Implosa, a leading company in Panama in the distribution of materials and supplies for the Construction and Infrastructure Industry, increased its productivity by 48% from the implementation of Infor SCE in its main Distribution Center.

Implosa, a Panamanian company, started operations in 1965 and is currently considered a leading company in the construction, plumbing, electricity and gas infrastructure and fire-fighting markets. The company is cataloged by the guild of construction professionals, as a company that offers products and materials with guaranteed quality seal, providing the best advice and the best prices to its customers.

Recognized as a full-service company with more than 230 employees, today Implosa has 4 warehouses strategically located in Panama, which also act as a warehouse and as a point of sale. Due to the high volume of operations with its products and the leadership that has characterized the company, the construction of a new distribution center that allowed to improve the delivery times, increase the quality, quantity and availability of products, unifying the logistics, began. in one place and looking to positively impact your market in terms of product availability.

What was the Logistics Operation and the challenges they had before the Implementation?

One of the warehouses of Implosa, the most central, began its process of very fast growth becoming by corporate strategy, in the main warehouse and administrative headquarters of the company. From there the other stores and the local market were supplied. In terms of technological platform, the logistics operation relied on the ERP.

The rapid growth of the business, in terms of the continuous increase in demand, was one of the challenges that, to a greater extent, encouraged the organizational change and the rethinking of the logistics strategies that until now had been handled and led to the construction of a center of main distribution in charge of the receipt and storage of products from the suppliers and their subsequent distribution to each of the warehouses.

In the search to find a system that offered them a complete visibility of operations, automate processes, plan the growing demand, reduce process times and costs, Implosa began the search for a strategic ally that would respond to their logistical needs.

«We were looking for our choice to respond to a strategic partner who understood not only our logistics structure and our operation but also our business philosophy and who also identified with it» – Eduardo Chanis- Logistics Manager of Implosa.

This was how Implosa, after a rigorous evaluation exercise of several proponents, found in Infor the ideal solutions for their business. Infor SCE (Supply Chain Execution) as an integral solution for the management of its distribution center, and Infor Demand Planning for a complete analysis of the demand. Both solutions were tailored to their logistical needs.

Infor and Cerca Technology as strategic allies

Among the different variables that accompanied the selection process and that both Infor and Cerca Technology answered 100% were the compatibility and ease of integration with the technological platform that already had the company, the robust environment offered by the Infor platform SCE and the most important the positioning of Infor and its recognition in the region in the hardware sector, added to the stability of the system that other Infor customers referred to.

«The trajectory and positioning of Infor in the Latin American market, as well as the experts and the support at all times of Cerca Technology in both the implementation and training phases, made the perfect combination» – Eduardo Chanis, Logistics Manager of Implosa.

The New Implosion Wave

Implosa knew in advance that any change would generate resistance. For this, supported and led from the General Management for this project, they implemented a strategy of active inclusion of all their staff, where the work committed to the existing human capital, without hiring third parties and thus empowering them so that everyone would think in the «New Wave of Implosion». So, people were adapting and buying the business idea mitigating the risk of desertion or dismissal of the project.

The quantitative and qualitative results were immediate

«Basically, I emphasize the constant support of the company’s directives added to the experience and support that Cerca Technology provided to us as a company, listening to our needs and giving a proactive response. It is also worth highlighting the quality of the consultants that Cerca Technology assigned to the project, who advised us very well in everything related to the project «- Eduardo Chanis, Logistics Manager of Implosa.

After almost 6 months of its live departure, Implosa’s directives stand out among the most notable improvements, the control of the inventory added to the control of the processes and the operative personnel. Based on the first measurements, within the quantitative improvements highlight:

• The improvement of the Fill Rate, from 80% to 95%
• The increase in productivity by 48%

According to Implosa’s directives, one of the objectives of the project was to improve visibility and control the operation; in this sense Implosa reports the following qualitative improvements:

• Store assortment is more on time and accurate
• They achieved full visibility and control over the orders, which, together with the ability to prioritize the work, has allowed to improve the customer service
• They optimized the use of the storage capacity of the new distribution center, which has allowed them to maximize the investment made.

«We knew that with Infor as a solution and advised by Cerca Technology, Implosa would reach its customers much faster. After the implementation, we can confirm that we were not mistaken in this decision and that we chose the best partners in the market «commented Eduardo Chanis, Logistics Manager of Implosa.

The implementation of Infor SCE – WMS, marks the fulfillment of the first phase of a larger project. The next stage is the implementation of the Infor Demand Planning solution, with a clear objective of optimizing working capital in inventory and improving levels of customer service. Likewise, it is planned to expand the implementation of the WMS to each one of the branches and implement Voice technology for the picking processes in the distribution center.

«The clear vision of the management of Implosa in the growth, and its commitment to provide the business with the bases in processes, technology and human capital to support the growth, have been key in the success of the project. This first implementation is a clear demonstration that the proposed objectives are not only achievable but surmountable. There is still much to be done and we are proud to be able to accompany Implosa in the achievement of each of the logistical challenges «- Jose Luis Gomes, Commercial Manager at Cerca Technology.