Stokenchurch, UK

RedPrairie Corporation, a productivity software provider, has implemented its Duty Management solution at NTN Bearings (UK) Ltd, part of the NTN Corporation, one of the largest manufacturers of precision ball and roller bearings and automotive equipment in the world. The Duty Management system is already helping NTN to increase margins and boost efficiency.

NTN Europe selected RedPrairie’s Duty Management as it required a solution to manage its imports that would integrate with its SAP systems, and was proven in similar environments.

Andrew Roberts, Information & Logistics Manager, NTN, said, “We needed a solution that would manage the full declaration processes and calculations for all removals from our warehouse, including stock values, that is capable of handling up to 300,000 different part numbers.”

NTN UK are already experiencing a raft of benefits from the implementation of Duty Management, including an 80% reduction in administration time. The system provides reliable and accurate data, greater control over data, improved reporting and audit trails for Customs and helps ensure that only the exact duty and VAT due is paid. This means that the day to day processing can now be handled by other staff, freeing the time of the departmental manager.

The project is part of NTN Europe’s major IT investment programme, implementing SAP across all European locations, as well as the development of new web-based applications and websites.

Roberts continued, “We used to handle all our removal transactions manually through a report generated from our sales system, and this was time consuming. The process took approximately 24 hours per month, and was prone to error due to the manual processes involved.”

NTN UK selected Duty Management from RedPrairie, as they required a software solution that was provided by a leading software company with experience in this area, to ensure maximum support and reliability. Other solutions were examined, including a SAP module, but as Roberts commented, “None of them could provide the expertise behind the RedPrairie software and the specialist knowledge.”

The solution supports the different duty schemes used by NTN UK, including goods held under IPR Drawback and Suspension regimes. It is business critical for NTN UK that the system meets all current and new government legislation. Duty Management provides this through regular upgrades containing the latest HM Revenue & Customs changes. In addition NTN UK were satisfied that the system could be easily expanded if required, that it was easy to operate, and required minimal maintenance.

“As with most industries we are affected by the current recession, especially as bearings are directly connected to manufacturing.” Said Roberts. “There is now increased competition for a reducing market, so NTN must become the best and most efficient within its sector.”

Future plans include developing the use of the system by adding extra functions to control imports and exports, and to automate the process further to save more administration time.

Martin Hiscox, Vice Chairman of the Board, Managing Director and President International, RedPrairie, said, “RedPrairie has made significant investment in the development of Duty Management and NTN Europe is already seeing the benefit. Businesses using the solution have the potential to remain ahead of the competition and the opportunity to reduce costs in the challenging period ahead.”