively, but also users during the 'go live' period. The data because many of ICO's senior managers had to be sorted and manipulated into the correct format—if ICO Polymers U.K. was to maintain business continuity it was operations, ICO Polymers has been able to imperative that this data was imported improve and increase its financial reporting. accurately. The transition went smoothly, Now transactions can be posted to closed with the system successfully going live in and future periods, something that was August 2002. previously impossible. The platform is also highly stable, unlike the old system. Benefits Month-end Close Time Halved Standardised Processes There were immediate and tangible Aside from giving its managers more time advantages to the new system, Wilson to concentrate on the needs of the explains, "When we left Sage we were business instead of compiling data, the closing month-end in around eight days. It new system has opened up all the is difficult to make a direct comparison company's transactions to a new, more between Sage and Microsoft Great Plains focussed degree of attention. Today, because they are very different individuals and departments can be propositions. But soon after our new pinpointed and successes and failures system went live we were closing month- more easily recognised. The simpler input end in four to four and half days." of data has also made the company more efficient and the increased automation of Reconciliations Improved tasks has helped the company to run faster The automatic e-mail alerts facility for and more profitably. debtors has also helped to significantly reduce the amount of time spent on The software has been successfully chasing up overdue payments, saving the implemented in ICO Polymers' offices credit controller valuable time while around the world. By standardising generating faster cash flow. And because business practices company-wide, ICO is the office is now running the same system now able to use market knowledge, as the U.S. office, all the financial data is processing expertise, and business quickly and easily sent across to them. This practice in all their locations. has saved time in piecing the data together, both initially and upon its arrival in Wilson concludes, "Microsoft Great Plains Houston. "I can now get a report for each is a critical business tool which ICO U.K. individual or debtor by department and will use, and can trust, to help improve the when reports are sent to our people in efficiency and profitability of the business." Houston, they have all the data and can produce their own reports—so they don't need to refer further questions to me," continues Wilson.

Faster Reporting The U.K. transition has served as a useful template for other countries. By rolling out Microsoft Great Plains across its global For More Information Microsoft Business Solutions For more information about Microsoft Microsoft Business Solutions offers products and services, call the Microsoft integrated business applications and Sales Information Center at (800) 426- services that allow small and mid-sized 9400. In Canada, call the Microsoft organizations and divisions of large Canada Information Centre at (877) 568- enterprises to connect employees, 2495. Customers who are deaf or hard- customers, and suppliers for improved of-hearing can reach Microsoft text efficiency. The financial management, telephone (TTY/TDD) services at (800) customer relationship management, supply 892-5234 in the United States or (905) chain management, and analytics 568-9641 in Canada. Outside the 50 applications work with Microsoft products United States and Canada, please such as Microsoft Office and Windows® to contact your local Microsoft subsidiary. streamline processes across an entire To access information using the World organization, giving businesses insight to Wide Web, go to: www.microsoft.com respond rapidly, plan strategically, and execute quickly. Microsoft Business For more information about Tectura Solutions are delivered through a products and services, call 020 7632 worldwide network of channel partners that 1200 or visit the Web site at: provide specialized services and local www.tectura.com support tailored to a company's needs.

For more information about ICO For more information about Microsoft Polymers U.K. products and services, Business Solutions, go to: call 01427 676767 or visit the Web site www.microsoft.com/businesssolutions at: www.icopolymers.com

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Document published July 2005