1. PN International
Oracle Customer:
PN International
PN International Increases Annual Revenue by
New Delhi, India 25% with Centralized Enterprise Resource
www.pninternational.in
Planning
Industry:
Industrial Manufacturing “By integrating and streamlining our business processes, Oracle E-Business Suite
Release 12 helped us meet delivery commitments more efficiently and keep better
track of orders and payments. We have improved our customer satisfaction rates,
Annual Revenue: and this helped us to increase our customer base and annual revenue.”
Under US$100 Million –– Mukul Anand, Plant Operations and ERP Project Manager, PN International
Employees: PN International is a large manufacturer of aluminium safety products and adventure
1,000 sporting equipment. The company produces a range of safety buckles, harnesses, lanyards,
belts, shoes, helmets, and ropes used in various industries, such as building and emergency
services, and for sports, like rock climbing.
Oracle Products & Services:
• Oracle E-Business Suite R12 PN International has over 5,500 end-to-end products, which it designs, manufactures, and
• Oracle Discrete Manufacturing sells in more than 40 countries, including the UK and the U.S. Headquartered in New
• Oracle Financials Delhi, it has three manufacturing plants in Sitarganj and Lucknow and ten sales and
• Oracle Order Management
marketing offices across India. As the company exports its products, it has to comply with
European, American, Canadian, Singapore, Malaysian, and Australian industry safety and
• Oracle Purchasing
quality standards.
Oracle Partner: Before it has a centralized database, PN International relied on e-mail and telephone
Filix Consulting conversations to communicate a variety of design, manufacturing, and sales data, such as
www.filixconsulting.com customized safety specifications and customer account and order information, which was
recorded in separate, onsite spreadsheets. With such vast quantities of information to
communicate, this process was time-consuming and prone to errors. The company found it
difficult to meet its commitment to deliver customer orders within 60 days, so in early 2010,
it decided to implement five Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12 modules to provide a
centralized enterprise resource planning (ERP) system that would consolidate its product
database and streamline its sales, design, and manufacturing processes.
Revenue Increased by 25%
PN International is using Oracle Discrete Manufacturing and Oracle Order Management to
process thousands of products, such as climbing harnesses, belts, and buckles from design
stage through to delivery. These products are tailored to customers’ exact specifications.
Because the company designs, manufactures, and sells its safety products in 40 countries
around the world, many of the products have to be customized to meet complex
international safety requirements or to fit various requirements of the industries in which
they are used.
“Each product has a standard bill of materials, but many of the bills need to be changed to
meet specific product requirements, such as the shape and size of the buckles,” said Anand.
“Oracle Discrete Manufacturing gives us the flexibility to change the bill of materials
depending on product specification, which allows the design team to communicate exactly
what is required for each customization, and the manufacturing team to then order exactly
the right materials for each product.”
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2. PN International
Previously, materials had to be ordered to a standard bill of materials. Specific requirements
for each safety product had to be addressed by the design and manufacturing teams manually.
This added time to the manufacturing process and put extra pressure on manufacturing staff
as they raced to meet the order delivery time frame of 60 days.
“Now our manufacturing process has been streamlined, we have reduced the pressure on our
design and manufacturing teams and can easily meet our order commitments and
international safety standards,” said Anand. “We can now produce more safety products for
each customer, increasing customer satisfaction. We have also increased our annual revenue
by 25% in the last year.”
Improved Supply Chain Processes
By integrating Oracle Order Management and Oracle Discrete Manufacturing, PN
International is able to keep track of customer orders from the moment products, such as
steel hooks and buckles, are sold by a sales representative, to the moment they are delivered
to the customer. This has improved the company’s supply chain processes by enabling it to
order necessary materials in advance and to deliver products on schedule.
“Previously, our order management processes were very disjointed,” explained Anand. “We
had no way of knowing what orders had been placed with sales representatives until we
received the order in the manufacturing plant. This meant we were always ‘working
backwards’—unable to buy raw materials such as plastics or polyester until the order had
been received. Communication between sales, design, and manufacturing departments was a
struggle, and we had to rush to meet our delivery commitment, which sometimes led to errors.
“Now, as soon as an order is placed, the sales representative enters the information and
specifications into the Oracle system, and we can see immediately what we need to produce,
when we need to produce it, and what materials we need to buy,” he said. “Having this
specific information available from the beginning of the process has improved our supply
chain management; enabled us to make more comprehensive, fact-based management
decisions regarding our products and sales, marketing, and manufacturing processes; and
helped us meet our production deadlines.”
Reduced Costly Production Stoppages by 30%
PN International uses a range of materials to manufacture its safety equipment, including
steel, aluminum, iron ore, polyester and other synthetic materials, and several types of
plastics. Many of its products are made to order and include materials that need to be
purchased as soon as an order has been received. The company also keeps a minimum level of
materials, such as steel and aluminum, in its warehouse inventory at all times.
Previously, PN International struggled to manage inventory levels, and sometimes ordered
stock that was already in the warehouse or ran out of key materials. This affected its ability
to produce orders on time and put extra pressure on manufacturing staff to comply with the
60-day order-to-delivery commitment.
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3. PN International
Oracle Inventory Management has enabled PN International to better plan its inventory
levels. Having the right amount of raw materials available enables the company to complete
the manufacturing process efficiently, rather than storing items as work-in-process inventory.
This has reduced costly production stoppages during the company’s manufacturing process
by 30%.
PN International can also complete larger orders for customers in the same timeframe.
“Taking better control of our inventory processes means we have improved our production
and delivery standards,” said Anand. “In the past, we were able to fulfill basic customer
orders comfortably, but as soon as a customer requested an extra product or a new
customization, we struggled to meet our delivery commitment. The integrated Oracle
system has helped us raise the benchmark when it comes to customer service, and we are now
getting much more positive feedback. Happy customers are more likely to pass on a
recommendation, which in turn has helped us win more customers. We grew our customer
base by 10% to 15% in 12 months.”
Streamlined Invoicing
PN International is using Oracle Financials to keep better track of its customer and supplier
payments and collection schedules, which has improved the accuracy and timeliness of its
purchase orders and invoices.
“Sales, marketing, and procurement departments from every region now enter information,
such as products that have been sold or materials purchased, into a central system,” said
Anand. “This information can be checked online by department managers and the accounts
team, so any errors are picked up straight away, and the order can be processed quickly. As
soon as a delivery is sent or received, the information is moved into the general ledger, and
we can immediately generate an invoice or payment. This streamlines the process and
ensures we maintain good relationships with our customers and suppliers.”
Oracle Financials also enables PN International to monitor its budget allocation and actual
budget more closely to ensure it does not over spend.
Improved Supplier Performance
PN International works with a number of suppliers to ensure it is able to buy the highest
quality and most cost-effective materials for its specialized safety products. Oracle
Purchasing has enabled the company to choose the most cost-effective supplier by
integrating supplier information, such as prices and delivery times in a single database.
“We can now focus on suppliers’ performances to check that they are meeting their
commitments and providing us with the best possible price and delivery times,” said Anand.
“Comparing and analyzing these performances saves us money by ensuring we pick the most
cost-effective options.”
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4. PN International
Challenges
•• Replace separate spreadsheets with a centralized, integrated product and customer database
•• Improve communication between design, manufacturing, and sales departments to speed
up the safety equipment production process and reduce the risk of human error
•• Produce products that are customized to a customer’s exact specifications
•• Ensure safety products such as belts, buckles, and harnesses are delivered within the
company’s 60-day order-to-delivery timeframe to customers in 40 countries without
putting unnecessary pressure on design and manufacturing staff
•• Comply with industry safety and quality standards for Europe, America, Canada,
Singapore, Malaysia, and Australia
•• Streamline order, inventory, and manufacturing processes to improve efficiency and reduce
costs
•• Strengthen financial management by centralizing supplier payments
•• Ensure the company receives the most competitive quotes from suppliers
Solutions
•• Produced customized safety products, such as steel buckles and harnesses within the
company’s 60-day order delivery commitment by streamlining manufacturing processes
•• Increased annual revenue by 25% in 12 months
•• Cut costly production stoppages by 30% and reduced items stored as work in process
inventory by ensuring raw materials are available
•• Met customer requirements and international safety standards by gaining the flexibility to
change the bill of materials according to product specifications
•• Improved the company’s supply chain processes by enabling it to order necessary materials
in advance and deliver products on schedule
•• Delivered orders on time, regardless of size or specifications, which improved customer
satisfaction and helped the company grow its customer base by 10 to 15%
•• Maintained good relationships with customers and suppliers by improving the accuracy
and timeliness of its purchase orders and invoices and keeping better track of customer and
supplier payments and collection schedules
•• Monitored its budget allocation and actual budget more closely to ensure it does not over
spend
•• Reduced supplier costs and improved supplier performance by enabling the company to
choose the most cost-effective option
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5. PN International
Why Oracle?
PN International undertook a proof-of-concept for a new, integrated enterprise resource
planning system in November 2009. The company assessed vendors, such as SAP, Microsoft,
and Oracle, but decided Oracle E-Business Suite best met its business needs in terms of cost
and flexibility.
“We also wanted an application that was adaptable but ready to go, out of the box, and
Oracle E-Business Suite met that need,” said Anand.
Implementation Process
PN International engaged Oracle Platinum Partner Filix Consulting to implement five
Oracle E-Business Suite Release12 modules in early 2010. After assessing PN International’s
business needs, Filix Consulting began deploying the modules on 1 March 2010. The
implementation took six months and the system went live on September 1, 2010.
Partner
Filix Consulting guided PN International through the proof-of-concept and implementation
stages, providing support, advice, and training. The company evaluated products for PN
International and demonstrated how Oracle E-Business Suite could be adapted to fit PN
International’s business needs.
“Our client was worried about how the new enterprise resource planning system would fit
with its business’ complexity,” said Guarav Mathur, managing director, Filix Consulting
“After we mapped the company’s business processes and requirements, we could reassure PN
International that Oracle E-Business Suite would meet its business needs straight away, with
very little customization.”
Filix Consulting carried out user acceptance testing at PN International, followed by a
master upload. The firm then visited the manufacturing plants and marketing offices to
deliver staff training. Filix Consulting continues to support PN International through its
centralized support desk.
“Filix Consulting provided excellent help and advice at every step of the implementation,”
said Anand. “The consultants went out of their way to guide, support, and reassure us
throughout the process—we couldn’t be happier with the service we received.”
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