Last month, Codestone received the prestigious ERP Today Award for “Transformation Project of the Year.” The recognition was the result of a project that Codestone delivered for an e-liquid company. The bespoke ERP transformation epitomized how tailored solutions can drive business success.
This project also showcased the exceptional impact of fit-to-standard ERP solutions through SAP Business One in addressing the unique challenges of the e-liquid manufacturer and delivering transformative outcomes that included an improved visibility on margins across all businesses and substantial growth.
The Challenge
As a market leader in the e-liquid industry with over 15 years of success, the client faced a critical need to modernize its IT infrastructure. The organization’s systems lacked automation and integration, resulting in stock management, order fulfilment, and financial reporting inefficiencies. Rapid growth and increasing e-commerce demand further underscored the need for an integrated solution that could automate manual processes and connect seamlessly with the company’s EPOS (Electronic Point of Sale) systems. The company selected Codestone to help it develop a unified solution to make its IT systems more efficient and easier to use.
Explore related questions
Implementing a Personalized Solution
Codestone developed a bespoke solution that was tailored to the client’s needs. The integration of Business Process Automation (BPA) was central to the solution. This integration enabled real-time data exchange across departments while streamlining repetitive tasks. Custom workflows addressed pain points like stock visibility and order processing, eliminating bottlenecks and enhancing operational efficiency. Key customizations included:
- EPOS integration: By integrating EPOS Now with SAP Business One, inventory, financial, and customer management processes were streamlined. Automation of financial journals, including card and cash payments, saved the accounts team an entire day of work each week.
- Amazon integration: Automated handling of Amazon orders reduced manual data entry by an hour weekly, streamlining the sales process.
- Courier integration: API-driven courier service integration automated shipping label creation, order tracking, and status updates, simplifying logistics.
Transformation for Measurable Outcomes
The transformation led to significant operational improvements, including:
- Faster order fulfilment with BPA reduced processing times, improved delivery speed, and customer satisfaction.
- Enhanced inventory management with real-time stock visibility, reducing overselling and streamlined replenishment.
- Efficiency gains with automation saved valuable time for financial tasks and eliminated human error.
- The ERP system provided flexibility to meet growing demand and adapt to market changes.
- Improved accuracy and faster reconciliations enhanced cash flow management.
Post-implementation, the accounts team saved a full day of work each week through financial journal automation. The automation of Amazon’s order processing saved a further hour weekly, while real-time data visibility improved inventory control and decision-making.
Sustainable Impact
Codestone’s implementation addressed the client’s unique needs and empowered them to achieve scalable growth, operational efficiency, and market responsiveness.
The project’s success extended beyond its implementation. After automating core processes and integrating EPOS systems, the client now operates with greater agility, focusing on strategic growth initiatives. The bespoke SAP Business One system also ensures scalability and adaptability, providing a long-term competitive edge.
What This Means for ERP Insiders
Codestone has become a comprehensive digital transformation partner. Founded 27 years ago, Codestone has expanded to serve over 1,000 clients. Its strategic acquisitions in the recent years have enhanced and expanded the company’s solutions and capabilities to include enterprise performance management, data and analytics, IT managed services, and cybersecurity – alongside its full ERP suite across SAP and Microsoft for mid-markets and SMEs. The organization’s transformation abilities were awarded after it completed a highly transformative ERP project, highlighting Codestone’s ethos of ERP as the beating heart of an organization.
Fit-to-standard is here to stay. Although ERP customization can raise the initial implementation costs, its long-term benefits include improved efficiency, increased return on investment, and better data quality. For example, companies like ABB improved their data accuracy by 75% after fit-to-standard customization and increased productivity by 40% with automated processes. Codestone could reduce the e-liquid company’s accounts team’s work by a full day per week through financial journal automation.
A unified system leads to better efficiency. Rapid growth and increasing e-commerce demand underscored the need for an integrated solution for the e-liquid company as it grappled with old systems and processes. Codestone’s successful BPA integration emphasizes the key benefits of this process, which lead to streamlined data handling, automation of repetitive tasks, and fostering an environment of innovation.
