Honeywell off to a flying start with IBS solutionCustomer Story With ERP service costs rising, Honeywell Aerospace decided it needed to do something. They turned to IBS for help. 
Company background
Honeywell Aerospace is a leader in diversified technology and manufacturing of aerospace products and related services. The company's aerospace business focuses on unique developments in sophisticated avionics, flight safety products and systems, propulsion engines, auxiliary power units and wheels and brakes. Those capabilities, along with Honeywell's strong aftermarket service and support, enhance customer value by making air travel safer, more reliable and more cost-effective. In the air and on the ground, from the nose to the tail, the company's aerospace products can be found on virtually every type of aircraft in use, in nearly every region of the world.
In the UK, Honeywell Aerospace manufactures parts for both the civilian and military aviation industry. Its main products include environmental control systems, life-support breathing equipment and hydraulic systems. Honeywell Aerospace employs 900 people across two sites in the UK and had a turnover of EUR 134m in 2002.
Business issues
Honeywell Aerospace has in excess of 400 customers. Orders are often placed up to a staggering five years in advance. The company’s demand-driven manufacturing processes mean that parts are often unique and need to be made to order. As a result, the complex manufacturing process can involve up to seven levels of bill of material as well as lead-times of up to 18 months. A robust, functional Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution is a necessity to ensure smooth operations.
For the past 20 years, Honeywell Aerospace had been using a highly customised ERP system. The software was run on a mainframe computer and had a department of over 20 analyst/ programmers devoted solely to maintenance and modification. This was both time consuming and costly.
Another debilitating factor that faced the company was the global decline of the airline industry, which seriously reduced the demand for parts. Honeywell Aerospace needed to trim the fat by cutting overheads and reducing time to market. Simultaneously, the company's entire business process was put under the microscope as part of the critical need to rationalise operations.
Honeywell Aerospace needed an IT solution to an ageing problem. It was necessary to replace the heavily modified, archaic ERP system. The company required a less labour-intensive, modern business software suite, the implementation of which would result in the minimum of disruption for the users.
Solution and capabilities
The company decided not to waste further time and resources on an already antiquated, cumbersome and inflexible mainframe system and to move forward with a modern, integrated solution. The decision to choose IBS and its ASW business software suite was driven by three key factors: cutting-edge technology, functionality and acceptable cost. No other vendor could match IBS' offering. Today, Honeywell Aerospace uses nearly every ASW module to run all aspects of its business - from manufacturing to financial accounting and company analysis.
IBS' long history and focus on distribution was another reason for Honeywell Aerospace choosing ASW, as the customer service process was an area in need of improvement.
ASW is IBS' comprehensive business software suite and consists of components for supply chain automation, warehouse and inventory management, logistics planning, demand-driven manufacturing, customer and supplier relations management, financials, business intelligence and e-business. It speeds up sales and purchase processing, optimises stock levels, minimises errors and out-of-stock scenarios and enhances logistics planning.
Implementation
Implementation was a major challenge; however, feedback has been very positive and the 'slick and easy' interface, which forms part of ASW, made the switchover straightforward for the users.
The keys to the successful implementation were to limit operational disruption and to ensure that the new system was entirely functional when activated. ASW was running Material Requirements Planning (MRP) the day it went live. Invoices were being produced, goods were being shipped and purchase orders and job packs were being created within 24 hours. By the end of week one, the new integrated IBS solution was driving Honeywell Aerospace's business operations.
As a result of the successful UK implementation, Honeywell Aerospace decided to implement ASW at its French site to collaborate and integrate operations with those in the UK.
Benefits and value
One of the most important benefits for Honeywell Aerospace is the improvement in financial reporting, particularly with ASW's built-in integration tool for business intelligence. This easy-to-use and highly effective tool helps Honeywell Aerospace maximise profits and focus on KPIs. ROI on the investment is expected in two to three years. The benefits of improvement and modernisation are equally important.
The French operation had an urgent need for a 'state of the art' ERP system and was able to take immediate and full advantage of the successful UK implementation of the IBS solution.
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