Hällde

HALLDE leverages Jeeves ERP to its fullest

AB Hällde Maskiner has made many significant efficiency improvements since Jeeves ERP was introduced to its business. Thanks to the proper system support, quality is reflected in all of the company’s business processes. In addition, the company appreciates the fast upgrades.

For nearly 70 years, HALLDE has produced food preparation machinery for institutional kitchens and exported its products all over the world. With the goal of improving margins, HALLDE has used Jeeves ERP to successfully implement an array of efficiency measures.
 
”When I came here, we had a mix of different systems,” said Håkan Johansson, IT manager. ”We put a top priority on finding an integrated system that would benefit all departments and could be safely adapted to future changes. After carefully analyzing and evaluating competing systems, we chose Jeeves ERP, based on its comprehensive core functionality, great flexibility, and rapid and simple upgrade technology.”
 

AUTOMATED FLOW ENSURES HIGH QUALITY 

A few years ago, shipments and transportation were handled manually at HALLDE. Also, communication between the order and packing departments was ineffective. Through Jeeves ERP, HALLDE designed a scaled-down and automated workflow. Now, when the order department creates an order, Jeeves ERP automatically ­detects whether all the products ordered are available and when it is time to ship them. Picking lists are printed for the appropriate departments. With a few keystrokes, all necessary shipping documents are produced, and the consignments are labeled individually for each customer.
 
“Communication is now effective all the way from order to delivery, and we’ve also got control of inventories,” said Johansson. ”The quality of deliveries has increased, lead times are shrinking, and less capital is tied up in products. In today’s competitive environment, we have benefited a lot from Jeeves ERP. We can vouch for the quality in our products, and, thanks to the system, quality is ensured in all of our company’s processes.”
 

FLEXIBILITY YIELDS COST EFFICIENCIES 

Today, HALLDE uses much of Jeeves ERP’s core functionality, combined with some of its own adjustments made in-house or by consultants. “Jeeves is so flexible, that I feel the system must be very cost-effective in the long run,” Johansson added. To further improve quality, Johansson said that the next step will be to introduce Jeeves CRM, Jeeves BI, and even more features for managing transportation.
 

EASY AND FAST UPGRADES 

Since the initial project with Jeeves, HALLDE has upgraded several times. “It is all so fast and smooth, and normal operation can go on as usual,” Johansson noted. ”Also, we never have to re-do our customizations, which is a tremendous advantage.”
 
Briefly, an upgrade at HALLDE goes like this:
  • HALLDE reviews new functionality in the new version to see what improvements have been made.
  • After approval of the upgrade, the new version is installed on HALLDE’s test platform, taking approximately one day.
  • Next, the process owners (6-8 people) are informed of the functional areas to be tested in the new version. Tests are carried out in standard flows in parallel with the old version, which is still in operation. This tends to take 3-5 hours per process owner during a period of 2-3 weeks.
  • Process owners give their approval.
  • The next step is deployment, usually done over a weekend and taking one day. After deployment, the old version is shut down.
  • During the first week after the upgrade, the users work a bit closer with the IT department or the consultants to ensure that everything is functioning properly.
  • The upgrade is completed, and each process owner starts putting new functions to use.

We chose Jeeves ERP, based on its comprehensive core functionality, great flexibility, and simple upgrade technology.

—Håka Johansson

LOW MAINTENANCE COSTS 

HALLDE’s staff implements upgrades on their own, but tend to need support from consultants for 2-3 days: one day for installation, one day for commissioning, and possibly one day for troubleshooting. HALLDE estimates 2-3 days of work for the internal IT department and 3-5 hours per process owner during the test phase. Continuous improvements and adjustments are made during normal operation.
 
“Given the simple upgrade procedure, it’s easy for us to keep up-to-date with all the new functionality that Jeeves is launching in the market,” said Johansson. ”We also manage to keep our administrative costs low.”