Project Background 

As is typical of many companies, Scot JCB rely on several disparate solutions, each suited to a specialist application/subsidiary area. Their current ERP Solution (FMS) has been in place for 15 years but is no longer fit for purpose. It’s highly bespoke, clunky and offers poor visibility and relies heavily on manual processes.

Several associated systems interface to FMS:

• Cognos for accounting and financial reporting,
• Zahara for Purchase Ledger,
• Cascade HR software,
• PodFather, a bespoke mobile field management solution utilised by around 160 engineers. 

Furthermore, despite being independent of JCB, Scot JCB must effectively communicate with JCB to sell and maintain machinery. To achieve this, they have 30 different system integrations with JCB covering areas such as maintenance, parts, products and pricing. They also utilise a system called ‘Call Master’ which allows other franchises to create a service job request and to monitor progress on their job cards.

All areas of the business were suffering, frustrated finance teams faced a lack of information, reporting was difficult as FMS does not have any reporting capabilities so Cognos was used instead, however it gives no real-time visibility as it is updated overnight. Furthermore, Cognos is geared towards month-end reporting rather than providing valuable operational reports. If a report needed tweaked/changed this involved significant development costs. The lack of real-time information provided a significant challenge to the business, in short, information that should have been at their fingertips was absent.

Our Solution

Cooper Software quickly assessed the unique needs of ScotJCB and demonstrated that transitioning from FMS and replacing the associated disparate systems with an out-of-the box IFS Applications 10 solution would be the perfect solution to meet the complex needs of the business. Doing so would create a fully integrated solution which will in turn improve efficiency and increase visibility across the business.

We proposed a 2-phased approach to transition their business and implement IFS Applications 10. In phase 1:

• FMS will be replaced in its entirety by IFS
• Zahara and supporting interfaces will be replaced by IFS Apps
• Cognos will be replaced with IFS Reporting and Business Reporter extension.
• IOS app will be redeveloped as a seamless extension to IFS.
• HR, Recruitment and Payroll will also move from Cascade into IFS. 

Benefits of the Solution

The project approach and methodology adopted by Cooper Software, along with our experience gained through being an IFS Partner, has resulted in the design and specification of a robust IFS solution that will transform the business of Scot JCB. 

By implementing IFS Applications 10 and the associated modules, Scot JCB will no longer be reliant on an end-of-life legacy system which is hindering the business, both financially and operationally. The solution will deliver enhanced reporting from all areas of the business. Switching to IFS will allow Scot JCB to take advantage of Lobby’s and Business Reporter will be heavily utilised and will prove to be transformational in accessing real-time data, especially for the maintenance and finance teams. For these areas of the business, workshops have taken place and several ‘game changers’ have already been identified. Having real-time visibility, particularly at an operational level, will also help the company become more competitive and profitable.

Cooper Software have developed a robust, out-of-the-box, fully integrated solution for Scot JCB. Not only will this provide significant benefits to their business in terms of visibility and general operational performance but also facilitates the ability for other FMS dealerships to migrate over to using IFS.