Micronet business software is so much more than an accounting system… Pirtek products and service touch the lives of nearly every Australian. From a blown hose on a drilling rig in outback Mt Isa, to an air-conditioning hose on the family car in Perth, Pirtek’s comprehensive range of fluid transfer solutions keep Australians moving. Servicing industries that include manufacturing, oil and gas, mining, construction, earthmoving, agriculture and defence, Pirtek’s dedicated team of franchise partners deploy mobile service units for critical breakdown support, as well as preventative maintenance across nearly every industry in Australia. Pirtek is a fully franchised business system with 84 Service and Supply Centres throughout Australia. This privately owned Australian business is on a rapid growth path with operations in New Zealand, South Africa, China, Singapore, USA, UK and Europe. Timeliness and responsiveness is crucial and whilst Pirtek franchisees are committed to going that extra mile, Pirtek’s supply chain efficiency is the key to ensuring they can deliver. After intensive evaluation Pirtek selected Micronet’s Franchise Solution, a seamless trading platform providing transactional, data and supply chain efficiencies specifically tailored for franchise groups. Utilising a hosted environment the Micronet solution provides Pirtek a secure and reliable IT platform with minimal up-front investment and ongoing costs for franchisees. With a fast growing network of over 200 remote users the system needs to be easy to use and deploy in the field. “Initially Micronet’s desire to understand our business made them stand out from the crowd,” said Dormor. “As our evaluation continued we found a skilled team that was committed to making our project a success.” Streamlined Supply Chain to Meet Growth In 2003 Pirtek realised its existing supply chain systems would not deliver the company’s growth plans. With no clear vendor path for a 14 year old UNIX system, the risk of system down time was becoming too great. “We needed a new system tailored to our franchise model. Fully integrating franchisees into our warehouse operations and enabling one streamlined, real-time supply chain system was seen as a strategic imperative across the company,” said Jason Dormor, Pirtek’s Chief Information Officer. “However, an expensive IT upgrade was not on the cards for franchisees, many of whom were operating from remote service locations.” “Micronet is an integral part of our value proposition and our relationship continues to grow as we rely on them for strategic marketplace advantage.” Stephen Dutton General Manager, Pirtek Fluid Systems Pty Ltd. After minimal customisation, Pirtek began a one month pilot between the National Office and three franchise locations. With an aggressive roll out plan targeting five Service and Supply Centres each week, the hosted Micronet solution was deployed to all Pirtek franchise locations in just under three months. Hosted Solution Minimises Risk Micronet’s hosted model, managed in partnership with Macquarie Corporate, minimised risk and cost associated with the deployment. By locking in guaranteed levels of security, availability and resilience, Pirtek focused efforts directly on business process improvements. “The hosted solution has proved to be as solid as rock. It has freed us from managing the risk associated with maintaining an in-house system and delivers scalability for future growth.” Software modules for distribution, bill of material kitting, creditors and general ledger are deployed to Pirtek franchises from a central data centre SaaS, minimising up-front software licencing charges and removing the burden of day to day IT management for franchisees. Sponsored article 6 www.synergysystems.com.au