CW Pharmaceuticals improves management with SAP Business One

19 Jul 2012

The high level of integration, control, visibility, and the inventory management efficiencies achieved by CW Pharmaceuticals are due to the deployment of SAP Business One, an integrated business management tool for mid-sized businesses.

CW Pharmaceuticals, a premium contract manufacturer of cosmetics and personal care products, has linked the various departments and functions of its business so effectively that decision-making, access to information and supply chain efficiencies have been optimised.

"Working on SAP Business One is almost like everybody sitting in one room," says Zach Moolman, general manager at CW Pharmaceuticals. "It is a fully integrated solution that is easy to understand and links various business functions together to effectively manage the supply chain and ultimately receive reports that would add invaluable knowledge to management decision making and even decision making in middle levels.

System optimised for specific requirements

"The solution has provided us with a customised solution for procurement as CW Pharmaceuticals prides itself on quick turnaround times. We therefore work on very tight schedules and our MRP system was optimised to address our specific requirements. In terms of inventory, as is the same for everybody else in this industry, it can be tough tracking stock that is seen as slow moving and keep track of what the value is. SAP Business One has excellent modules to calculate and keep track of stock as it sits in the warehouse or travels through our system," he says.

In 2011, the company was looking for a better way to manage production and inventory costs. "We realised that we would need software that can handle the process and workflow that we require and run accounting in the background while we manufacture," says Moolman.

"SAP Business One provides complete support for the key chemical industry business processes of batch and formula management; material requirements planning for multilevel production process; tracking and reporting on regulatory compliance," says Warwick Hopcroft of Bluekey.

The solution was installed while CW Pharmaceuticals' business continued uninterrupted. On the financial side, the accountant was guided by Bluekey to enable a seamless switchover between the bookkeeping systems at the right point in time.