Global JDE Roll-out to Asia – A single ERP Strategy that is no longer a pipe dream
27 October 2022, Utrecht
A strategy of “Single ERP” is one that is usually a wish for most companies, but with the right partnership, you can make this a reality. Elementis and Steltix make a formidable team amidst the uncertainty and challenges brought on by COVID-19.
In early 2019 Elementis embarked on a project with Steltix to replace their existing SAP ERP with their globally appointed ERP solution, JDE Enterprise One (JDE). The unexpected outbreak of COVID-19 however foiled their plans to go-live in March 2020, and due to financial and timing constraints, it was decided that a remote ERP cut-over would need to be performed. While this was a daunting task, Greg Bellotti, Chief Information Officer at Elementis remarked that “Steltix helped us leverage their network and their staff expertise to reduce risk, manage all activities and eventually cut over with no business impact.”
The project which spanned 3 sites in China and 1 in Taiwan included the implementation and localisation of 4 core components of JDE; Manufacturing, Supply Chain Management, Quality Management and Financials, in a single remote ERP cut-over. To achieve this, Steltix relied on 12 dedicated consultants managed by Erik de Joode, a Senior Delivery Manager from Steltix Netherlands. When asked about the challenges faced on the project Erik said that “By far the most difficult aspect of the project was not being able to be on-site as a team, however, we quickly realised that the key to succeeding would be great communication. We made use of all the tools at our disposal to ensure that we were in constant communication with one another, scheduled daily meetings where necessary and left nothing unsaid or ambiguous. I think it was this level of commitment that led to the success of the roll-out.”
Commenting on the Elementis “Single ERP” Strategy Greg noted that it is usually a wish for companies to want to achieve this, however, he added “At Elementis, we believe a single, global ERP is instrumental in driving simplicity within our business, delivering more to our customers and operating at low cost for our shareholders. Replacing deeply embedded systems is never easy so the process we developed with Steltix takes the edge off the ultimate change and creates projects that add value to the business.”
For more than a decade, Elementis has relied on Steltix to help them deliver on their IT strategy – “It’s a tremendous relationship that enables us to scale as needed, remain on the cutting edge of technology solutions and supports our initiatives to extract value from our ERP solution” said Greg. The partnership began with the implementation of the Elementis JDE Model in Delden, The Netherlands; followed thereafter by the implementation in Ludwigshafen, Germany, for the Elementis Pharma sites. In 2019 Elementis opened a new facility in India and once again called upon Steltix to deliver the implementation of JDE. In each instance, Steltix performed the necessary localisations. Today, Elementis and Steltix continue their partnership and will soon be kicking off a project to replace SAP with the Elementis JDE Model in their newly acquired talc mining business in Finland.
As a Managed Service Provider, Steltix are entrusted to maintain and anticipate all technical CNC requirements for Elementis. With 11 offices across EMEA & APAC Steltix have the ability to offer local knowledge with global experience as well as 24 x 7 standby support during office hours in Australia and visa versa. Remarking on the level of service provided by the global Steltix team, Greg said that “Steltix has always been transparent, accessible and truthful. Their teams are knowledgeable, professional and get the job done. I judge a partner based on their response during holidays, weekends and off-hours; Steltix always answers the call and makes my emergencies their problem to fix.”
Steltix has always prided themselves on being accessible, pragmatic, reliable, personable and experts in their field.
“We live by these core values in all that we do and hold each other accountable to them on a daily basis, so it’s great to get such remarkable feedback from our customers” said Jan Jaap Weerstand, Director of Steltix.
“Steltix is an extension of my team and over the past decade have proven to be a great partner.”
Greg Bellotti, CIO, Elementis