| | Spinning Success for American Fibers and Yarns Company | S2K Enterprise Helps Yarn Company Dominate Its Industry
American Fibers and Yarns Company (AF&Y) is a leading supplier of solution dyed filament yarns. With thousands of yarns in its product portfolio and the ability to engineer yarns to customer specifications, AF&Y is a dominant supplier to the residential and contract furnishings marketplace, and has a growing presence in the hospitality, apparel, automotive and industrial markets. AF&Y’s yarns are used in a variety of products, from clothing to auto seating and netting.
Headquartered in Chapel Hill, NC, AF&Y maintains a Technology Center that specializes in engineering filament yarn with innovative combinations not available from other suppliers. The company also operates three U.S. production facilities totaling a million square feet of manufacturing space. AF&Y has manufacturing facilities in Afton, VA, Rocky Mount, NC, and Bainbridge, GA, totaling 600 employees.
AF&Y began operations in 1999, as the result of the purchase of a former division of Amoco Fabrics and Fibers Corporation and needed to implement its own ERP system. The previous systems cost of ownership was far too great to continue and did not provide the functionality necessary for the company to run smoothly.To complicate matters, time was a crucial element in the implementation of a new system. "We had a very short timetable to migrate off the previous system and move to another package. Once a decision was made, we had about nine months to complete the transition, recalls Robert Earp, Director of IT, AF&Y.
The company turned to IBM Premier Business Partner Vormittag Associates, Inc. (VAI) to address its needs. "We chose S2K Enterprise for its functionality and low cost of ownership", explained Mr. Earp. AF&Y also liked VAI’s commitment to continue enhancing and integrating the applications, as well as its responsiveness to issues. AF&Y was also impressed with VAI’s willingness to listen to their users for guidance and direction. "We found it refreshing to find a company that actively listens to its users" he continued. "This type of commitment allows for a win-wi situation."
S2K Enterprise allowed AF&Y to implement the package in alignment with how it runs its business - an important factor for Mr. Earp. "This is different from a lot of other packages that require a change to the business to fit the package. When we implemented S2K Enterprise, it became a good fit. There were a few modifications that were required, but when we converted to a higher release, we were able to remove some of our modifications because the base package now incorporated that functionality." The results have contributed to a 30% reduction in Corporate Administrative cost. "We’ve been pleased with our decision to utilize S2K Enterprise. As each new PTF and release comes out, we find more functionality continuing to enhance the package."
AF&Y looks forward to future growth with S2K Enterprise. "We are planning to utilize even more of S2K Enterprise to consolidate and integrate our various standalone applications. For example, the expanded "Bill of Material" includes revisions and production vs. engineered and this will allow AF&Y to eliminate a stand-alone application. In addition, it will allow AF&Y to reduce infrastructure cost", concluded Mr. Earp.
AF&Y has a long-term plan and commitment to continuously improve efficiencies and enhance customer service. S2K Enterprise has allowed AF&Y to continue focusing on its business of being a leading supplier of solution dyed filament yarns. VAI will continue to assist AF&Y in accomplishing its goals and commitments well into the future.
For more information about AF&Y, visit http://afyarns.com |
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