Tyrecycle

Reality trumps initial perception

Stella Jansen spent much of her career as a financial administrator with large multi-national companies using, and in one case selecting, high-end Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. So why is she now using Attaché? Why does she believe it runs rings around systems often costing hundreds of thousands of dollars?

When Stella joined Australia’s largest tyre re-cycler, Tyrecycle, 18 months ago as General Manager, Finance and Administration, she had more than a few misgivings about the Attaché Accounts and Payroll software the company had been using for more than 13 years. She was concerned that with a total workforce of more than 100, facilities in four states and a turnover of $22-$30 million, the company might have been underpowered in the software area.

Stella came to the position from Britax Childcare where she had been the Head of Finance for four companies, and was part of a steering committee that had chosen Microsoft Dynamics after an exhaustive evaluation process. Prior to that, at Fuchs Lubricants, she was part of the team that implemented the SAP system.

“I was reluctant,” she recalls of her reaction to the news that Attaché was the system of choice. “It was probably because I associated Attaché with small programs that don’t give you too much flexibility and do not provide you with enough information.

Today it’s a far different story, with Stella now a staunch advocate. “I was surprised, pleasantly surprised to find a very good interface, excellent reporting and the ability to customise.” Stella was even more surprised at the Attaché features that either didn’t come with the high-end ERPs or, if they did, were extras costing “an arm and a leg.”

“I have worked with many ERPs that didn’t have an electronic system such as Attaché Document Management for issuing pay advices, invoices and statements via email. We now send 2,500 documents a month via Document Management, a massive saving in paper and labour.

“And it’s absolutely fantastic for payrolls. Not too many accounting systems have a really useable payroll system like Attaché’s. Most firms with an ERP have a specialised payroll system because the ERP has too many problems calculating and managing the payroll.

“Attaché, on the other hand, is flexible and has no problems at all.”

Flexibility at minimal cost

For Stella, flexibility is very much an Attaché strength. Ironically, the ERP selection process at Britax ultimately chose Microsoft Dynamics over SAP for its reporting flexibility as it allowed customisation with only a little programming knowledge, customisation for which SAP would charge a fortune. “With Attaché, I feel I have the flexibility back at minimal cost.”

“I find that Attaché is even easier and the support we get from our Attaché Centre is fantastic as they are pretty smart and know the system upside down.

“For instance, I wanted to design some new reports for major customers, both weekly and monthly. I explained to my Attaché consultant what I wanted and they said it was no problem. They helped me understand my requirements, created some additional fields on the master file to manage the data a certain way and developed a report that I could generate at the press of a button.”

Cashing in through proactive management

This sort of convenience led Stella to upgrade Attaché by adding the new, customisable Dashboards, with on-screen analysis, reporting and drill down ability. Now, Attaché starts every morning in Dashboard view and gives a real-time view of creditors, debtors and bank balances – an instant snapshot with valuable informationwhich helps Stella proactively manage the business cash position. “A lot of businesses, even today, don’t know their position until the end of the month. I couldn’t operate that way. I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night,” Stella said.

“Similar features in SAP or larger ERP systems would have been very costly whereas the Attaché Dashboard was very affordable and good value for money.”

Tyrecycle is in a growth phase and looking at diversification options that could involve recycling items such as batteries and alloy wheels. Stella is confident that the company is well positioned for this growth, particularly in terms of its business management software.

About Tyrecycle

www.tyrecycle.com.au

• Largest tyre recycler in Australia, collecting and processing over 105,000 tonnes of scrap tyres every year
• Total workforce of more than 100, facilities in four states and a turnover of $22-$30 million
• Aim to increase domestic recycling and eliminate the remaining tyres that are disposed of in landfill in Australia