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SAS Ground Equipment Maintenance (SAS/GEM), headquartered in Copenhagen (Denmark), and with operations in Stockholm (Sweden), Copenhagen and Oslo (Norway), maintains ground equipment for Scandinavian Airlines (SAS), one of the world’s leading airlines, and other airlines and ground handling companies. SAS/GEM provides service for automobiles, ramps, elevators, and other ground equipment. The annual number of service orders amounts to 30,000. With more than 140 employees and annual revenue in excess of SEK 160 million, and with 30 users in the system, SAS/GEM has used IFS business applications in Stockholm since the late 1980s. Now, thanks to IFS Applications 2000, the company has a solution that enables it to streamline inventory as well as track and analyze costs and satisfy customers. The result is more efficient utilization of equipment and personnel, with savings in time and money. The setting
As early as 1989, SAS/GEM in Stockholm selected IFS to provide a
solution for its maintenance requirements, using the
character-based IFS System4. Toward the end of the 1990s, SAS/GEM,
like most other companies at the time, saw the need to upgrade its
applications software to prepare it for the challenges of the
approaching millennium. The company also wanted a higher degree of
automation in its processes, such as inventory replenishment, as
well as greater flexibility and integration. Pricing capabilities
for the work performed was another feature that the SAS/GEM
required of its business software.
The solution
Although SAS/GEM was already an IFS user, it was natural for the company to take stock of what the market had to offer. After checking a number of vendors, the company decided to stay with IFS and opted to install the service management modules of IFS
Applications 99. Björn Hellström, who is responsible for the system at SAS/GEM, explains, “IFS was the vendor that fulfilled almost all our criteria. The user interface was right, it used an Oracle database, and the technical structure was what we were
looking for. In fact, the functionality of the solution in combination with the underlying technology was the decisive factor.”
Implementation
Implementation of IFS Applications 99 began at the SAS/GEM site
in Stockholm in December 1998 and was completed over the following
12 months. In Copenhagen, the solution was implemented in November 1999, in
good time before the turn of the millennium. Björn Hellström
comments, “Although the shift from the character-based interface of
the old system to the graphical user interface of IFS Applications
99 was tough for many of the users, the level of service provided
by the IFS implementation team was excellent. Rapid response to
acute problems and a very supportive attitude are typical of IFS’
input throughout the project.” Subsequently, SAS/GEM upgraded to
IFS Applications 2000.
Benefits
One of the major business benefits of the service management solution from IFS that SAS/GEM has experienced is the capability to overview sales and costs when making budgets. As Björn Hellström says, “We couldn’t survive without this today.” Cost
follow-up is also excellent, enabling the company to see what the different types of work-repairs, maintenance, production, etc. —cost with the help of very flexible analysis tools. “This is where we see the major gains,” adds Björn Hellström. Further, the solution allows the company to analyze how service intervals affect repairs. Combined with the excellent tools for cost-income analysis offered in IFS Applications 2000, this means that intervals can be adjusted to ensure optimal
utilization of equipment, prolonging its life and enabling investments in new equipment to be made at exactly the right time. The solution also enables SAS/GEM to better plan its preventive maintenance activities. Pricing capabilities are another major benefit. Now all work orders can be priced immediately, with information about hours required, material used, discounts, etc. Since the components in the solution are integrated, users can see from the very start
the price and availability of material in inventory. If parts are required, they can be ordered from stock or with the help of the lists in the parts register. Lists of materials used on work orders are the basis for a parts list that contains many more
parts than those that are in inventory. This makes it easier to order parts when they are required since all the information about them is already present in the system. And it saves money and space since there is no need to stock all the parts that are
likely to be needed. As an added bonus, the system is very secure operationally, having been run 24X7 for many years without going down. For an airline, as for any other business where safety and reliability are business-critical, robust business software is essential.
Software
IFS Applications for Service Management
IFS Maintenance
IFS Human Resources
IFS Financials
IFS Distribution
Hardware
HP
HP/UX
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