Wegmans Furniture: Unhindered Path To IPO
How does a furniture maker improve its competitiveness with data?
Working from home has become the new norm, and this trend has boosted the demand for quality furniture. To set up a comfortable working environment at home, people look for high-quality office desks and chairs. Despite the high requirements, the furniture industry is still affected by the US-China trade war and the pandemic. Thus, the manufacturers are facing issues in lacking workforce, materials, and storage spaces.
Wegmans Furniture has embarked on the listing since 2018. Its home furniture products are exported to more than 70 countries, showing their high market share. In 2016, the two founders of Wegmans, Mr. Keh Wee Kiet and Mr. Collin Law, have decided to implement a digital system to get ready for the public listing journey. Their main aim is to emphasize and concentrate on internal control.
Through the ERP system by Digiwin Software, Wegmans has successfully built a standard operating procedure to standardize the complex manufacturing process. From it, they can avoid human error and ensure product quality. Since then, Wegmans established a solid foundation that brought advantages to deal with the current market situation.
Ensure sufficient raw materials and avoid hoarding of goods with data
The director of HR and Admin, Ms. Law Eng Hwa, has mentioned that it’s necessary to counter stock inventory. In the past, Wegmans lacked having precise data. There was a difference between the inventory and the actual stock count. The employees could only realize the problem when they were going to pick the materials.
After implementing the ERP system, they can keep track of the inventory at any time, and the accuracy is up to 90%. The purchasing department can restock raw materials in a timely and appropriate amount, based on the information provided by the system. Thus, they have reduced unnecessary warehouse costs.
Apart from minimizing the gap of inventory count, the financial statements have reflected the benefit of digitalization as well. From it, Wegmans could control the cash flow effectively and plan on an accurate financial budget.
Data is the best communication language of enterprises
“We can search what we want on the ERP system in one click. This can build the trust and confidence in our supervisors too, ” Material Planning Manager, Ms. Ong Miow Lin spoke about the advantage of system implementation.
In the process of system implementation progressively, Digiwin Software consultants are actively assisting Wegmans to review the existing manufacturing process. Their main target is to strengthen internal and material control.
The senior executives can see the real-time status from the system report anytime, anywhere. They could view the objective and comprehensive data easily. In simple terms, there is zero distance between them and the manufacturing sites. Data improves the communication effectiveness between departments too.
As a listed company, a comprehensive system is a must. The data generated by the ERP system does not only improve the efficiency of employees but also serves as a reference for the investors. This is the crucial factor that influences the decision-making process.
To maintain market competitiveness, enterprises must continue to improve all-around skills. Cost reduction and efficiency improvement are the two major issues that need effort. Through the ERP system by Digiwin Software, Wegmans successfully increases its productivity. By now, the beneficial results are as below:
- The efficiency of inventory management and manufacturing process has increased
- The internal communication is smoother
- The procurement and warehousing costs are reduced
Whether fulfilling the requirements of public listing or striving through the pandemic, Wegmans has been benefited a lot from the ERP system. PublicInvest Research in Malaysia is optimistic about the prospect of Wegmans because it is supported by backlogs and strong demand for furniture. In the meantime, the system and data will be the key elements to strengthen the enterprise’s capabilities.
Since the end of 2020, Wegmans has built three factory sites to deal with different customer groups, which are the existing customer base, wood processing line, and orders from the new US clients. Based on the current production capacity, executive director and co-founder Collin Law once said in an interview with The Edge that he is confident to take more orders and to meet the challenges ahead.
Wegmans has been a role model for many local companies. Although the path of digital transformation is long, building a blueprint is indeed a necessary action for enterprises.
Watch their success story: https://youtu.be/3A2jwaVcquY
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