Faced with the challenge of replacing an aging proprietary system, a top manufacturer of hydraulic cylinders selected Abel® ERP to streamline production, inventory and financial management.
In the world of heavy machinery, hydraulic cylinders are the unsung heroes. They provide the muscles that power the bulldozers, excavators and dump trucks that keep construction, forestry, agriculture and other industries humming along.
For more than 35 years, Christchurch-based Victor Hydraulics has been designing and manufacturing bespoke, specialist and stock cylinders for a broad range of customers around the world.
“Our business is built on innovation and collaborative engineering that meet the precise requirements of our customers,” says Finance Manager Estelle Williams. “They rely on us and come back to us because of our expertise and quality products.”
To ensure optimal performance and reliability of their products in punishing environments, Victor Hydraulics sources a wide range of materials globally for their cylinders, which are built in their Hornby facility using the latest CNC-controlled machines and other specialist equipment.
For years, production and other processes were monitored closely by a proprietary ERP system. But in 2021 the company realised their software had become outdated and unstable, and they began a comprehensive search for a new ERP system with robust production workflows.
“We started by looking at about fifteen systems and compared them on basic criteria before narrowing our search to three,” Estelle says. “Then we conducted in-depth interviews and customer visits to see the systems in action before we decided.”
Abel also had the endorsement of a former Victor Hydraulics colleague who was successfully using Abel in similar ways at his new job.
“In the end, we liked Abel’s functionality, flexibility and collaborative approach,” she says. ”Abel’s value for money and affordable licensing also made Abel a no brainer”.
Another critical factor in Abel’s favour was their implementation methodology, which was clearly set out from the start: two months of preparation, two weeks of on-site handholding during the go-live, and a program of part-time support during the first two months of live running. At first, Estelle didn’t think such a short implementation timeframe was possible. “No one else offered this, so I kept asking, ‘Can you really do this?’ But Abel did.”
“I was blown away. I never expected that we’d be operating in the system on day one of the go live. After two weeks with Abel on site, everything was in and running. Abel stayed with us until we were comfortable.”
Victor Hydraulics now runs nearly all of their business processes in Abel – automating their workflow from sales quotes and purchase orders to production planning and scheduling, ensuring quick response to customer orders, accurate delivery times, and precise control of inventory and costs.
“I’ve used other ERP systems but Abel is the easiest I’ve ever worked on,” Estelle says. “It’s intuitive, fast and reliable. We have everything in one place, our printing and paperwork have gone away. No one wants to go back to the old system.”
Estelle says Abel’s built-in agility has delivered the key requirement Victor Hydraulics needed in a new system: improved production management.
“We often get urgent orders and need to change production scheduling,” she says. “This used to be time-consuming and production plans frequently got discarded. Now we can quickly check the loading on routes, add resources or another shift to avoid any bottlenecks.”
“It used to take three hours to do a production plan, now it takes seconds. It’s made a big difference to our business.”
Abel has made it easier for Victor Hydraulics to track critical inventory data like stock write-offs and shortages and key productivity outcomes: job completion time, staff downtime, chargeable hours, and profitability per product and client.
Estelle says Abel has also cut the time required to close their monthly trial balance from 10 working days to five.
“It’s fantastic to have such fast access to data you can trust,” Estelle says. “As the Finance Manager, my biggest concern from the start was ensuring we posted accurate data for audits, and this has never been a problem. I know the data I’m getting is accurate and I have complete confidence that when I deliver a financial statement, there won’t be any questions.”
Three years after going live with Abel, Estelle says Victor Hydraulics continues to work collaboratively with the Abel team to improve productivity and overall efficiency.