An end to financial and asset management silos

Sapphire and Barry-Wehmiller present seamless integration of Infor10 EAM and Infor10 Financials Business (SunSystems)

Lack of real-time and effortless integration between financial accounting and enterprise asset management solutions has long been an issue for busy power plant executives.  Sapphire ERP Systems Private Limited, India, is pleased to present a solution to this problem. In partnership with Barry-Wehmiller International Resources, Sapphire offers a solution that delivers Infor’s best of breed Financials and EAM systems, fully and seamlessly integrated, and template, for India’s power stations.

Infor10 Financials Business (SunSystems) is a richly featured, global financial management solution available in both traditional application and web-based modes of enterprise delivery. Its unique single-ledger design, with strong multi-currency and analysis capabilities, provides an ideal basis for financial reporting, and is complemented by integrated business process functionality for purchasing, sales, and inventory management. Certified for IFRS and Sarbanes-Oxley 404, it is available in a range of international languages and configurable to meet varying financial requirements; Infor10 SunSystems provides a common accounting solution that can be deployed globally to meet local requirements at the lowest total cost of ownership.

Infor10 EAM enables large-scale power plants and energy generation companies (also manufacturers, distributors and services organisations), to save time and money.  This is done by optimising enterprise-wide maintenance resources, improving equipment and staff productivity, increasing inventory efficiency, and strengthening their ability to collect on warranty-related claims.  Infor EAM reporting tools enable better decision-making to help improve future asset performance management and profitability.

The combination of Infor’s powerful software, with pre-configured templates for power stations and the Indian market from Infor global partners and sector specialists Sapphire and BWIR, will rapidly deliver return on investment through:

• Ensuring inventory is strongly managed, with economic stocking levels and economic order quantities for every stock item of value
• Extensive planned maintenance programmes, to allow full workforce planning and driving the majority of procurement based on parts delivery times and more
• Real-time view of budgets less actuals, less committed/accrued expenditure for all cost centre managers – data available 24/7 on smartphones and mobile devices, due to web technology being available as standard with Infor applications
• Tightly integrated work management/maintenance management/procurement/multi warehouse inventory and financials
• Full user definable workflow approval matrix, for work approval and purchase approval
• Easy to use intuitive web user interface
• Common, easy to use, Query&Analysis report writer across all modules
• Full MS Office and MS SharePoint compliance and integration
• Solution deliverable including UAT and full integration within weeks, not months or years – as can be the case with other solutions.
• Linking finance and operations teams together on one common Infor application
• The finance team can provide real-time data for cost centre managers about their exact budget availability

Ralph Bolton, Sapphire’s Technical Director, commented: “We are delighted to be working with Barry-Wehmiller to provide an end to end financial accounting and asset management solution to power plants.  Sapphire has many power station customers worldwide; we understand that power stations are hugely expensive to run and the need to focus on keeping turbines and generators working, as breakdowns are enormously expensive. Our solution allows the operating team to manage the high costs associated with procurement, maintenance, operation, repair, construction and staffing.”

“Power stations can derive great benefit from a common design approach to the coding for assets, work management and financial accounting for the plant; Sapphire’s expertise in Infor10 EAM (Enterprise Asset Management) and Infor10 (SunSystems) can deliver a world class solution in weeks.”

Sapphire is number one for Infor10 Financials Business (SunSystems) for ninth consecutive year

Sapphire is pleased to announce that it has been awarded Infor10 Financials Business (SunSystems) Partner of the Year accolade for the ninth year in a row.

Ian Caswell, Sapphire’s Managing Director, accepted the award at the Infor EMEA Channel Partner Conference in Estoril, Portugal.  He also took part in a panel discussion at the event, where 300 delegates were invited to gain insight into Infor’s new product direction with Infor10 and corporate strategy.

“Infor is pleased to announce that Sapphire has yet again proven to be the top global producer for Infor Financials SunSystems. Sapphire continues to set the bar in terms of their commitment and ability to provide a high level of quality service to their customers while also continuing to add a significant number of new customers globally” said Infor’s Financials Solutions Group Senior Vice President, Chris Murphy, adding, “Infor is very excited to continue to work closely with Sapphire as a key component of the overall global expansion of the Infor10 strategy.”

2011 is shaping up to be a game changing year for Infor, not least due to the new web-based version of Infor10 Financials Business (SunSystems).  In order to best meet the individual requirements of an organisation, it is possible to have a hybrid deployment of the solution, with both web-based and on-premise utilisation for office based members of the team.

“This is an exciting time for Infor and the development of the SunSystems solution” commented Ian. “We are delighted to be working with Infor to meet the ever evolving needs of our customers.  The new web-based version of SunSystems is great and a particularly good fit for global companies looking for a robust accounting solution to support worldwide operations.”

Ensure your financial accounting software meets the challenges you face when growing your business in the insurance industry

The insurance industry faces many challenges in today’s market such as compliance with industry regulations, business growth and managing risk and cost. But with these challenges comes the opportunity to add value to your organisation with the right technology to support you.

Infor10 Financials Business (SunSystems) helps manage operations, automate financial processes and reduce forecasting and budget cycle times. The financial solution integrates easily with important processes such as expense management, allowing you to set a single expense policy with local variations, if required, in order to ensure better management of employee spending. SunSystems gives you insight into every aspect of your company, so you can drill down into multiple dimensions of your data, all the way down to transaction level.

A perfect fit for insurance companies, Infor10 SunSystems automates the completion of Prudential Insurance FSA forms and produces an output file that is ready to upload. Its pre-designed accounting structures for insurance companies, ensures that implementation time is kept to a minimum. The SunSystems Lloyds syndicate compliance reporting pack allows you to automate many tasks which puts you in a better position to meet Lloyds reporting deadlines.  The solution also performs automatic LCA and underwriting accounts reconciliation reports, whilst also integrating with LIFEFiT, a system which addresses all of the administrative and operational aspects of life insurance, pensions and investment business. Monthly underwriting figures, accruals, RiTC, SR’16s, future premiums and claims handling figures can all be integrated with SunSystems too.

If you would like some more information on Infor10 Financials Business (SunSystems) from Sapphire, please call 0207 648 2000 or e-mail me at steven.wright@sapphiresystems.com

Addressing challenges broadcasting companies face when looking for a business management solution – by Paul Rogers

There are four main business processes that broadcasting companies require their business management solution to support. These are:

Content acquisition and rights management

SAP Business One supports the processes involved in coming to agreements with licensors regarding the number of rights and royalties. It allows you to easily manage data of acquired intellectual properties, track rights usage and settle outgoing royalties.

Programme management

SAP Business One allows you to manage an entire program life cycle which can easily be integrated with channel management, content acquisition and production processes.  This means that you can gain access to all of your contracts, data, payments, costs and more, from one place. It also allows you to plan procurement of programming effectively, carry out cost estimates from broadcast items and provides detailed rights information on selected content.

Production management

The entire program production process is simplified by SAP Business One, allowing you to easily manage workflow processes, production documents and ensure reduced costs with efficient project management.

Services procurement

The use of external services is made easy with SAP Business One, by automating several processes, including purchase requisition, conversion of demands to purchase orders and delivery schedules for a scheduling agreement, amongst others. The solution also allows you to automatically create and process an invoice after confirmation of receipt of goods.

SAP Business One for the media and broadcasting industry, provides you with a comprehensive view in to your content supply chain and IP rights. The flexible content commerce platform allows you to explore new business models, and the powerful analytics feature allows you to know your customer and further target them.  The National Geographic Channel found SAP Business One from Sapphire the perfect fit when they were looking for a customisable business management solution that would manage the complete process. Watch the case study here

If you’d like some more information on SAP Business One from Sapphire, please call 0207 648 2000 or e-mail me at paul.rogers@sapphiresystems.com

Adstream to implement SAP Business One

Sapphire to implement a 27 user SAP Business One solution at Adstream,  the world’s leading player in digital advertising technology services, that connects the global advertising community by streamlining the management, organisation, validation and distribution of multichannel content.

Tim Emly, Global Financial Controller at Adstream, explained the requirement for a new back office solution: “The continued growth of Adstream’s global footprint coupled with a lack of standardisation accounting packages in each country – along with the need for faster and more detailed management information, meant that a more substantial and agile financial system was required to meet the demands of the business.”

He went on to say “We had been in touch with our Sapphire Account Manager for some time, he would meet with us and provide solution information as and when required.  When we considered a new finance system he was the first person that came to mind.”

A sister company of Adstream, based in Australia, had been using SAP Business One and found the functionality and level of reporting impressive.  They had successfully integrated SAP Business One with a core operating system also in use at Adstream, which gave Tim and the team confidence that integration of SAP Business One with that and other systems would go smoothly.

SAP Business One is an integrated, affordable business management application. It’s a single system that can automate critical business operations, including finance, sales, purchasing, inventory, and manufacturing. And it provides accurate, up-to-the-minute views of business data. SAP Business One is a global solution with multi-currency and multi-lingual functionality that is easy to buy, quick to install, and easy to use.

“With SAP Business One we expect faster reporting; greater control and vision of overseas entities and two-way communication between our core operating and financial systems” stated Tim.

Ian Caswell, Managing Director at Sapphire concludes: “SAP Business One is a truly international solution; users around the world are able to view the same system in their own language, with their local currency.  For global organisations such as Adstream it is a great solution as it can meet their needs now and as they continue to grow.  We are delighted to be working with this innovative organisation and look forward supporting them well into the future.”

Sapphire Systems presents Masterclass series

Sapphire is pleased to announce that it is to present a series of masterclass sessions on selecting and implementing a new financial management (FMS) or enterprise resource planning (ERP) system.

12^th January, Los Angeles, http://www.sapphiresystems.com/us/events/seminars.htm

17^th January, London – specifically for the Not for Profit sector, http://www.sapphiresystems.com/uk/events/seminars.htm

19^th January, Birmingham, http://www.sapphiresystems.com/uk/events/seminars.htm

24^th January, New York, http://www.sapphiresystems.com/us/events/seminars.htm

26^th January, London, http://www.sapphiresystems.com/uk/events/seminars.htm

16^th February, London – specifically for the Financial Services sector, http://www.sapphiresystems.com/uk/events/seminars.htm

The morning events will include sessions on: critical features and functions to consider; reviewing requirements (has an existing system really been outgrown or is it underutilised?); solutions available on the market and the right approach to implementation.

Sapphire Systems has helped hundreds of organisations – at both local and global level – to implement best of breed financial and other back office solutions that help them:

• With real-time, quick and easy reporting
• Deliver greater financial transparency, comparability and accountability.
• Adapt to meet performance management, governance and risk management obligations; complying with financial governance and taxation regimes.

The top 5 reasons to choose the SAP Business ByDesign (ByD) solution to help you run your company – by Greig Codd

1)      Cloud computing means that you have no IT data centre to manage, which is cost effective and allows you more time to run your business. With your data in the cloud, risk of disruption is minimised as your business expands, as your data is stored and backed-up on secure servers.   Read our blog on ‘How secure is your data in the cloud?’.

2)      SAP is a trusted provider of business solutions for growing and medium sized businesses, with over 110,000 customers worldwide. With SAP support services, your software is managed, hosted and monitored around the clock, leaving you to focus on your business.

3)      ByD is a single, comprehensive solution that is flexible enough to grow with your business. You can start with the modules you need most, then simply add more as you grow. Starter packages allow you to get the software up and running for your business in as little as 3 weeks.

4)      The subscription based pricing model helps you manage your costs, as there is a fixed price deployment and monthly subscription fee.

5)      The software is designed to be intuitive and user friendly, so it is easy to pick up and use. Add to this the ability to use it on your mobile device, and you have secure access to your business processes anytime, anywhere, at your fingertips. ByDesign’s built-in analytics provides you with a 360-degree view of your business, which will help you when it comes to decision making.