Paint by numbers: Why Farrow & Ball is holding out for IFS Applications 9

'We just have to convince the rest of the business that it's not just an IT upgrade, but a business upgrade' says IT chief Sabi Andreotti

If you're redecorating and in possession of a certain budget, you've probably heard of Farrow & Ball.

Producing "heritage" paint and wallpaper since 1930, the company has experienced rapid growth in recent years in which ERP firm IFS has played a significant role.

"We were at a point where we were experiencing outstanding financial growth and expansion - and that's ongoing", explains systems support and process development manager Sabi Andreotti, speaking to Computing at the IFS World Conference in Boston.

"When we went to the market for our first ERP systems, it was a case of having too many disjointed systems, no control of our processes because they were disjointed and no visibility of data. Sometimes the information we had for deliveries didn't help us to make correct decisions."

Farrow & Ball needed to put processes in place to allow it to make "the right decisions" moving ahead, Andreotti tells Computing.

A tendering process began in 2007, during which QAD, Microsoft Dynamics and IFS were shortlisted.

"We selected IFS because we liked their approach," says Andreotti.

"Both systems were offering similar functionality, and supporting and underpinning our ambitious growth and expansion, but IFS had a different feeling. It is a company which, like us, has strong values about customers, and is thoughtful towards customers. We found synergies and mutual understanding that they would support us along the path - not just in implementing a system but also in establishing a long-term relationship and partnership with our suppliers."

Making the right choice was crucial, he said, "to allow us to go ahead for the next five years and deliver our five-year plan".

Implementation began in autumn 2008, with the expectation that it would take six months to go live.

"But we realised our processes were quite complex," explains Andreotti. "They were not mapped properly, they were overstretching a bit."

Because of this complexity, implementation eventually took 18 months.

"It was us, not IFS - we tried to do a thorough job and dedicated resources, but it still took time," admits Andreotti.

IFS took a "big bang" approach to the new installation.

"We could have done a phased implementation, but the challenge was that we didn't have a proper ERP system before," explains Andreotti.

What passed for Farrow and Ball's ERP before was a loose collection of spreadsheets and databases, and included the use of Opera - an email system inside the aged Pegasus email product.

"It's the Pegasus system we were using for customer orders, inventory and a bit of finance," he remembers.

"But the main thing is all the systems were not joined up - there was no proper overview for us."

Skipping an upgrade

IFS replaced all these legacy systems, integrating the new ERP fully with the company's own existing retail system, Cybertill, which has since been replaced with PoS systems from French vendor Cegid.

In the time since, Farrow & Ball has not replaced the version of IFS Applications it installed - 7.5 SP2 remains to this day.

Farrow and Ball was not tempted to upgrade to version 8, which was launched in 2011, but is paying much closer attention to version 9, which was announced at this conference.

"The reason [we stuck with Applications 7.5] is because between 7.5 and 8 it looked like a big jump in terms of functionality and look and feel, so people did not feel confident about going ahead with that. Plus, when Apps 8 arrived, there was already talk of Apps 9, so people said ‘Okay, let's wait'."

But Applications 9, says Andreotti, looks "fantastic".

"The reason we're in Boston now is to prepare the ground for the upgrade," he says.

"In fact, it's more than an upgrade. This is going to be a new, full implementation, because the differences between the two versions are quite remarkably - but it looks so much better than what we use now."

IFS, says Andreotti, has listened to its customers.

"It's not the functionality per se, because you get people to reinvent the wheel with whatever they've got available. I've been advised on one of [IFS's] advisory councils on manufacturing, and in those meetings we've underlined the need for certain things, and they've come back with delivery of what we asked for."

He also describes IFS's user group as a "powerful, powerful key" in getting changes made that customers demand.

"The community has lots of interactions, and in the last four or five years I can't count how many times we've hosted or visited other users to exchange ideas."

This has led to new product features and innovations. The new Lobby feature is particularly promising, he says.

"The business has a need to rapidly access information. Having one view for access enables any business in any industry or market to make quick decisions about what to do next, and that drives efficiencies, which in turn affect the costs.

Quick delivery

Farrow and Ball prides itself on its customer service.

"We dispatch to our customer on time and in full, nearly 100 per cent next day," says Andreotti.

"We have to have everything ready, and IFS has been fantastic as a system in helping us to not only have that lean ability to satisfy the demand, but also with supply we reduce our stockholding of raw materials and packaging because we have better visibility of our complex supply chain. So you have a straight view of something that is complex, and you can achieve that through a good ERP system."

As for IFS' offerings in the cloud, which only 25 per cent of its US customers have so far adopted, Andreotti is curious, but in no rush to investigate a change that could result in a considerable infrastructure upheaval.

"My IT people say that this is a great benefit, and reduces risk, and offers better accessibility to the system and information that we need."

Work is now ongoing to convince the board that an upgrade to Applications 9 would be beneficial.

"But from an IT perspective we already have the thumbs up to upgrade, but what we'll have to do now is convince the rest of the business it's not just an IT upgrade, but a business upgrade."

Andreotti says the "business aspects" have to be considered for every single one of these changes, with this ongoing feel that changing the workings of ERP could spell significant repercussions.

"We were all ready to go live with Apps 8 at one point," he reveals. "And then when the business changed priorities, we were still here. So it makes sense for the business now to seriously consider moving to Apps 9."