Shaji Auto Paints Trading LLC: Кейс

Shaji Auto Paints Trading LLC

Shaji Auto Paints Trading LLC is a leading company in the UAE's paints and coatings industry. For 25 years, the company has provided customers with a wide range of products, from automotive paints and coatings to abrasives for industrial applications. Shaji Auto Paints is the exclusive distributor of several international brands in the UAE, including Baslac, U-POL, Easicoat, Renner Italia, Smirdex Abrasives, and others. The company operates ten branches across the UAE and Oman and has its own innovative training center.

Umm Al Quwain

51–200 employees

Manufacturing

Business Requirements: HR management (HRM), trade accounting, manufacturing accounting, warehouse management and logistics (WMS), financial and management accounting (FRP), treasury management (payment scheduling), sales force management (SFM)
Implemented Solutions: GROTEM / Agent, FirstBit ERP
Number of Automated Workstations: 120
Number of Employees: 160

Overview

Before implementing FirstBit ERP, the company used several software solutions, including Sage, Excel, and Bitrix24, to manage finance, sales, procurement, inventory, and customer relationships. Each of its ten branches operated independently using separate, disconnected software systems, such as Sage Peachtree. As a result, collecting customer data and preparing consolidated reports across different branches required considerable time and effort. Without reliable control over its finances and operations or sufficient data transparency, the company continued to experience financial losses. Accounts receivable were increasing, while branches were using resources inefficiently due to insufficient oversight from the head office.

The project's objective was to implement a unified system that would consolidate the operations of all branches and enable the company to effectively monitor and manage its business processes.

The company selected FirstBit ERP, developed by First Bit's Dubai office, along with GROTEM / Agent to automate the activities of its field sales representatives.

The project involved numerous challenges that needed to be addressed quickly. The Shaji Paints team clearly understood the importance of automation, was highly motivated and ready to embrace change, and expected fast, high-quality results. To accelerate implementation and achieve the best possible outcome, the First Bit team adopted the Scrum methodology, working in two-week sprints.

The implementation team quickly deployed FirstBit ERP in its cloud environment, using company data from the existing Sage database.

As a customer-focused company, Shaji Paints decided to prioritize the automation of customer-related processes, including sales, procurement, and CRM. Further automation covered:

Sales force automation
Financial management
Inventory management
VAT calculation
Payroll processing

We are already seeing the benefits of having a centralized solution. We now have better control over our operations, many processes are completed faster, and we have a comprehensive view of the entire business. Most importantly, our customers are already reporting improvements in service quality and order fulfillment times. Thanks to FirstBit ERP's flexible configuration capabilities, we can continuously introduce enhancements that make our business even more efficient. We have ambitious plans to further develop our automation systems in partnership with the First Bit team.

Managing Director, Shaji Auto Paints LLC

Project Objectives

Migrate from eight separate Sage Peachtree databases to a unified cloud-based system.
Automate the activities of 50 field sales representatives.
Reduce overdue accounts receivable.
Shorten the time required to prepare and approve sales quotations.

Project Results

The company now has full control over its business operations, as all branch activities are integrated into a single accounting and management system. Management receives daily reports by email, enabling them to respond promptly to changes in business performance.

The company reduced its accounts receivable by 10% through automated cash management, even as the business expanded and grew. Dedicated credit limit approval procedures are now in place, and the company can assess the profitability of each invoice when it is posted. When shipping goods, employees can check whether individual customers have overdue or outstanding payments. As a result, customer requests to defer cheque payments have decreased by 70%.

The company now prepares customer quotations twice as fast because all communication between departments takes place within a single system. It can also automatically calculate the profit margin of each quotation to prevent unprofitable deals. Once approved, the quotation is automatically forwarded to the relevant contact person.

Customers report improved service quality and faster order fulfillment, while all relevant information is easily accessible from a single source.

VAT is calculated in accordance with UAE tax legislation, helping the company avoid penalties resulting from unintentional non-compliance.

The company now benefits from fully transparent accounting processes and can prioritize cash flows using its purchase order approval and planning system.

These improvements allow the company to offer competitive prices while maintaining healthy profit margins. Discounts are calculated automatically based on order size and market conditions.

The company has successfully reduced costs and inventory write-offs for selected products without affecting sales volumes. Sales representatives can now distribute product samples based on automated profitability forecasts.

All business processes have become faster thanks to improved communication and a new notification system that reminds employees about document approvals, cancellations, reviews, and other required actions. Teams can discuss any document in a dedicated chat without wasting time on phone calls or searching for information across multiple accounting systems.

Sales representatives can now work more efficiently using the GROTEM / Agent application, which synchronizes all meeting-related data. Through the mobile app, sales representatives can access complete information about products, customers, and tasks, and easily upload updates to the central database after each meeting, ensuring that no information is lost. Team members can monitor their KPIs, check product prices, and create tasks. They can also send quotations directly to customers from their mobile devices, saving time and allowing them to focus more on customer relationships.

Thanks to automated purchase ordering, the company can now forecast inventory requirements more accurately and avoid stock shortages. The system automatically generates purchase orders based on sales data, while managers retain the flexibility to make manual adjustments when necessary.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can you consolidate accounting for multiple branches using different software systems into a single platform?

How can you monitor accounts receivable and customer credit limits in real time?

How can you synchronize field sales representatives' data with a central database?