Karelkamen optimized the fleet and excluded unprofitable contracts with the help of 1C:ERP and 1C: Document Flow

2023: Complete Integrated Automation Project

On January 16, 2023, 1C announced that RAU I&T had completed the comprehensive automation project of the KARELKAMEN Group of Companies. The 1C: ERP system, integrated with 1C: Document Flow solution, helped to optimize the management of sales and delivery of crushed stone.

According to the company, planning for the work of more than 20 river vessels with a total capacity of 40,000 tons has changed, and ship downtime has been reduced. The coordination of commercial proposals, orders, requests for spending funds was optimized. An accurate calculation of the cost of extracted materials is provided, taking into account leasing, interest payments on loans, the cost of storing and moving batches of goods. Increased control over the profitability of sales, excluded unprofitable contracts, which previously accounted for up to 5% of the total number of transactions.

Earlier, the group of companies did not automate the financial management, wholesale trade, river cargo transportation. In the work of the fleet, downtime often arose. Applications for spending money (about 60 applications daily) were agreed by e-mail. The treasurer kept a register of applications manually, the approval of payments could be delayed for several days. It was not possible to accurately calculate the cost of produced materials, the actual costs did not converge with the planned ones. It was difficult to control the company's expenses and the profitability of contracts. As a result, about 5% of transactions turned out to be unprofitable.

In addition, there were difficulties in calculating rewards for sales managers. Managers logisticians and calculated bonuses manually in spreadsheets. At the same time, errors often occurred data , managers diverged from accounting information, it was almost impossible to compare the planned profit calculated by the manager with the actual one. Employees received a bonus even for concluding a loss-making contract.

The group of companies needed another information system that would allow you to accurately calculate the cost of production across all parts of the production and logistics chain, control the profitability of transactions, quickly coordinate orders and documents, effectively manage the fleet, quickly plan and calculate bonus payments.

To solve the tasks, the solutions of the 1C:ERP and the ECM system "1C: Document flow" were selected. The implementation partner was RAU I&T, which has the status of the 1C Competence Center for ERP solutions.

The project was completed in 9 months. At the first stage, a list of system requirements was compiled, a matrix "As is" and "As should be" was built, a plan for the next stages of the project was developed. A text description of the Accounting Policy has been created to calculate the cost. Under the specifics of the KARELKAMEN Group of Companies, a multi-level document approval system was finalized, instructions and training were prepared for users to optimize approval.

As a result, the company began its 19th season of navigation of ships and transportation of rubble in Russia with an updated resource management system. Work on the project is planned to continue after the end of the ship navigation season, when the directorate will be freed from operational tasks and return to the development of the system. The plans include automation of the production of non-metallic materials (open-pit development processes at the company's fields) and budgeting (fulfillment of tasks for tracking the movement of resources within the enterprise and monitoring the financial activities of the group's divisions).

Key project results:

• An accurate calculation of the cost of production is provided, taking into account leasing, interest on loans, costs for the purchase, storage and movement of consignments of goods. Resolved discrepancies between planned and actual expenses for each particular transaction. The financial result is now calculated automatically. This made it possible to quickly assess the profitability of sales: unprofitable contracts, which previously accounted for up to 5% of the total number of sales, are completely excluded.
• Integration of 1C:ERP with 1C: Document Flow system optimized the coordination of documents - business proposals, orders, requests for spending funds. With the help of the updated system, the manager promptly sends the document for approval to his manager, after approval in the department, the system automatically sends the document along the configured routes along the approval chain - responsible for the direction, organization or group of companies. As a result, transactions are concluded faster, orders are transferred to work faster, control over the targeted use of funds has been strengthened.
• Automated management of own and leased fleets. A navigation calendar has been created that allows you to plan the work of more than 20 river vessels with a total capacity of 40,000 tons during the navigation season. The system promptly determines sub-optimal ship crossings without commercial loading or ballast crossings. This helps to identify downtime in a timely manner and take measures to reduce it.
• In addition, the calculation of bonuses to managers is automated. The system checks whether the planned profit is calculated correctly and compares it with the actual profit. If the contract is unprofitable, no bonus is charged for it. As a result, the company optimized personnel costs, and managers receive fair remuneration for their work.

1C:ERP helps us manage the company's resources more efficiently. We began to correctly count the cost and ruled out the possibility of selling "in minus." The process of agreeing on applications for spending funds moved into the system, which helped to optimize financial control. The calculation of premiums has been automated - personnel costs have decreased. Initially, we planned to invest in a system that will give us a positive economic effect, and we succeeded. told Liubov Kuznetsova, chief accountant of KARELKAMEN Group of Companies