Foundry Chemicals Company Transforms Import Process, Enhancing Accuracy and Reducing Risk with EML’s Automated Solution
Background
The Foundry Chemicals Company, an industry leader in providing innovative chemicals for industrial applications, faced significant challenges in managing its import processes. With two key divisions—the Foundry Coating Division (FCD) and the Polyurethane (PU) Division—the company serves diverse sectors, including automobiles, commercial vehicles, footwear, and flexible packaging. However, managing the complex, multi-stage import process manually in Excel was error-prone, time-consuming, and carried significant financial risks. Easemylife (EML) developed a customized solution to automate the process and provide the management team with real-time access to critical information.
The Problem
The company had a substantial volume of material imports each year, with a process that involved several interconnected stages:
Manual Management: The entire import process, from purchase orders to payments, was maintained manually in Excel, leading to inefficiencies.
Complex, Interlinked Stages: The process included multiple stages—purchase orders, bills of lading, bills of entry, receipts, forward contracts, and payments—each handled at different points in time, making manual tracking difficult.
High Risk of Errors: Manual errors could result in costly interest charges, penalties, and inaccurate reporting.
Delayed Access to Information: Management did not have immediate visibility into critical data such as open purchase orders, forward contracts, unhedged exposures, and gain/loss on forward contracts.
ERP System Limitations: The existing ERP system could not capture the entire import process or provide the specific functionality required by the finance team.
These challenges slowed down decision-making, increased the risk of financial exposure, and left management without the clarity needed for efficient planning.
Solution Offered
To address these issues, EML developed a comprehensive system to automate and streamline the import process. This solution captured every step of the process, from the initial purchase order to the final payment, while also generating critical reports for management.
Key components of the solution included:
Data Capture Forms: Forms were provided to capture all necessary fields for each stage—purchase orders, bills of lading, bills of entry, receipts, forward contracts, and payments.
Back-end Database Integration: Forms were linked to back-end databases to validate and store the data, ensuring accuracy across the process.
Interlinked Stages: EML built interlinkages between all stages of the import process, ensuring a seamless flow of data from one stage to the next.
Custom Management Reports: Multiple reports were developed to provide real-time visibility into key areas such as open purchase orders, forward contracts, unhedged exposure, and gain/loss on forward contracts.
Implementation Process
The system was delivered in a phased approach, allowing for user feedback and iterative improvements:
Initial Delivery: The first version of the system was delivered within two weeks based on user requirements. Users entered real data for a month to test the system, providing valuable feedback on issues and additional refinements needed.
Enhancements and Refinements: Based on user feedback, EML made several improvements, including enhancing the search functionality for vendors and materials, refining how data was captured for each stage, and clarifying the calculation of gains/losses for forward contracts.
Unhedged Exposure Report Challenge: One of the major challenges was creating the unhedged exposure report, as the data was sourced from multiple tables and document types. Despite the complexity, EML successfully developed the report to management’s satisfaction.
Ongoing Refinement: Further iterations were made to ensure complete accuracy and clarity across the entire import process, including handling of complex calculations and data validation.
Results and Benefits
The implementation of EML’s automated system brought significant improvements to the company’s import process:
Dramatic Increase in Productivity: The availability of real-time, live data allowed the management team to react quickly to changes in import-related matters, leading to faster decision-making.
End-to-End System: The company now had a reliable system that captured the entire import process from purchase order to payment, eliminating reliance on error-prone manual processes.
Reduction in Manual Errors: The system minimized errors associated with manual data entry, reducing the risk of financial penalties and incorrect reporting.
Real-Time Data Access: Management had immediate access to critical information at all stages, including open purchase orders, payable forward contracts, and unhedged exposures.
Improved Financial Planning: The increase in clarity and accuracy had a direct impact on forward financial planning, giving the company better control over its finances and mitigating risk.
By partnering with EML, the Foundry Chemicals Company successfully automated its complex import process, significantly reducing manual errors and financial risks. The management team gained real-time access to critical data, enabling faster, more informed decisions and improving financial control.