Case Studies > SYSPRO Helps Fuel Growth at PermianLide After Company Outgrows QuickBooks

SYSPRO Helps Fuel Growth at PermianLide After Company Outgrows QuickBooks

Company Size

200-1,000

Region

America

Country

United States

Product

SYSPRO Financials
SYSPRO Report Writer
Bill of Materials
Material Requirements Planning
Work in Progress

Tech Stack

SQL Manager
Office Automation

Implementation Scale

Enterprise-wide Deployment

Impact Metrics

Customer Satisfaction
Digital Expertise
Productivity Improvements

Technology Category

Analytics & Modeling - Predictive Analytics
Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Data Visualization
Functional Applications - Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERP)

Applicable Industries

Oil & Gas

Applicable Functions

Business Operation
Quality Assurance

Use Cases

Inventory Management
Predictive Maintenance
Process Control & Optimization

Services

Software Design & Engineering Services
System Integration
Training

About The Customer

PermianLide is the largest US manufacturer of above-ground storage tanks and processing equipment for the oil and natural gas exploration and production companies. The Texan-headquartered company has more than 37 years of operating experience, with two well-known industry brands: Permian Tank & Manufacturing and Lide Industries. A classic American story, PermianLide started as two smaller independent competitor companies (Permian and Lide Industries) in the 1970’s, each growing to be a successful business in its own right, and ultimately merging in 2008. Through aggressive expansion, collaborative streamlining of the two operations and the right enterprise resource planning (ERP) technology solution to support that growth, PermianLide now has eight manufacturing plants in Texas, Oklahoma and South Dakota.

The Challenge

Part of taking any successful company to the next level of growth and prosperity is knowing when, why and how to upgrade to a newer, stronger enterprise software backbone. PermianLide had spent three years using QuickBooks for its financial and reporting requirements plus some limited ERP capabilities. By 2008, the company felt restricted by its QuickBooks technology capabilities. For example, its headcount had grown to between 400-450 employees, and QuickBooks’ payroll solution required multiple systems to handle that volume. Employee records were in separate systems and impossible to track easily and accurately. The goal was to have one customer file, one warehouse file, one employee file and one general ledger file. SYSPRO, Infor, Microsoft Dynamics, Epicor and SAP were reviewed. The QuickBooks replacement search began prior to the merger, so there was just one company involved. The initial scope was four locations with eight warehouses and two consignment yards. The goal at the time was to have thorough financial statements on each location, plus an aggregated view of the company as a whole. Suddenly, the ‘new’ organization was going to be considerably larger: a total of 11 locations and 22 warehouses. Also, the new company merging in (Permian) wanted the same abilities that Lide was requesting (facility reporting, plus consolidated operations). The new combined company also needed a holistic view of the merged operations – at every level.

The Solution

Joe Lucas, IT Director of PermianLide, explains: “Prior to the merger talks, we had already cut our short list to Infor and SYSPRO after a three-month review cycle. We were ready to make our decision to replace QuickBooks with much wider SYSPRO operations, but then the merger took place and we decided to take a second look at the larger field of ERP providers that we had started with. The complexities of the various individual and joint operations across two separate companies immediately knocked out some of the vendors, like SAP Business One. Conversely, we were amazed at the sophistication of the analysis and reporting capabilities offered by SYSPRO.” Today, using SYSPRO, PermianLide has a comprehensive view of the two distinct sets of operations in a single view, with detailed reporting as required. Specifically: Each branch has its own sales and manufacturing reporting, though the two can be rolled up for a consolidated view. Lean manufacturing principles and actions can be evaluated and deployed on an individual, branch or companywide basis. Plants can be compared/contrasted for individual operational/financial success, allowing for faster remediations that impact the bottom line. Sales production reports can clearly show which plants produced the goods and whether that plant sold it themselves or through a supply chain transfer. Income statements clearly delineate the best performers more accurately; prior reporting had inaccurately shown high performing plants’ operational impact as problematic – through incorrect financial accounting.

Operational Impact

PermianLide now has a comprehensive view of the two distinct sets of operations in a single view, with detailed reporting as required.
Each branch has its own sales and manufacturing reporting, though the two can be rolled up for a consolidated view.
Lean manufacturing principles and actions can be evaluated and deployed on an individual, branch or companywide basis.
Plants can be compared/contrasted for individual operational/financial success, allowing for faster remediations that impact the bottom line.
Sales production reports can clearly show which plants produced the goods and whether that plant sold it themselves or through a supply chain transfer.

Quantitative Benefit