“WE GET FAR MORE WORK DONE WITH THE SAME NUMBER OF STAFF”

Broekema is the specialist in the area of quality, high-end crop conveyor belts and the associated motor components. Broekema has production facilities in the Netherlands and the USA (Minnesota and California), but also has agents and dealers worldwide. The company needed some support for their sales and production process. Sofon and Microsoft Dynamics AX were the solution, say Ben de Haan (Staff Executive & Marketer) and Jan Kerdijk (Production Planner).

How did you approach the implementation?

De Haan explains: “At the time, I was completely dedicated to the implementation of Sofon. I had no programming knowledge, but I found I didn’t need it. If you have some affinity with IT and are capable of logical thought, Sofon does the rest.” Kerdijk adds: “A connector between Sofon and AX was also implemented. Although these are two different systems, users don’t even notice; the systems connect seamlessly. We are now in the process of rolling-out Sofon internationally. In 2012 we implemented the Sofon AX solution in the US. Our German production companies will soon follow.”

So you clearly see the added value of Sofon?

De Haan explains: “Yes, we see Sofon as much more than a configurator. Sofon is increasingly used as a kind of knowledge center; to make knowledge available.” Kerdijk adds: “Previously, generating quotations was done by a few people with a lot of experience. Thanks to Sofon, the knowledge these colleagues have is now accessible to everyone. The advantage is that experienced staff can concentrate on other matters while new staffers can quickly achieve sales productivity without making errors.”

What do speedy, error-free operations mean for Broekema?

De Haan goes on: “Thanks to Sofon and AX we can get far more work done with the same staff (300 quotations per month, 200 production orders per week). We can handle more requests and increase our revenue.” Kerdijk adds: “Not only has revenue increased; planning and production also profit from Sofon. Now bills of materials and routings are error-free, the stream of goods in our company is more under control. We also have insight into the coverage of the machines and the factory floor.”

What has Sofon meant to Broekema?

De Haan explains: “The implementation of Sofon and AX was an important step for Broekema. We can now act more on the basis of insight, not only on our gut. We now know exactly in which markets we sell the most and which products this concerns. We also have more insight into our cost price and margins. For us, cost price does not increase out of the blue, but in response to current material and production costs.”