Kelvin Power Leaps Light Years Ahead with Accpac ERP 500

[Published on IT Web: 2 July 2009] -
Kelvin Power, a privately owned power station, has implemented Accpac ERP 500 and is now reaping the benefits of improved workflow and industry best practices.

David Rink, Financial Manager of Kelvin Power, says "since implementing this leading Accpac solution, the business has consistently met its targets."

Softline Accpac business partner Synergy Group led the implementation of the system at Kelvin Power. CEO Ashley Regenass explains that the 600MW facility, situated in Kempton Park, Gauteng, supplies power to City Power for the Johannesburg grid. The plant contains 13 turbines, 18 boilers and a great deal of auxiliary equipment, which results in it being a complex plant to operate and maintain. “As an existing user of Accpac for debtors, creditors and general ledger, Kelvin Power concluded that it needed a solution that would incorporate procurement and inventory control. This is when we demonstrated how powerful the Purchasing Workflow for Accpac, developed by Pacific Technologies, could be for approving purchase requisitions and ensuring purchases were made within budget. Purchasing Workflow provides an easy-to-use requisitioning program and a powerful, configurable workflow engine that supports many of the workflows and controls that Kelvin needed.”

The Purchasing Workflow and Funds Availability modules have ensured that funds are spent in accordance with Kelvin Power's overall business plan. The business plan has been broken down into individual budgets, which have been loaded into Accpac. The culture of the company has also changed, as everyone is now aware of the importance of proper planning and expenditure control. 
Since implementing Accpac, Kelvin Power has been in a position where it is consistently within its expenditure targets. 

“The current system is also providing a platform to make further improvements by implementing more modules. The company has recently added Advanced Remittance, which it has found to be very powerful. Integrating Internal Issues with Workflow, which will include optimising and automating inventory purchases, is in the pipeline and, in the future, Kelvin Power will consider implementing the Project Management Module and the Maintenance Module,” adds Regenass.

Kelvin Power had been working with and receiving good service from Synergy Group for many years and was again impressed by the speed at which the Accpac upgrade was completed. The upgrade gave the business the opportunity to implement best practices to ensure complete transparency for every transaction.

It was, however, the daily interaction between the Synergy Group and Kelvin Power project managers that Rink believes was a critical factor in the success of the implementation. “Experts were called in when required and solid project management brought all the aspects of this project together seamlessly. Training proved to be one of the biggest challenges as our number of Accpac users increased to more than 60, with about 40 of these responsible for controlling budgets. To manage the change, an easy-to-use, comprehensive manual was created and distributed to all users, and this manual was regularly updated with new knowledge and developments.”

Keith Fenner, Sales Director, Softline Accpac, says Accpac ERP 500 is a comprehensive web-based business management solution with powerful financial and operations management, e-business and customisation capabilities. Built on a solid, multi-tiered, open architecture, Accpac 500 supports unlimited users and offered Kelvin Power an easy upgrade path from its other Accpac editions. Accpac 500 offers advanced inventory, purchasing, and order management with up to 10GL account segments, unlimited account structures, 99 years of financial history, and the ability to manage an unlimited number of concurrent users and companies.