Combilift goes for make-to-order growth on product configurator ERP

Four-way forklift manufacturer Combilift reckons it will improve efficiency, accuracy and customer service with its new ERP system, due to go live in May, particularly because of its world class product configurator. The company, based in Clontibret, County Monaghan, Ireland, went for an Infor Manufacturing Essentials solution in the form of the SyteLine Microsoft .Net-based ERP system. Its major challenges were rapid growth, a high percentage of customisation and make-to-order manufacturing, and having to source components and subassemblies from around the world. “Above everything, we knew that a first class product configurator would be essential,” explains Combilift systems manager Noel Scott. “We have a team of four full-time engineers designing warehouse layouts and customising our forklifts to enable customers to maximise use of the available space. A sophisticated configurator would complement the effort we put into this. In addition, we needed strong planning and scheduling capabilities because we can’t afford to have an order delayed because one component isn’t in the right place at the right time. “The Infor configurator was head and shoulders above the competition both in terms of its functionality and the completeness of its integration with the rest of the solution. In fact, the whole solution was very well integrated and also extremely versatile and easy to customise. We were impressed by how easy it was to use and found the Infor team to be very professional.” The system is now mid-way through the implementation, which is part of significant plan for growth that includes the company relocating to new £8m premises in June to increase capacity from 1,200 units per shift to a full 2000.