Consistent and efficient growth
Due to the significant growth within the Pollet Group, the challenge is to incorporate and integrate companies into the ecosystem in a consistent and efficient way, without compromising the unique identity of each company. Frederiek Demyttenaere, Application Manager at Pollet Group, clarifies, "We aim to continue to grow so that as a group we become an increasingly important partner for companies across Europe. This growth obviously goes hand in hand with professionalizing various aspects within the group. We must try to create synergies and streamline logistics processes across companies and countries."
"A solution to these challenges is flexibility, allowing information to go to all companies in an accurate and fast way," Frederiek explains.
Challenges for Pollet Group
Challenge to obtain goods in an efficient and fast manner and gain insights into suppliers, cost of transportation,...
Consistently and efficiently incorporate companies into the group and integrate them within the ecosystem.
Gain insights into customers' needs to better respond to them.
Frederiek Demyttenaere
Application Manager at Pollet Group
The core: Microsoft Dynamics 365
One of the tools that helps the Pollet Group be flexible is the Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance & Supply Chain Management ERP system. Frederiek Demyttenaere explains: "We strongly believe in sharing information, and we can maximize this if we all use the same application."
Lieven Amez, General Manager at Micron (one of the companies within Pollet Group), clarifies, "Microsoft Dynamics 365 forms the core of our processes at Micron. Both the order-to-cash process, the purchasing process and the entire production process are based on this ERP system. In other words, if the tool did not function for one day, little work could be done." Lieven adds, "The final migration from the old ERP system to the new one went very smoothly. We went live on January 2, 2024 and were able to ship the first goods the very next day."
Guiding the operator on the shop floor
Another application that the Pollet Group has embarked on is the shopfloor solution Tulip. "Tulip is an application that supports shopfloor operators in assembling products," Frederiek explains.
"Specifically, we use Tulip to run through a production order. The operator gets the required products from the warehouse, goes to his workplace and starts the production order using Tulip. He records the components used and reports the product as ready once it is assembled. Throughout the process, the operator is supported: he can request new products and find information on how to assemble and package the product."
"Considering the Pollet Group previously recorded this process on paper, they could quickly see results with Tulip. According to Frederiek, Tulip adds value for them on three different levels: "It is a low-code platform, which makes it easily customizable. In addition, it is a cloud solution, which means little infrastructure is needed on-site. Finally, Tulip is built specifically for operators and assembly operations. Because everything is now done online through Tulip, there are far fewer errors and operators also save time for other tasks."
Automated billing flows
To make the invoicing flow within the Pollet Group more efficient and move away from a paper invoice flow, the company chose the combination of 9A Raptor Document Warehouse, Cofax and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance. According to Frederiek, this combination has resulted in a completely online and digital process for processing purchase invoices. "When an invoice comes in via email or another digital format, it is immediately visualized, and a workflow is generated to ensure that the invoice is approved and posted in the right place and to the right person."
In addition, the Pollet Group also uses the 9A Raptor Document Warehouse solution for other departments. Frederiek clarifies, "We want to store all documents used in our digital products in 9A Raptor Document Warehouse."
The results for Pollet Group
By moving from paper to digital within the assembly and finance departments, Pollet Group avoids manual errors.
The solutions from Microsoft, Tulip and 9altitudes are integrated with each other, ensuring that data flows across applications and departments.
Automated and digital workflows free up time to take on other, more important tasks.
The solutions are flexible and allow quick response to changes.
Because the solutions are integrated, different departments are looking at the same data and a single source of truth is created.
Frederiek Demyttenaere
Application Manager at Pollet Group
The collaboration
"We have been partners with 9altitudes for more than 20 years," Frederiek says. "They have always been a partner, there is mutual communication and respect. They listen to what we need, help us and advise us where necessary. We can always go to them for advice and are confident that we get an answer for every question we have."
Next steps
For Pollet Group, the digital shift has just started: "The first company, Micron, is currently live with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance & Supply Chain Management," Frederiek says. "The intention is that the remaining 50 companies will also connect to this platform."
"Furthermore, we strongly believe in Microsoft, the products they offer and the seamless integration between these products," Frederiek states. "Artificial Intelligence will be very important in the future, and you can tell that Microsoft is strongly committed to this. So for us, using Microsoft Dynamics 365 is a logical evolution, because it is highly integrated with other Microsoft solutions. Add to that the AI component, and you get a complete environment where data is used and shared by our employees, combined with AI. That integration in particular will be key to remaining powerful in the future."
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