Epica News
May 2008
Innovation – SAP Material Description
One of the problems of the SAP Material Description is its limitation of 40 characters. Users need to be able to pack as much differentiating data within the forty characters to enhance its use as an effective browse or inquiry tool. Epica's Workbench facility does this in two ways.
- Firstly it can abbreviate the relevant data (using standard abbreviations) that is applied to the Material Description field. This is seperate to the P O Text data which normally contains the full item description and in many instances is used for printing the purchase order description. Abbreviations in the latter would be minimal and normally restricted to size designators such OD, ID, MM, ect.
- The second feature is that the Epica Workbench can re-sequence the data within the Material Description for the optimum fit of available data. Again this may be conducted independent of the attribute set that was initially used to buil the P O Text and the Material Description data. These two steps allow Epica to provide a much better item search capability for SAP users. This initiative was developed in response to client requirement so that they may avoid lengthy inquiry process to locate and identify the correct item. This initiative is of the most benefit to users who have a configuration where the material description is used for browse purposes only rather than the front end of the full description which may flow onto the P O Text or use the Material Description only.
April 2008
Cement Australia
Cement Australia has recently awarded its Catalogue Maintenance to Epica Solutions Pty Ltd. This is conducted through the Sydney office with direct access to Cement Australia's SAP Parts master file. Epica previously conducted some work in cleaning up the current data file. While there is still some work to be done on the project Epica welcomes the opportunity to be able to further contribute to the operational needs of Cement Australia. Cement Australia operates a number of sites throughout Australia with its head office in Brisbane.
We Are Back!!!
Epica Solutions provided a number of personnel for the Department of Commerce Smartbuy® Project in 2002 through to 2004. Epica is now again contributing to this worthwhile service with the provision of personnel. Smartbuy® is a fully developed electronic procurement system managed by the NSW department of commerce. Items supplied under contract by various organisations and businesses to the NSW government are catalogued so that users within government departments can readily access the items require for their needs. It is understood that these contracts are also used by Commonwealth Departments and various other government agencies.
March 2008
Bryan Retires
Bryan Edhouse who has worked on behalf of Epica Solutions with the Alcan Gove APL Coordination Team has called it a day. Bryan has a home just outside a quaint village on the Eastern seaboard of Tasmania and is looking forward to his retirement with his family. We take this opportunity to thank Bryan for his worthwhile contribution and will miss his efforts as no doubt the Alcan Team will as well. May you enjoy your retirement in good health and cheer.
November 2007
Defence Contract
Epica Solutions Pty Ltd has won a contract for the provision of personnel to conduct codification and cataloguing for the National Codification Bureau (NCB). The NCB provides codification and cataloguing services to acquisition and sustainment levels across the ADF. The bureau processes requests for the codification of items of supply manufactured both domestically and overseas and is governed by the principles and standards of NATO. These services underpin the logistics capability of of the Defence operational and and business environments. The requirement for assistance stems from the a growing Defence Capability Program which will significantly escalate the demand for NCB services. In order for the bureau to meet its service requirements it was decided to establish commercially based support to its service delivery capability. Epica Solutions is proud of its association with the ADF and has recently been accepted under the Defence Recognised Supplier Scheme (DRSS).
July 2007
New Appointments
Ed Coleman has been promoted to the position of NSW Production Manager. Ed has had some 25 years experience in cataloguing and has also worked previously in supervisory positions as a Project Team Leader. Ed's primary role is the allocation of work and ensuring quality standards are maintained at all times. We are confident that Ed will acquit himself well in his new role. Paul Blackwell will be joining our team at Alcan Gove later this month. Paul was one of the few applicants who possessed the specific skill set required by the client. We welcome Paul to Epica Solutions.
June 2007
What's in a Name
When Epica Solutions started in September 2002 it was decided that the company should have a name that had an Australian theme. Dennis Allsopp came up with the word Epica based on the Epica Banksia which is native to South Australia. The name comes from the Latin "epicus" or epic relating to the long journeys of Edward John Eyre (who first saw this plant). It was officially named in 1987. It is not an endangered species which augers well for our company.
I recently listened to a radio program broadcast in Melbourne hosted by Ernie Sigley where he and a guest reviewed the "GM Holden Epica" and discussed where the name came. The comment was that it could be just a made up rubbish name. We cannot comment on behalf of the car manufacturer but we may have to enlighten the good folk at 3AW that it is in fact a part of Australian history and flora.
April 2007
Epica Expands
Epica Solutions welcomes Luke Nadj, Peter Coote, Nick Daglis and Kris Deo to the Sydney Team. Luke Nadj has been appointed as Epica's Sales and Marketing Manager. Luke has an extensive background in sales and marketing and Senior Management experience with companies such as Goodman Fielders and Coca-Cola and brings a much sought after skill set to the organisation.
Peter, Nick and Kris have trade backgrounds in electronics and electrical. These skills are ideal for the the experience and skill set required for codification, cataloguing and compiling bills of material and APL's for clients.
New Clients
Epica would like to welcome two new clients this month. Both operate SAP ERP Systems and incurred similar problems in their item information (catalogue) needs. Iluka Resources Ltd involves an upgrade of their total catalogue data base. Iluka Management are fully aware that productivity gains can only come about using quality data. They are keen to be rid of duplications and redundant data that could lead to carrying excess inventory with potentially unnecessary capital investment. Management wants to take advantage of total asset visibility to enable the economies offered by implementation of company wide contracts. They are also aware that the catalogue data needs to be tailored to take advantage of the functionality of the SAP ERP Materials Master to ensure ongoing productivity gains. Cement Australia has a large MRO inventory that covers a number of sites throughout Australia. For similar reasons to Iluka such as continued productivity gains and total asset visibility for contractual purposes Cement Australia has taken the first steps in a catalogue data upgrade. They are aware that they have a high percentage of duplicated items both inter and intra site which need to be amalgamated. Cement Australia also wants to implement company wide contracts which is currently limited as each site previously maintained its own catalogue.
February 2007
New Trading Entity
Epica Solutions has been successful in obtaining the company name Epica Solutions Pty Ltd. Previously it operated as a partnership between two companies trading as Epica Solutions. This should have the effect of streamlining its dealing with both clients and suppliers. The services have not changed and Epica still provides Item information Master Data through its cataloguing services and continues to develop its range of software products to facilitate this process as well as associated software products such as it Spares Assessment Manager.
Defence Recognition
Epica Solutions has been recognised under the "Defence Recognised Supplier Scheme" (DRSS) and can now use the DRSS logo both on its web site and advertising material. Epica has had an association with Defence Projects and tasks over the last 4 years and is a proud recipient of the award.
July/August 2005
Epica Solutions provides personnel to the National Codification Bureau
Epica Solutions (Epica) was the successful tenderer for the provision of technical and supply cataloguing personnel to the National Codification Bureau (NCB), located in Melbourne. NCB provides codification and cataloguing services to the Australian Defence Forces (ADF). With the advent of new equipment programs and the current workload NCB determined a need for assistance. Epica is able to provide the required qualified and skilled technical cataloguing personnel to conduct the task. This is the second Defence project Epica has been involved with. The first project was based at RAAF Williamtown. Epica Solutions is proud of its history with the ADF and feels sure that it can be of assistance in other related projects in the future. The project commences on the 15th August 2005.
Centennial Coal contracts Epica Solutions for global catalogue upgrade
Epica Solutions has been contracted to conduct a global catalogue upgrade for Centennial Coal. To date each site has been responsible for its own data and has been maintained across a number different software platforms such as MIMS, PULSE and Pronto. Centennial Coal was born out of the old Elcom and Newstead collieries. Since its privatisation it has rapidly expanded its role as a premier coal operation and has acquired a number of additional mines. To keep pace with the requirements of the operations Centennial has implemented the Pulse Mining System. The Catalogue data held by the various mines needs to be amalgamated so that economies can be realised from central purchasing and the establishment of contracts. Therefore Centennial requires total inventory visibility.
The current catalogue data has been maintained on a number of different software platforms such as MIMS and Pronto and by a variety of personnel. This means that the data exhibits marked differences in standards and exhibits a considerable number of duplications both intra and inter site. Epica Solutions has been chosen to standardise and upgrade the data across all sites and eliminate all duplications. It is a formidable task however the anticipated savings should provide significant dividends within 12 months and continue to accrue there after. Paul Kelly Centennial Group Purchasing Manager has always understood the need for good quality data to drive purchasing and contractual decisions. He is pleased that his ambitions in this direction are now being realised.
Epica undertakes Materials Control, Spares Assessment and Cataloguing for the Alcoa Pinjarra Upgrade
Alcoa embarked on an upgrade project of its Pinjarra Smelter site some two years ago. The upgrade project costed at $411 Million dollars includes the installation of two additional lines to keep up with the demand of its customers for Aluminium products. Epica Solutions has been able to assist the project through Hatch Engineering (Implementation Contractor) with the provision of technical personnel to conduct the cataloguing of the new equipment as well as assist in the technical spares assessing task. Later in the project Epica Solutions also supplied a Materials Controller. This project was the catalyst for the development of its Spares Assessment Software (SAM).
Cataloguer Placement at North Mara Mine Tanzania
Epica Solutions has been able to place a cataloguer at the North Mara Mine site in Tanzania. Richard Ferrer who has SAP experience was the lucky candidate. It will be interesting to see how he feels after his first stint which involves 5 weeks on, 7 days a week and a 12 hour day.