Rossi in Russia: Axapta boosted turnover significantly

“We wanted a long term partnership and we needed a vendor who had experience with large scale projects such as ours”, says Maria Danshina, IT director at Rossi Distribution. “We visited several of Columbus' other customers and became convinced that they were the right partner for us”.

Strategy for the future

Before choosing systems and selecting a partner to implement it, Rossi Distribution had mapped out a strategy for the company's future development. The main objectives were outlined and implementing a modern ERP systems were among the key issues in the strategy. Then Rossi's top management began a detailed examination of the available systems and the potential solutions providers. They finally settled on Microsoft Business Solutions Axapta and contracted Columbus IT Partner to implement it. During the implementation phase, Rossi Distribution underwent some organizational changes that affected the system implementation. Columbus adapted to the changes with out delaying the project.

The first stage

The first stage of the implementation was to get the logistical framework up and running. This included automation of a number of processes concerning inventory and invoicing. The logistics module handles sales, inventory management, supply chain management and so on. The sophisticated Free Planning module of the Axapta system was also implemented.

“We're probably the first company in Russia to embrace Free Planning both technologically and organizationally”, says Evgenij Iljinsky, MD of Rossi Distribution. “During 2003 our turnover grew by 26% and with growth rates like that, we can't rely on last year's statistical data. We need very precise planning tools to navigate forward and Free Planning provides the functionality we need”.

Being a successful distributor demands more than just delivering goods. You also have to consistently deliver high quality services that meet the changing demands of your customers. Knowledge of your own business and your customers business is the key component in good service. For Rossi the Microsoft Axapta solution helps them maintain a clear picture of their operations. Business processes have become transparent, inventories are managed more efficiently and the result is better customer service. Rossi's Executive Director Sergey Shigin says the Axapta solution has provided some major benefits for Rossi's business.

“I am now able to manage the company from any location. Until recently I was responsible for management of our headquarters. Today this position no longer exists, because Axapta has made it unnecessary. I can now manage our operations in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Novgorod from any location and also be able to see the state of the whole company at any given time”, says Sergey Shigin.

The Axapta solution has also helped Rossi increase their inventory turnover. At headquarters the growth was an amazing 60% last year.

“When the system began running on full capacity we could notice a significant increase”, says Sergey Shigin. “It is difficult to say precisely what percentage of this growth was due to Axapta, but by my estimates the rate is significant.”

An exciting project

“Logistics is one of the main focus industries for Columbus IT, says Ilya Prokimnov, Consulting Director from Columbus IT in Moscow. We are happy that our expertise helped Rossi already to make business more transparent and even to increase turnover. And we are eager to see how they will use this foundation for even more success in the future”.