Implementation site: Hydraulic Elements and Systems PLC, Yambol, Bulgaria.

In the period between 2009 and 2010, in the short span of 18 months, two engineers without any prior experience in plant design or knowledge of the so-called Lean Manufacturing theory, but highly proficient in the ISEE IT solution and its cognitive platforms, developed and rolled out a system for SMED (Single-Minute Exchange of Dies — Quick setup) and lean manufacturing in two sections comprising a total of approximately 40 workplaces with computer numerical controlled (CNC) machines.

Conclusions:

Following SMED the productivity of the workplaces in question increased between 5 and 10 times. Minimal costs were incurred. A personnel training programme was also developed.

By way of comparison, the development and roll out of such a system on a similar scale, within a plant owned by a large Western company, took approximately 6 years, meaning that significantly greater human and financial resources were needed.

Implementation site: Hydraulic Elements and Systems PLC, Yambol, Bulgaria

The experiment took place immediately after the global economic crisis set in 2009. During the campaign, which ran from the spring of 2010 until the summer of 2011, more than 70 % of all workplaces were restructured and relocated.

Conclusions:

The experiment was conducted in a highly expeditious manner, without any delay or suspension of industrial processes. On the contrary, over the course of the reengineering process, production marked an increase in terms of both volume and nomenclature. This increase was more than twofold. The research team failed to find a precedent where industrial reengineering had ever been conducted, by any party, that was comparable in terms of investment indicators to the performance achieved in this experiment, which would not have been possible without the ERP system designed and developed by ISEE JSC.

Implementation site: Battery plant Tungstone, Ryazan, Russia

After studying the functional constructs of hERP, a young Russian management team achieved the following results in a battery plant in Russia over a time-span of 3 years:

At the end of 2009, the plant has a headcount of 176 employees, who manufactured up to 7 000 car batteries a month worth EUR  190 000 or approximately EUR 2.3 million per year.

At the end of 2012, the plant had a headcount of 196 employees, who manufactured up to 34 000 car batteries a month worth EUR 980 000 or approximately EUR 12 million per year. This means that labor productivity increased more than four times and sales increased almost five and a half times. It is important to note that all investments made over the three-year period came up to less than EUR 1 (one) million.

The results of the comparative evaluations conducted by three independent working groups (representatives of business universities, technical universities and practicing engineers) conclusively demonstrated that the hERP system is vastly superior to all other solutions, including those most renowned (SAP, Oracle, Microsoft, Infor).

“Developed under the influence of the currently dominant management models, the evaluated IT products manifested the same weakness. As regards the reporting, financial and accounting practice, creation of information flows, investment and state administration needs, resource and expenditure planning they may be assessed as “good”. Yet, they do not demonstrate an overall insight into the management of the business unit, whereas the management of the technological potential goes beyond discussion. The lack of clearly formulated notion, the lack of a single and empirically tested concept system as well as the lack of understanding of the fundamental essence of the Business Unit makes them a secondary “Accounting Software”. This opinion results from the fact that the teams make a continuous referral to accounting records, documents and principles when they demonstrate their so-called business unit management software.

In conclusion, after a series of observations, research and analysis of the achievements of the contemporary management theory and practice, we can state that the proposed System Knowledge Management Model is based on the concept of “creation” and search for manageability of the technological potential development, as proposed by the contractor under the framework contract with “HES” PLC, as well as the IT product developed and implemented thereof, are conceptually completed, terminologically clear, empirically relevant, and subject to the obvious structural components and processes in the Business Unit functioning. We believe that from the point of view of the management theory and practice, they demonstrate significant and innovative conceptually clear paradigms, which bring them on a higher level as compared to the familiar and commonly implemented solutions at present.”

Implementation site: Hydraulic Elements and Systems PLC, Yambol, Bulgaria and M+S Hydraulic PLC, Kazanlak, Bulgaria

Five young mechanical engineers without any prior experience in plant design but thoroughly versed in the ISEE JSC’s ERP system, managed to build and back up the operation of an expanded technological environment at both plants in order to introduce highly innovative (for Bulgaria) production of axial piston hydraulic pumps and motors. They did so for the same amount of time and money that foreign consulting companies required to simply update product documentation.

Conclusions:

Under their leadership, four workers without any specialist experience took 9 months to learn a range of high-tech processes, which usually require 25 to 30 highly skilled specialists trained at global market leader companies.

The products manufactured were sent to a renowned specialist laboratory in Germany. Experts there were amazed that products with such appearance and quality could have been designed and manufactured in Bulgaria.

The conclusion of a team from Information Technologies and the Future of the Economic Science (ITFES) Foundation, based on a number of presentations of leading ERP software developers, showed that the systems they are creating continued to be fragmented, module-based and none of them is a bearer of a universal model of the industrial enterprise

Implementation site: Unitraf JSC Sokolovo, Bulgaria

In 2021, within 14 months, a 2-person management team began the implementation of the holistic business model ontology in a 50-person transformer company. It is important to note that within this experiment, only the knowledge is implemented without the holistic ERP system. The results are as follows: over the 14 months, the total turnover increased by 50%, the value added increased by 127%, the average salary increased by 50%, and the profit increased by 357%.

The conclusion of the ITFES Foundation team based on the numerous presentations of leading ERP software manufacturers is that the so far created systems are still fragmented and module-oriented, and none of them is or can serve as a universal model of the industrial enterprise.