Beverage Manufacturer Gains Real-Time Market Visibility With Acumatica

Tan Hiep Phat Beverage Group

COMPANY

•  Industry: Food & Beverage

OVERVIEW

Founded in 1994, THP is Vietnam’s leading beverage manufacturer. Pioneering the healthy bottled drinks sector, it is one of the country’s biggest and fastest-growing companies.

Cận cảnh nhà máy sản xuất trà xanh O độ của Tân Hiệp Phát

KEY RESULTS

•  Gained real-time visibility into  market conditions, distributors’ performance and their capacity.

•  Empowered business analytics that speed up decision-making.

•  Enhanced operational efficiencies across order processing, production planning, warehousing, financial planning and more.

•  Streamlined communication across more than 200 distributors nation-wide.

•  Increased control over sales force of more than 1,600 mobile salespersons.

•  Increased control over products display at hundreds of thousands of retail outlets.

BUSINESS  CHALLENGE

Founded in 1994,  Tan Hiep Phat Beverage Group (THP) is Vietnam’s leading beverage manufacturer with  business interests in beverage, instant food and plastic packaging.  As one of Vietnam’s biggest and fastest-growing companies, THP is a pioneer in healthy bottled drinks, with  its “Dr Thanh” herbal tea  and other beverages outselling Coca-Cola,  Pepsi and other competitors. THP employs more than 4,000  staff and has received numerous accolades, including the  “ASEAN  Famous Brand Award 2013” and “Vietnam Values 2010”.

Ensuring product availability at the  right place and the  right time via a wide-reaching distribution network is key to the  success of Fast Moving Consumer Goods companies (FMCG) such as THP. To maintain its double-digit growth since 2007,  THP wanted real- time visibility and enhanced capabilities to better manage its network of more than 200 distributors in 64 cities and provinces across the country.

SOLUTION

A review of its existing decentralized Microsoft Dynamics unveiled THP’s reservations about the  accuracy of the  reported data, which were consolidated at the  distributors’ end. With a server and client license required for each THP distributor, it also proved to be highly prohibitive cost-wise. There were also concerns with  security and data integrity, as the  same administrative password was used by its distributors for system access.

In 2013,  THP decided to invest in a centralized platform to gain real-time visibility and accurate understanding of market demand, distributors’ sales performance and their capacity.

WHY ACUMATICA?

Armed with a checklist for a centralized, high-performance and secure platform, THP’s extensive search culminated in the  choice of Acumatica for these reasons:

•  It established a single database at the  company headquarters, providing real-time information for all THP staff, distributors and salespersons, while streamlining communication across its distributor network.

•  Its payment flexibility with unlimited free users offered scalability to grow with THP’s

distribution network.

•  Its user-friendly, 100 percent browser- based interface eased user adoption and enabled secured anytime, anyplace access from any-device.

•  Its system-level, open API enabled easy customization of reports; protected investment by integrating with  THP’s existing back-end SAP system, and extended ERP capabilities with  DMSsoft’s vertical solution which tightly integrates with Acumatica.

Assisted by DMSsoft, an Acumatica Gold Partner, THP deployed Acumatica 4.0  Financial Management and Distribution Management Suites in a hosted environment. “Working closely with the  highly experienced and responsible DMSsoft team, backed by their expertise in distribution management in Vietnam, we successfully implemented Acumatica at more than 200 distributors and 1,600  salespersons nationwide in just 4 months. This is a breakthrough, thanks to the  collaboration between THP and DMSsoft. I believe DMSsoft is the  first company in Vietnam to have achieved this,” commended by Dr Tran  Qui Thanh, President and CEO, Tan Hiep Phat Beverage Group. The solution’s ERP capabilities were extended to custom- fit THP’s distribution model in Vietnam with  DMSsoft’s vertical Distribution Management solution. The system went live in September 2013.

“As its first partner in Vietnam with  niche expertise in distribution management, DMSsoft is proud to partner Acumatica in empowering THP’s expansive distribution network. I believe Acumatica’s uniquely adaptable platform offers game-changing advantages that help THP further sharpen their competitiveness,” said Mr Peter Pham, Chairman,  DMSsoft.

WEB-BASED, REAL-TIME VISIBILITY EMPOWERS ANALYTICS AND SPEEDS DECISION-MAKING

Instead of waiting three days for consolidated sales figures from its distributors, THP now enjoys real-time visibility into  accurate market information from a single, centralized database at its headquarters. This, according to Mr Nguyen, Customer Development – IT Business Partner Manager, Tan Hiep Phat Beverage Group, is the  biggest benefit THP has gained from its Acumatica investment. Built-in security with advanced data encryption further ensures data integrity. In the  long run, THP expects to capture strategic insights of consumer preferences to streamline product innovation and cut time-to-market of new product launches.

With Acumatica enabling 100 percent browser-based access from anywhere, anytime, THP management enjoys the convenience of pulling reports real-time, on any  device. With easy-to-use, drill- down capabilities providing latest data at their fingertips, executives collaborate in real-time to make faster decisions that increase business agility.

CENTRALIZED SYSTEM ENHANCES EFFICIENCIES, SAVES  COSTS  AND STREAMLINES COMMUNICATION 

Thanks to Acumatica’s built-in performance capabilities, THP now processes more than 32,000 sales orders daily, received from 1,600  mobile salespersons, across more than 200 distributors and 80 product SKUs.

Production planning is now more accurate, with  optimized inventory costs and levels across warehouses nation-wide. Key operational processes, from sales order processing to procurement management, have also been streamlined. With a centralized system, THP enjoys significant savings by eliminating the hardware server previously required at every distributor. With Acumatica’s payment flexibility offering unlimited free  users, THP is assured of the  scalability to grow its distribution network without worrying about additional client license costs.

Timely communication of key information, such as price variations, flash promotions, rebate programs or new product information, across its distribution network is now just a few key strokes away. This has increased THP’s responsiveness to fast-changing market conditions in its merchandizing, promotion and pricing management.

ADVANCED  SALES  FORCE AUTOMATION INCREASES CONTROL

Besides better communication with its 1,600  mobile salespersons, THP also needs more effectiveness in tracking its salespersons’ performance and discipline. With DMSsoft’s AiM (All in Mobile)