Sleepmaster, LTD

1. Our situation is that we are a relatively small organization (AUD$50M of sales) and we have an outdated MRP system. The current system in Australia has no effective scheduling ability and is very cumbersome to use for product costings. We are also in the process of starting up a new facility in China, which has no MRP system at all, and the people there have little modern manufacturing experience. We decided to use it to help get the Chinese operation up and running quickly first.
The problems we wanted to solve were therefore:
• Provide a scheduling system that allows quick changes in a very dynamic demand situation
• Provide a quick and easy costing system for products
• Provide a quick and easy system for materials requirements planning
• Enable BOMs and Routes to be quickly and easily built "on the run"

2. Resource Manager was chosen because:
• It is very easy and intuitive to use
• It can be used in sections within days, without having the whole system implementation required. ie. the materials planning was done first, then the costings, then the scheduling
• It is low cost
• It is easily configurable/flexible
• Good support is offered via Skype, phone and GoToMeeting, with fast turnaround to resolve issues

The biggest benefit relative to other systems looked at is its simplicity to operate and speed at which it can generate results in whichever area you want to start on.

A whole system can be built up while it is generating value, which is particularly valuable in a start up situation such as our Chinese plant.

3. We considered a number of other systems both local and global. Most are far more expensive and comprehensive (eg. accounting capability) but all require much higher cost and are much more resource hungry to set up. RMDB required one individual very much part time (me) to set up on the critical areas for China and is now being run by a young Chinese manager who had no manufacturing experience, but has picked up the concepts well. In that sense it is also a very good MRP training tool also.

Jim Steel, Operations Manager for Sleepmaster, LTD