IT has played a crucial role in allowing the firm to manage its international expansion successfully, ensuring it can deliver the same quality of service in Boston as it does back in Ireland. Lotus has had to deal with its fair share of bumps in the road on the IT front, but now the firm is on the right path and looking to utilise the technology at its disposal to maximise efficiency.
Consistency
Lotus was keen to present a consistent image in its offices across the world. "If you walk into any of our offices, they have to look and feel the same," says Declan Walsh, group financial controller with Lotus Automation.
This drive for consistency extended to a deeper level. Lotus wanted to make the IT systems in its different offices capable of working together. The firm, whose IT provider is Sage, invested in adapting the IT in its international offices in order to achieve this goal. "We first opened our offices in the east coast of the US in 2000 and we introduced Sage MMS into its IT systems," says Walsh. This business management software was able to integrate with the software used by Lotus Automation's Irish operation.
The firm decided to go west in 2006 and acquired a company in Vancouver, Washington State. "Again the challenge was to crank up the software. We decided that we had better start connecting these offices so we introduced VPNs [virtual private networks] which allowed users to log into the servers directly from any location," explains Walsh. A VPN is a network which users can log into over the internet but it is secure, ensuring that only those meant to be accessing files can do so.
Cost factors
Introducing VPNs has helped improve communication and productivity in Lotus Automation's international operations by providing easier access to information for staff, but the move has not come cheap. Overall, Lotus has spent over EUR200,000 on hardware and software in the past two years, including around EUR40,000 on the VPNs. Due to the high cost involved, Lotus is only keeping these VPNs operational at selected times.
Nonetheless, spending on IT has begun to yield dividends for Lotus, helping it to cut costs in some areas. "We had our first board meeting via WebEx around four or five weeks ago," says Walsh. (WebEx is a technology that enables conferencing over the internet.) "It has worked out to be very cost-effective. Staff on the west coast of the US would have otherwise had to take a four-day trip for a two-hour meeting. The whole thing cost EUR100 instead of the EUR5,000 or EUR6,000 it would have, had they travelled."
Engineering efficiency
Lotus faces intense competition in the engineering market, which means time is of the essence and the firm can't afford to have communication problems between its offices causing delays.
"Because of the type of industry we are in, the bidding software we use is critical," says Walsh. The firm has introduced Accubid software packages into its systems internationally to gain precious time. "It has taken the bidding process down from the best part of a week to a day," says Walsh.
Efficient mobility is also crucial to the success of Lotus, as many of its employees are based on the road. "We have a substantial amount of contract staff in Dublin, Cork and Galway," says Walsh. Lotus invested in software specifically written for the firm, introducing online timesheets and online access to information. "The processing time of information has been cut by 80 percent, and we have our sales figures configured faster as a result."
Sticking at it
Walsh says Lotus has made IT work for the firm by putting in the effort required to derive a benefit. "You come across various stumbling blocks, and the cost is a restrictive factor. It's coming down in price all the time though, and for even a small investment you can see the benefits and build from there."
Walsh advises SMEs to be careful in how they invest in IT. "There's so much software and hardware out there. You need to decide what you need before you buy. [But] the technology is out there, so use it."