Quick Facts
- Industry: Shipping & Logistics (Sea, Land, Air)
- Geography: Global (Ports across Asia, Europe & USA)
- Solution: IFS ERP Implementation (Finance, HRMS, Procurement & Inventory)
- Users: ~500 across more than 10 ports worldwide
- Key Integrations: TOS (Terminal Operating System), Maximo EAM, Biometric Systems
- Annual Savings: ~USD 1 Million
Client Context
A Global Logistics Solutions Provider with operations across sea, land, air, and port terminals manages one of the most extensive networks of global trade. With operations spanning multiple continents, the organization required a unified ERP backbone to ensure consistent Finance, HRMS, Procurement, and Inventory practices. Their vision was to bring all ports under a common IFS ERP solution, enabling standardized processes, seamless integration with existing operational systems, and optimized cost of ownership across their worldwide operations.
Challenges
- Disparate ERP and IT systems across ports led to inefficiencies and higher costs.
- Need for a single standardized IFS solution covering Finance, HRMS, Procurement, and Inventory processes.
- Initial plan for separate infrastructure at each port drove very high cost of ownership.
- Requirement for seamless integration with:
- TOS (Terminal Operating System) for invoicing and reconciliation
- Maximo EAM for procurement and asset data
- Biometric systems for attendance and HRMS salary integration
Our Approach
- Stakeholder Alignment: Conducted dedicated workshops with critical stakeholders to align business leaders on Finance and Process Standardization in IFS.
- Defined Integration Mechanisms: Established robust and scalable integration frameworks with TOS, Maximo EAM, and biometric systems.
- Cost Optimization Model: Designed a shared infrastructure model by creating new companies for each port within a single IFS environment. This functional, technical, and infra-level redesign reduced hosting costs and optimized resource usage.
- Pricing Innovation: Developed a new invoicing/costing model based on the number of users, creating a transparent and scalable structure.
- Global Rollout: Implemented IFS ERP for 10+ ports across multiple geographies, connecting ~1,000 global users.
- Sustainable Operations: Designed annual automatic upgrades with minimal downtime, ensuring business continuity and process stability.
Results
- Standardization Achieved: Unified processes across Finance, HRMS, Procurement, and Inventory for all ports.
- Seamless Integrations: Smooth data flow between IFS and TOS, Maximo EAM, and biometric systems.
- Significant Cost Savings: Reduced cost of ownership by ~USD 0.5 Million annually through shared infrastructure and optimized costing models.
- Global Reach: Successfully mapped operations of ports from Taiwan to the USA within a common ERP framework.
- Sustained Growth: Enabled scalable ERP operations with negligible downtime during yearly upgrades.
