Boliden Bergsöe achieves efficient manufacturing procedures with IBS ERP softwareCustomer Story Recycling company Boliden Bergsöe developed its business system from a purely financial tool to a full-blown production support system. Results include decentralized responsibility, quicker information flow and more efficient manufacturing procedures. 
The chimney stack towers 86 meters high and is a well-known local landmark to the people of Landskrona, Sweden. It stands in the industrial area of Varvsudden and belongs to the recycling company Boliden Bergsöe AB, which was founded in 1942. The original Danish company was bought by the Boliden Group in 1979.
Much of the old, traditional business remains the same. It is all about smelting down, refining, alloying and recasting old scrap metal into new usable raw materials, primarily lead- and tin-based. The production methods have been refined and streamlined over the years, among other things by introducing increasingly automated administrative support.
“Here we have had a long relationship with IBS. We purchased the early version of IBS ERP software, IBS Enterprise already back in 1988-1989,” says Rolf Svensson, IT manager at Boliden Bergsöe AB.
At that time, the emphasis was totally on the accounts side of the ERP system. The processing of the company’s financial transactions was simplified, but on the production side, Boliden Bergsöe AB continued to work with paper-based routines. “When I joined the company in 1995, it still had the old version of IBS ERP software, even though several new versions had been released.” says Svensson.
Production control
An operations analysis, started in 1995, concluded there was plenty to be done with the company’s IT support. The business management supply chain system needed to be upgraded, and after an evaluation of potential suppliers, the task went once again to IBS. The new version of the ERP system included support for production via the product control module, a simpler variant of the current production software.
“It meant that we could move our processes closer to production personnel. Previously, a machine operator received a slip of paper from a foreman, performed the production stage as instructed by the slip and then went back to the foreman who dealt with the paperwork. Now, responsibility and execution lie with production, in that operators report back straight into the system,” says Svensson.
Fewer customer modifications
In February 2003, Boliden Bergsöe decided to further upgrade its IBS ERP software solution. By October that year, the new version was up and running – a much shorter process than the previous implementation. “It was very easy to do, mainly because IBS had improved its release upgrades. When we introduced IBS ERP software we had a list of some 60 customer modifications that had to be gone through. Most were now included. We only had to make modifications to 12 points in order to be compatible with the latest upgrade,” says Svensson.
The points addressed functions that are unique for this line of business. Svensson points out that production at Boliden Bergsöe is very different from a classic manufacturing company that operates with fixed item structures – one seat, four legs and two arm rests to make a chair, for instance.
“When you are working with liquid metals you can never have an exact item structure. We can make our metal alloys from different materials, which means our production planning differs from that of traditional manufacturing industries.”
Industry-specific functionality
This puts specific demands on IT-based production support. Boliden Bergsöe AB uses the IBS Planner View utility module that was introduced with the latest upgrade of IBS ERP software.
“The information we mainly process in the business system is, in simple terms: products, quantities, value, time points and business contacts.”
Production personnel report how much material has gone into the process and how much comes out of it. They use a thin client connected to a Citrix server. The next person in the process chain between smelting down and cast metal ingot can then access the information directly.
“The information enters the system much faster than when things were done via paper slips that had to be filled out and then dealt with by someone in administration,” Svensson points out.
The IBS ERP system is also integrated with the Boliden Bergsöe laboratory system that processes data from company materials and product analyses. Checks ensure that the alloys meet materials standards requirements. The information is then forwarded to the IBS distribution and manufacturing modules and saved to enable the tracing of any production batch after delivery.
Future innovations
Boliden Bergsöe AB has been running the new version of IBS ERP software for two years and has no specific need for new software according to Svensson. “But we keep an eye on what IBS’ next step can be. The rate of change is much quicker today, which means you have to find solutions that make it faster and cheaper to change systems when you change business processes.”
Boliden Bergsöe AB is expecting a major change in the production chain shortly. The company is readying itself for a radical innovation that will make lead production far more efficient. From smelting down in the pit furnace, the material will go straight to refining and onto the subsequent processing stages in one continuous line, instead of being loaded in and out of different buildings.
“It is a comprehensive project that should be ready by next autumn. At that point, it will feel reassuring to have a well-updated system underneath,” says Svensson. |
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