Bangladesh’s leading leather shoe firm selects IFS Applications

IFS, the global enterprise applications company announced earlier this week that Apex Adelchi Footwear Ltd.,  number one shoe manufacturer and exporter and leading leather products retailer, will implement IFS Applications to increase efficiency and to lead in the industry by streamlining order to production and delivery covering exports and retail operations among its 200 plus branches countrywide.

Apex Adelchi Footwear Ltd (AAFL) recorded revenues of $100 million in 2010. AAFL pioneered the export of value added finished products in the leather sector of Bangladesh and is also involved in the local footwear retail business with the second largest shoe retail network in the country. AAFL has strategic, technical and marketing alliances with Italy.

Public listed and traded since 1993, AAFL is professionally managed, currently employs 8,000 persons and is in full compliance with Corporate Governance Compliance Report under Section 2CC of the Securities Exchange Commission Notification Order.

After extensive consultation with nine leading ERP vendors, IFS managed to showcase the product fit, the right approach, success stories in Bangladesh and in the region and most of all, the assurance and peace of mind of dealing with the principle. Having done a very lengthy and professional evaluation, AAFL board selected IFS Applications to be implemented by IFS’s own consulting team from Sri Lanka and the project is scheduled to kick off in mid-April 2012.

Syed Nasim Manzur, Managing Director of Apex Adelchi Footwear Ltd said, “Efficiency and speed of marketing are the two key ingredients of success in the new global footwear business. Both these require a world-class, flexible and scalable end-to-end ERP solution customised for a vertically integrated footwear company. We are glad to have IFS Applications™ as our partners. We hope their solution and dedicated service will help AAFL further in catering to the growing needs of the global footwear market more effectively.”

Syed Gias Hossain, Deputy Managing Director of AAFL commented on why IFS Applications was selected as AAFL’s ERP solutions partner, “In AAFL, we have been using ERP solutions for last seven years. But the business is growing fast and we strongly felt the need of a comprehensive end-to-end ERP solution for our company that would cater to the needs of modern manufacturing processes more efficiently. IFS has vast experience in providing ERP solutions to manufacturing enterprises and more specifically, it has experience in doing the same for footwear companies. That is why we believe that IFS Applications™ will be able to provide us with the required comprehensive ERP solution.”

IFS Applications for manufacturing is used worldwide by more than 600 manufacturing companies involved in complex order-driven and mixed-mode manufacturing. IFS offers flexible, component-based, business solutions that manage the entire lifecycle of products, projects, assets and services. Users chose from a mix of functionally rich modules - fully integrated with financials and human resources.

IFS’s retail solution covers the entire value chain, from purchasing and procurement to distribution and branch management operations. IFS Applications supports all business-critical processes such as basic data management, automatic goods replenishment, campaign and promotions management, finance, human resources, and demand planning.

IFS has a broad customer base in these industries, focusing on medium to large size manufacturers and retailers that need support for complex order-driven and mixed-mode manufacturing across the extended enterprise and the management of retail store.  IFS’s business solution is designed for purpose to help companies improve quality, contain costs, and improve their competitive position in manufacturing industry segments such as plastic, rubber and leather products, machinery, defense, and fabricated metal products.

Industrial manufacturing companies also benefit from IFS’s lifecycle management solution, which goes beyond product lifecycle management (PLM) to provide better integration and management of three critical business areas products, customers, and resources - throughout their lifecycles.

Commenting on the partnership, Shiraz Lye - Director Sales and Marketing South Asia for IFS said, “Out of 2,000 plus and over 600 customers in manufacturing industry alone, in more than 30 different countries, it is the largest customer segment of IFS globally. This global market segment will continue to grow and develop and IFS will continue to provide class-leading and innovative business solutions for companies, maintaining our status as one of the best-fitting ERP solutions for this market.”

He further added, “Regardless of whether one operates a make-to-stock, assemble-to-order, make-to- order or even an engineer-to-order environment, you need suitable tools for forecasting and supply management.  Whether the issue is forecasting a new product range, launching a campaign or trying to level out supplier dependency, the requirement is the same to be in control at all times. This level of variability and agility should be accommodated in the ERP system. That’s what Apex Adelchi Footwear was looking for and that’s what IFS offered with a touch of user friendliness through its new IFS Enterprise Explorer Interface.”

IFS Bangladesh Country Director Asanga Marasinghe expressed his pleasure of signing this contract with one of the most respected and successful organisations in the country.  He stated that IFS South Asia is planning to make direct presence and this project would come with an immense boost for plans including for resources from within the country.

“IFS decided to have its direct presence in a market which has tremendous potential in terms of growth and resources, that’s Bangladesh. We already have five satisfied customers in here, who also gave references to Apex Adelchi management during evaluation and plan to work with more reputed companies in future. All our customers are currently supported direct by the principle company from Colombo. Along with the new setting up of operations, IFS plans to have a pool of Bangladeshi business consultants, software engineers to support local projects and then if required, to be exported through the IFS World Service program to other IFS projects globally.”

Furthermore Marasinghe stated, “We are also excited as we would be adopting CMMi level 3 Implementation methodologies for this project and it’s the first in Bangladesh.”

The solution supports the complete lifecycle of products, customers and assets as well as supply chain processes, sales and delivery, manufacturing and procurement. In addition, IFS provides integrated solutions for financials and human resource management.