SAP and DyFlex: A templated approach to setting up ERP
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Mining accounts for 14.3% of Australia’s total economic output, figures from the Reserve Bank of Australia indicate. While much of this production comes from large mining companies, the country also has a sizeable number of small- to mid-sized mining companies called junior miners.
However, unlike large corporations, junior miners have a more restricted technology roadmap due to smaller budgets and more often than not, a lack of information on the right systems that can be used for business growth. DyFlex, an Australian technology consultancy that was founded in 2010, helps mid-sized miners overcome this hurdle using a templated approach to adopting SAP ERP systems.
The challenge
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For DyFlex the core challenge is guiding an organisation through the process of setting up an ERP system because in many companies, leaders have never implemented an ERP previously.
Moreover, mid-market mining organisations are as complex as large miners but have a smaller scale of operations and smaller budgets. Thus, Heaney says that it takes business expertise and not just software knowledge to guide junior miners in their SAP implementation journey.
Templated approach
However, DyFlex’s templated approach to setting up SAP for junior miners has helped the company to bust the myth that SAP is too complex and expensive to implement.
According to Jason Heaney, co-CEO of DyFlex, the company’s initial goal is to strengthen a business’ foundations by providing a core set of capabilities and then bring additional functionality as the organisation goes through its mining life cycle. “For example, when they get into construction, we bring on the projects module, and when they get into operations, we bring in supply chain functionality and maintenance functionality,” he notes.
Heaney indicates that despite the complexity of the mining environment, junior miners have many commonalities in how they operate, and this has helped DyFlex to perfect its templated approach to implementing SAP for these clients within three to four months.
A templated approach to implementing SAP has also provided a more stable platform for compliance and regulatory reporting within a miner’s operating area. Better financial reporting accuracy due to the SAP system also helps companies with their investors and bankers.
Apart from core ERP, DyFlex has also expanded its SAP offering to include SAP SuccessFactors and SAP Ariba for its customers, using the same templated approach and has now expanded its reach beyond mining to other mid-sized companies that seek an SAP solution to grow their business.
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