Kemet International, a global leader in precision lapping and polishing technologies, recognised the need to modernise its IT and manufacturing systems. To enhance traceability, improve efficiency, and support international growth. Kemet partnered with Ochiba Business Solutions to implement SAP Business One.
Just weeks after go-live, the organisation is already benefiting from improved manufacturing control, greater data accuracy, and wider system adoption across the business.
Kemet sought an ERP that not only supported financials and operations. but also enhanced manufacturing processes, traceability, and customer-specific production. SAP Business One was selected for its flexibility, global capability, and built-in manufacturing tools.
Laura Gellett, Director at Kemet
The implementation went through a detailed scope, two sets of workshop sessions to refine the process and some requirements, Training, and Conference Room Pilot.
Laura and the team worked hard putting all their efforts into the preparation of users, which reaped rewards on go live. Laura commented: “When we went live with SAP it literally was just business as usual. The guys at Ochiba transitioned the data late one afternoon and we were live the next morning. Ochiba’s Conference Room Pilot (CRP) environment allowed our users to fully test and train in the system before go-live, ensuring confidence and smooth adoption”.
Data quality from the legacy Sage system was a challenge, particularly for manufacturing and inventory. “Our data in Sage was not good enough for a truly integrated solution like SAP Business One. We had to clean, add, and transform data, and Ochiba automated that process so we could run new data in several times throughout the implementation”.
One of the most significant transformations has been in manufacturing operations. particularly traceability and customer-specific production. Laura Gellett explains: “SAP Business One has massively improved our manufacturing processes. We now have full backwards and forwards traceability of our batch and serial-controlled items-which is critical for quality and compliance. We also make great use of the ‘make to order’ functionality for client-specific products, allowing us to manufacture precisely to customer requirements with complete visibility and control. This level of traceability and flexibility simply wasn’t possible in Sage.”
With the implementation of SAP Business One, Kemet was able to realise some beneficial business impacts and has helped how the business can operate, more efficiently.
With SAP the adoption of the new system was an initial concern for Laura and some of the directors, but the outcome was very different. Laura specifically mentions: “Staff that found Sage difficult to use have taken to SAP Business One like a duck to water. Even users that wouldn’t engage with Sage are using it every day, it’s great”.
Despite the scale of change, Kemet experienced no disruption to daily operations during go-live. Dave Worsman managing director at Ochiba commented: “A go-live should be a non event to our customer. It’s all in the effort and preparation that is put in prior to the go-live. We prepared the platform for them to work with, but it means nothing without the users putting in the effort. Laura and the team did a great job on that front, couldn’t have done more, which is why it was such a success.”
Kemet is already planning to expand their system use by:
The team are already looking for the next series of wins for the business: “Only three weeks after going live we are eagerly looking forward to working with Ochiba to deliver the next set of benefits to our business.” – Laura.
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