MultiPlus Solutions Beats Heavy International Competition to Be Awarded Huge Contract in China
13 March 2007
MultiPlus Solutions, the Norwegian ERP company, has signed a NOK 35-40 million deal with the Chinese company SinoPacific Shipbuilding Group. MultiPlus Solutions' ERP system MultiPlus will be delivered and implemented at SinoPacific's five yards in China.
The first implementation will take place at a yard currently under construction in Ningbo, a coastal city in the Zhejiang province of China. This implementation has an order value of about NOK 15 million.
The contract is the largest single order ever received by MultiPlus Solutions. MultiPlus Solutions will considerably increase its staff numbers in China due to the scale of the contract. MultiPlus Solutions won the order in heavy competition against leading Korean and international ERP companies. This marks the final international breakthrough for MultiPlus Solutions, and for the Norwegian ERP industry as well.
"There are a number of reasons why we won this contract. One is that we have established customer relationships and a well-functioning organisation in China. However, our extensive knowledge with the industry and the yards has perhaps been the most important factor in winning this contract. Also, MultiPlus is tailor-made for the shipbuilding industry," said Mr. Kåre Pettersen, sales and marketing director of MultiPlus Solutions.
"We have great faith in MultiPlus Solutions' more than 25 years-long experience and competence in this sector," stated Mr. Simon Liang, owner of the SinoPacific Shipbuilding Group. "The company has strong references and good relations with leading shipyards such as Ulstein Verft and Kleven Maritime. The challenges of modern shipbuilding are universal when it comes to process and project management, ERP and logistics. We want to invest in MultiPlus Solutions' competence in this field."
SinoPacific Shipbuilding Group will implement MultiPlus' shipbuilding solutions, which are developed together with the Norwegian shipbuilding industry. SinoPacific is also considering utilising the ERP system to improve workflow, for example document exchange and project reporting, with its sub-contractors, by making MultiPlus a standard platform.
"SinoPacific is partly owned and operated by one of China's most successful businessmen, Simon Liang. Clearly, the contract is important for us as a reference in the Chinese market. Hopefully, this will pave the way for more business in China," said Mr. Phillip Lim, CEO of MultiPlus Solutions China.
MultiPlus Solutions will immediately start hiring more personnel in China. The implementation of MultiPlus at the Ningbo yard will start in April 2007 and be completed by the end of the year.
"This first implementation will be delivered by our Norwegian staff that know the yard industry, in near cooperation with our local staff in China … This ensures an important transfer of know-how from Norway to our new branch in China," stated Mr. Pettersen.
SinoPacific also operates its own technical school in Yangzhou in China, educating engineers within the principles of modern shipbuilding. The plan is that this school will establish a study programme based on the MultiPlus system.
"Our solutions are well suited for the Chinese market. The software is in Chinese and includes Chinese documentation. MultiPlus is also fully in line with Chinese reporting standards and is also in use by TTS Marine's two Chinese subsidiaries," concluded Mr. Pettersen.
