The Chantier Naval de l’Océan Indien (CNOI), a leading shipyard located in Mauritius, specialises in shipbuilding, repair, and maritime engineering projects. With a reputation for quality and innovation, CNOI has been at the forefront of integrating advanced technologies to enhance its operational efficiencies and services since its inception in 2001.
Challenges
Prior to 2023, CNOI operated on Focus Evolution and AS/400 systems, limiting its ability to scale, adapt to changing market demands, and integrate modern cloud solutions.The fragmented IT landscape and outdated enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions resulted in inefficiencies and data silos.This hindered CNOI’s ability to provide real-time insights, decision-making capabilities and embarking into more challenging and rewarding projects.
Solution
In March 2022, CNOI embarked on a digital transformation journey, drafting the functional requirements. After a year of evaluating many potential solutions, CNOI selected Infor Cloudsuite Industrial Enterprise as its new cloud ERP system, with iOCO as the implementation partner. A large drawcard was certainly Infor and iOCO’s delivery of ERP solutions and offer a projects focused model.This strategic move aimed to merge operations onto a unified platform, improve data visibility, and enhance overall productivity.
Implementation
The project kicked off in January 2023 and was dubbed Sirius – named after the brightest star, well known by sailors the world over. With a clear roadmap, the project successfully transitioned CNOI from the legacy systems to a fully cloud-based, Software as a Service (SaaS) driven ERP solution. Despite the ambitious timeline, the project went live in December 2023; a testament to the meticulous planning, stakeholder engagement, and expert execution by CNOI and its partner, iOCO.
As Sheila Nulliah, Project Manager of the Sirius Project emphasised: “The successful implementation of Infor Cloudsuite Industrial Enterprise is a milestone in CNOI’s digital transformation journey. It has not only optimised our operations but also positioned us for future growth and innovation.”
The implementation did not, however, go as smoothly as envisioned.Thanks to general project complexities, data challenges, key users’ process choices and preferences leading to an altered approach and unplanned actions, steps had to be taken to bring the project back to its strategic intent, while simplifying the modules for ease of use. “Despite these challenges, the implementation was quickly brought back onto track and CNOI ran a highly effective change management campaign.Today, the project is considered a great success in respect of time, budget, quality, and fast go live within a calendar year from project commencement,” confirms Sankie Hancke, iOCO’s Director of Services.
Benefits Realised
Streamlined Operations: The transition to Infor Cloudsuite Industrial Enterprise unified various business processes, restructuring disjointed systems, and enabling seamless information flow across departments.This particularly gave the finance department and general management unfettered access to a real-time view of all projects, and their impact on orders and deliveries.
Enhanced Data Accuracy and Visibility: Real-time data access and analytics capabilities empower CNOI to make swift, informed decisions, while following orders with greater accuracy.
Increased Efficiency: Automated workflows and cloud-based access reduced manual tasks and expedited operations.
Total Scalability: The scalable nature of Infor Cloudsuite Industrial Enterprise supports CNOI’s growth ambitions, allowing for the integration of new functionalities as needed.
Enriched Reporting Capabilities: The new solution delivers an innovative reporting platform, giving executives and the board instant access to rich, integrated data and analytics, ensuring a deep, precise understanding of the state of CNOI’s operations and financials, at all times.
Nicolas Perrier, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, who started the project in 2022 adds that: “This project reflects our commitment to embracing technology to maintain our competitive edge.The seamless collaboration between CNOI, iOCO, and Infor was crucial in achieving our objectives.”
Conclusion
CNOI’s successful implementation of Infor Cloudsuite Industrial Enterprise marks a significant leap forward in its digital transformation journey. By employing Infor’s cloud technology and leaning on the expertise of the iOCO team, CNOI has enhanced its operational efficiencies, data management, and strategic decision-making capabilities – effectively setting a new benchmark for excellence in the maritime industry. It has provided the stepping stone that allowed CNOI to embark into the building of the biggest ships ever built by the shipyard, two artic ocean liners.
The Future
With the foundation set, CNOI looks forward to exploring other innovations and enhancements within the Infor Cloudsuite Industrial Enterprise ecosystem, ensuring continued growth and leadership in the ship building and repair sector. 2024 starts with digital expansion in the realm of asset management, a tighter time management system that will be integrated into Infor Cloudsuite Industrial Enterprise and Infor CSIE and the company’s HRMS, integrated document management and tighter project management for ship building.This will help CNOI’s Project Managers to provide higher accuracy to ship owners, faultlessly detailing actual work done and budget expectations, while freeing time to focus on what really matters to customers: providing higher quality!
For more information contact: Fathima.Khan@iOCO.tech