Vinten Broadcast focuses in on IFS ERP

Vinten Broadcast, which supplies professional television and video camera mounts, is implementing a 200 user Swedish enterprise system developer IFS’ IFS Applications ERP suite to run its manufacturing business. Business systems manager, Chris Stanghan says that beyond providing the usual information infrastructure, it will also support Vinten’s development of its extended enterprise – allowing better collaboration between its plants in the UK and USA and co-ordination with sales offices, as well as customers and suppliers. The system is scheduled to go live in the New Year, with IFS modules including finance, front office and customer relations management; distribution and supply chain; engineering, manufacturing, human resources, maintenance and service management modules. Vinten Broadcast, which employs 180 in the UK and 45 in the USA, does its manufacturing at two sites. Main production is in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, supplying a range of manual tripods and pedestal accessories. The US company, based in New York, specialises in more complex studio systems, involving multiple camera installations and remote controls. “Our aim is to run the business as a global operation rather than a collection of national businesses that consolidate together,” says Stanghan. “The new IFS system provides a single point of reference giving world-wide visibility of stock and product availability. Its flexibility and easy analysis of global market information, gives us the tools we need to become a truly international global business.” One of the reasons for choosing IFS was its ability to handle mix-mode manufacturing – important because of the different types of production in the UK and the USA, with the latter being more project orientated. In the UK the emphasis is on discrete manufacturing, requiring support for lean manufacturing, with demand planning, Kanban stock control and repetitive production schedule management. Both the UK and the US plants have design and development facilities, and to cater for collaborative development Vinten is installing new computer design facilities, common to both sites. These will incorporate product data management (PDM) files which are also compatible with IFS for use in planning and manufacturing standards control. “These measures will allow our product development groups to co-ordinate activities and if necessary work concurrently on joint projects,” says Stanghan. “We can also extend the network to involve other strategic trading partners. As well as reducing project time-scales, we believe that this capability will enable us to achieve some significant competitive advantages in our marketplace.”. Vinten’s planning manager John Dunnell says: “All of the competitive ERP products appeared to offer several combined point solutions and integration, whereas with IFS all elements of the solution were seamlessly IFS… As users, we have responsibility for this decision, which makes a change from the traditional approach where a ‘preferred’ corporate solution is driven by the IT department.”