Aster Group is consolidating its financial systems and processes across its seven subsidiaries with the implementation of FMS SunSystems from Infor. Live operation of the new finance system for 40 Aster staff is scheduled for April 2011 following a three-month implementation.
Aster’s strategy behind the new system is to de-duplicate and standardise finance processes, improve reporting capabilities and reduce banking costs, with FMS SunSystems replacing a myriad of different finance systems used across Aster’s diverse operations.
Karl Pott, financial director at Flourish Homes, one of Aster Group’s subsidiaries, said, “As Aster has seven very different subsidiaries, process consistency is vital to generating consistent information. The reporting functionality and flexibility of the Infor system will help us to achieve productivity improvements and cost savings without us having to change our existing processes.”
Infor was selected from a shortlist of three providers based on its product’s strong reporting functionality and ease of use. Easy integration and interfacing with Aster’s operational systems, such as job costing for repairs, maintenance and development, were also critical factors in the purchasing decision. 90 Aster staff will also use FMS SunSystems’ iPOS e-procurement user interface to speed up transactions and transaction approval, eliminate manual data entry and remove bottlenecks.
Jon Casey, sales director for financial solutions, Infor, added, “Aster Group is a good example of an organisation which stands to make cashable savings over and above the productivity gains which FMS SunSystems delivers. By using one system instead of seven, it will achieve significant reductions in banking costs, and help to ensure processes are as lean as possible to capitalise on growth.”
