Application Development & Modernization ERP System Nations Photo Lab (Photo finishing Industry) 1 2013 Compunnel Software Group
Application Modernization & Development ERP System Intensifying Readiness for Business Growth Nations Photo Lab (NPL) is a professional photo lab that provides the highest-quality professional photo printing services and products at industry-leading prices. Its digital professional photo lab serves emerging and professional photographers throughout the United States and international markets. Nations Photo Lab prides itself on being the photo printing lab of choice for professionals as well as anyone else looking for high quality professional photo finishing services. -NPL provides the highest-quality professional photo printing services and products at industryleading prices. In a strategic move, NPL was in the process of launching its product line to the masses through affiliations with both nationally recognized retail chains and widely popular photo sites. With this launch the company was certain to see tremendous growth in the demand of its products, which required NPL to automate the tracking and fulfillment process as much as possible. This includes tracking production processes on the floor via their own custom ERP. As the IT team assessed their existing infrastructure for this expansion, the production application in use turned out to be too expensive and was not scalable to evolving business processes and needs. - NPL was in the process of launching its product line to the masses through affiliations with both nationally recognized retail chains and widely popular photo sites. - Compunnel was selected to help NPL achieve its application development requirements for planning, monitoring and control of the production process for different work orders on the production floor. Compunnel is a trusted global technology services company delivering quality, performance and results for over 20 years. Compunnel has a specialized practice for application modernization and development solutions. Compunnel helps organizations define and implement an end-to-end transformation of legacy applications into a set of flexible, streamlined applications and processes. It is recognized for combining extensive industry knowledge with highly tailored management services to help customers achieve greater agility, speed and significant cost savings. Compunnel was selected to help NPL achieve its application development requirements for planning, monitoring, and control of the production process for different work orders on the production floor. Compunnel engaged with the NPL team to carry out a comprehensive needs analysis, design a roadmap strategy and propose an ERP application solution to meet all the desired requirements. The proposed solution used PHP Zend Framework 1.0 with MVC architecture, including integration with multiple software applications to create a seamless user experience and achieve business results. The solution provided the following resolves: Visibility of end-to-end order fulfillment process to the senior management Integration of different order formats/schemas for various partners/affiliates into a single system Management of a higher volume of orders each say, starting with 4,000 orders per day. They expect to have to have 10,000 orders per day. The solution gave NPL the increased efficiency it needed to support expected growth in demand. 2 2013 Compunnel Software Group
Challenges & Compunnel s Customized Solution The Customer s Business Challenges NPL had multiple systems for different business functions, but they were all disconnected leading to different reports by different systems. They needed access to real-time, consolidated, and accurate reports. The company was also facing the following issues: The lack of a comprehensive, automated tracking and fulfillment process led to business, productivity and efficiency loss Customer support faced challenges regarding the availability of real time data There was no way to generate detailed analysis for quality decision-making Excessive manpower was required to manage the production floor manually With standalone applications, NPL s managers had very limited reporting capabilities and no realtime traceability Operators had to reach out to the machine to update each order status, which was practically impossible - NPL needed to improve the production process to a centralized method to be able to track orders on the production line and have clearer visibility. - Compunnel provided a full end-to-end visibility to the fulfillment process. - Integration of different order formats/schemas for various partners/affiliates into a single system. Compunnel s Application Modernization Solution: An ERP Application for NPL To meet NPL s goal of increased efficiency within an aggressive project timeline, Compunnel s expert project team worked with the company s leadership and technical teams. A collaborative mode was introduced to create a flexible and scalable ERP system that addressed their changing needs and growth requirements. The ERP system obtained information from separate areas, including Production, Inventory, Facility Mapping, User Mapping, and Production Planning, to integrate the information and address the following processes: Define common standards for receiving orders from all partners and developing a Middle Tier System (MTS) Automation of all incoming orders from different partners and affiliates through an API into a centralized MTS Integrate the MTS with NPL s production system equipment Develop an order execution system and integrate it with the MTS to order based on commonly defined standards Track orders on the production line to have a clear visibility Implementation of an effective searching and reporting system 3 2013 Compunnel Software Group
Benefits & Outcomes Key Features Compunnel created a complete end-to-end automation process for the production floor to help NPL achieve more accurate planning, monitoring, and order scheduling. It was combined with required reports for decision-making related to managing manpower, machines and materials. The ERP system s primary features included: A centralized system for order capture and order status An interface to partner sites through an API Centralized, real-time production floor information for use in delivering customer support Automatic validation of each incoming order Tracking of real-time manpower and workstation availability and allocation Exception report generation to show errors, error types in incoming orders and on-floor orders in execution Order accuracy was now ensured from a billing and fulfillment prospective Creation of various reports, which are filtered by different attributes to support technicians, customer support and senior management - End-to-end automation process for the production floor to help NPL achieve more accurate planning, monitoring and order scheduling. The new ERP Solution provided the company with required reports for decisionmaking related to managing manpower, machines, and materials. - Exception report generation to show errors, error types in incoming orders and on-floor orders in execution. Business Benefits The creation of a scalable, agile and flexible ERP system with integration across the disparate systems provided critical access to data across the organization. The following results were achieved for NPL: Compunnel s ERP system provided seamless integration of NPL s business processes on a common platform. This reduced the need for manual intervention and the excessive time it was taking to make decisions Increased data accuracy, along with greater visibility into product and production data. This resulted in better costing and process integration Customer satisfaction has also been increased due to real-time traceability through improved and integrated operational processes Manual data entry was further eliminated, redundancies were reduced, and the company saved time and money 4 2013 Compunnel Software Group
The Compunnel Difference Compunnel The Right Choice Compunnel has been providing successful customer outcomes to global organizations for over 20 years. Backed by deep domain expertise in multiple industries, we offer specialized application development and modernization solutions and exceptional project management based on processes perfected over the duration of its existence. Compunnel provides consultative advice on the most effective approaches and ways to save on costs. We explain how we will ensure that each project is primed for success. We provide roadmap assessments and consultative guidance, discovery, design, building, deployment and operational support. Compunnel works from a foundation focused on data governance and architecture. We provide highly specialized and cost-effective teams drawing from our expert IT resources of 1,000+ worldwide. We help organizations significantly reduce costs, typically up to 40% less, with our flexible onsite and offshore model. For more information about Compunnel s Application Development & Modernization Solutions, visit: www.compunnel.com, call (800) 696-8128 or email us at contact@compunnel.com. Compunnel has a track record of successful deliveries for a large number of projects. Some projects encompass a variety of legacy application solutions, using a wide range of technologies such as cloud, mobile, multi-tier web-based, and more. We offer roadmap assessments and consultative guidance, discovery, design, building, deployment, and managed support. Compunnel Software Group is a leading global business technology services company. Recognized for our comprehensive portfolio of technology services and outsourcing solutions, we combine extensive industry knowledge with highly tailored application development and information management services. Application Development Cloud Solutions Business Intelligence Learning Solutions IT Staffing 5 2013 Compunnel Software Group