Vedum ready for 100 more years of success with M3 Cloud
Vedum, a 100-year-old family business, was struggling to support the company’s rapid growth with a legacy on-premises ERP system. Together with Columbus they’ve implemented Infor M3 in the cloud, centralised data storage and established streamlined processes across the business. Today, Vedum has the foundation to enable another 100 years of success.
Future-proofing a 100-year-old business
Vedum was using an old version of Infor M3, installed on-premises, with several customisations to support their unique and complex business model. As the company grew it became obvious that the ERP was limiting the organisation’s agility and scalability.
The majority of data was being stored outside of the ERP – in separate systems, documents or Excel sheets. Significant time was being wasted searching for information. These disperse systems were also causing more work for the IT team in terms of support and maintenance.
“We needed to remove dependency on small systems and solution experts,” says Frans Stridh, CTO at Vedum. “Instead, we wanted to reestablish the ERP as the central data hub and streamline processes across the organisation, creating a ‘one Vedum’ way of working.”
A well-prepared project and experienced partner
Vedum conducted extensive preparation, involving detailed mapping and documentation of existing processes. Each business unit and function were brought into the project group to define their dream scenario, including what the future processes should look like. As such, the Vedum team was well prepared to kick-off the implementation of their new M3 ERP in the cloud.
Columbus was selected as the main partner for the project.
“Moving to a cloud ERP was the best way to futureproof our IT landscape,” says Mikael Gillberg, CIO at Vedum. “We selected Columbus because of their impressive experience in complex ERP projects, expertise in the M3 solution and large base of competent consultants.”
Supporting complex business processes from A to Z
Vedum designs, manufactures and distributes full scale kitchen, bathroom and wardrobe interiors. The company sells directly to consumers, through resellers and to construction companies for large building projects. Sales and order processes vary significantly depending on the customer type.
For building projects, a base kitchen is quoted and agreed on with the construction company. The end-customers of each apartment can then choose to change colours, handles or add items to their kitchen design. The variations of orders are vast, with no definitive standard order.
Columbus’ consultants helped Vedum translate these complex business processes and workflows into configurations in M3 to ensure the new ERP was set up to support each business unit effectively.
Today, everything is consolidated in M3. From designs, quotes, pricing, discounts and orders to planning, production, delivery and invoicing. With data now centralised, the Vedum team is perfectly positioned to provide efficient customer deliveries and gain better insights into projects, budgets and profitability.
“With our new M3 ERP we’ve got the foundation to work more efficiently and to continue improving our way of working,” says Frans Stridh. “No more searching different systems and locations for information - all of our business data is now in one place and is easily accessible.”
Get the business involved: It’s more than an IT project
One of the main objectives of the ERP project was to involve the entire organisation and remove the dependency on the IT team. Therefore, process owners were identified in each team or function to ensure the new ERP was set up to support everyday business needs. Process owners were given the authority to make decisions about their workflows and involve team members for testing.
“This isn’t an IT project; it’s a business transformation,” says Mikael Gillberg, CIO at Vedum. “The new ERP has helped us to increase knowledge and technical maturity across the organisation. The IT team and the business units now collaborate more effectively and have a better understanding for each other’s needs.”
Close collaboration towards a futureproof ERP
With all critical business data available in Infor M3, Vedum now has vast possibilities to leverage information in their daily work. While there’s still work to be done in implementing new ways of working, the organisation has confidence in their solid foundation with the new ERP.
Because Vedum chose to implement a cloud ERP, they’ll benefit from regular upgrades to ensure they get access to the latest version. Thanks to the organisation-wide involvement in the project, the team is well-positioned to embrace new functionality and leverage the technology in their daily work.
Columbus remains involved as the support partner for M3 through the Columbus Evolve program. Vedum is pleased with the collaboration and looks forward to continuing their joint journey with Columbus.
“Working with the Columbus team has been great,” says Frans Stridh, CTO at Vedum. “Not only are Columbus’ consultants knowledgeable and experienced, but they also have a big heart and a strong customer focus. We work together as one team with open and frank communication, which I really appreciate.”
