1C:ERP implementation at TPK Biofood LLC (Tula)

TPK Biofood is a food manufacturer based in Tula. Its brand is Big Lunch.

Specifics: continuous production on an assembly line.

Headcount: about 1,000

Project business goals

The company runs 1C:Manufacturing Enterprise Management (1C:UPP) but uses no more than 20% of its functionality. The level of automation is low. Some processes are handled in Excel. Automation is patchwork.

Goals

1. Eliminate double (triple, and so on) data entry. Eliminate errors in production, procurement, and sales planning.
2. Speed: simpler, faster preparation of summary reports
3. Growth: the ability to develop the system as new 1C technologies emerge
4. Move off 1C:UPP, which is reaching the end of support.

Software implemented

1C:ERP

Number of automated workstations: 100

The client had partial, patchwork automation. During modeling, we showed how some of the processes would work in the system and documented the functional gaps. The client changed several processes after realizing that their approach was not optimal; for example, the cost calculation algorithm was revised.

Thanks to repeated demonstrations of ERP functions on the client’s own data (over the course of a month), the client changed things they had not originally planned to touch. They moved from patchwork automation to out-of-the-box functionality. This required quite substantial consulting on our part, which somewhat complicated and prolonged the modeling process.

There was a great deal of debate. We entered document chains and data, replicated the company’s processes, and generated reports. That is how the client came to see that this functionality suited them.

All of this led to savings on customization and system support while also streamlining business processes. In effect, the client adapted its business processes to the standard 1C:ERP configuration.

At this stage, the functional gaps were documented and a project plan was drawn up. A modeling report called the “Functional Model” was prepared, describing the business processes in detail through tables, text, diagrams, notations, and PC. This alone is of great value to the company: based on these documents, it can already write and revise its own procedures and instructions.

So we prepared a complete functional model and ran an end-to-end example. In total, 12 functional areas were modeled.

For a long time, the client strongly resisted the ERP system itself, but thanks to a strong functional architect, they came to like it and became convinced that 1C:ERP was right for them.

Conclusions

High-quality modeling is the key to a successful project. It is important to identify all of the client’s requirements. The client sees the system and how their processes map onto it, and sees each process by functional area. Then you run the example through once more. And when the client says, “Well, now I understand how we’re going to work,” that tells you the project was modeled well.

Our team extends a huge thank-you to the company’s chief accountant for their expertise in automation.

The client came to us deeply disappointed with their implementation experience. But experienced analysts and functional architects, good organization, and the strong potential of our team were able to

One challenge was that some employees had never worked in 1C. They were used to Excel. They took a long time to adapt and spent a lot of time on training. Only when their own example was entered into the database, and they could see how the system looks and works, did they begin to accept it. Most of their training took place as part of modeling. We ran demonstrations 4–5 times during modeling.