IFS has just announced that Nukon, a manufacturer of cutting machines based in Turkey has just selected its IFS ERP Applications to support their mixed-mode and configure-to-order manufacturing operation as well as their corporate service. Nukon develops and manufactures cutting machines using technology such as laser cutting, water jet cutting, plasma cutting and CNC oxygen cutting for the global market.
Nukon claims to have selected IFS over other ERP vendors for two primary reasons, functionality and trust. Before selecting IFS Nukon needed to confirm that the functionality of the product would meet the requirements for their manufacturing business. ERP has traditional required a lot of work to integrate with other systems. To reduce this burden IFS has been moving their software towards configuration and away from bespoke development.
The ability to integrate with business process through the configuration options rather than rewrite processes and do extensive software development appears to have won over Nukon. They believe that it should be possible to adapt IFS 9 to their business processes through the latest configuration options. While this does not mean that no development is required it does mean that the implementation of the solution should be relatively quick and the risk of cost overruns from development are eliminated.
When is a reference trusted?
As part of many companies due diligence process it is normal to follow up on references. However most references delivered by a vendor are normally enthusiastic and it is hard to learn exactly what can go wrong. There are ways around this but it appears that Nukon looked to engage with competitors and other Turkish manufacturers.
In some industries there are forums for IT Directors to share experiences and in most industries that are chambers of commerce or industry groups set up to help pressure government of share experiences. It is these groups that can provide the information you need about software and hardware solutions.
IFS has a long list of customers in Turkey already and Oktay Akyildiz, the General Manager of Nukon has relationships with some of these. Baykal Makine and Durmazlar Makine are two Turkish manufacturers of cutting machines and competitors to Nukon who also use IFS technology.
Akyildiz commented: “An important reason for selecting IFS Applications was the many positive customer references that IFS could showcase, both in Turkey and globally. Another important factor was IFS’s support for configuration management, which corresponded very well with our approach. I am looking forward to a rapid and successfully executed implementation project.”
While it is possible that one of these were the reference site for IFS it is unlikely that both would have agreed to be a reference for a competitor. These include bottling machine manufacturers Ektam Makine and Ersey Makine, forklift truck manufacturer Çumitaş, Railway transport manufacturer Tuvasaş (railway coaches) as well as cooling industry manufacturers Friterm and Cantek.
Before making decisions about what ERP solution to choose it is worth discussing with peers what systems and solution partners they use. While they might not reveal exactly how they use the systems they are more likely to give a more open evaluation of the system than vendor for recent references, which are always likely to be positive.
Nukon will be initially installing several of the IFS modules which will support purchasing, through manufacturing to sales, it will also support their corporate administration including HRM and Finance. The IFS applications will be installed initially at Nuri Körüstan Inc, a subsidiary of Nukon and it will be interesting to see whether this is merely a pilot for a larger implementation.
IFS Turkey Managing Director Ergin Öztürk commented: “We are very excited to be working with Nukon, which is a dynamic company with a very strong product portfolio. IFS Applications offers an ideal combination of comprehensive ERP functionality and best-in-class industry-specific features, which I believe is perfectly suited to Nukon’s diverse value chain. We are pleased to support Nukon’s continued development and we look forward to a long and mutually beneficial collaboration.”
Conclusion
Nukon no doubt selected IFS on several criteria, the most likely will be whether it does what they want it to do and can the get it at the right price. The classic definition of purchasing is: “To buy materials of the right quality, in the right quantity from the right source delivered to the right place at the right time at the right price.” (Source: Lysons and Farrington). While this might normally apply to Nukon’s supply chain processes it should not be ignored when looking for ERP software.