The Star July 08, 2003 Genting Sanyen a model IT case BY P.W. THONG MALAYSIAN manufacturers, especially small and medium- sized enterprises (SMEs), should take advantage of advancements in information technology (IT) to improve and re-engineer their business processes to achieve higher productivity and lower costs. Genting Sanyen Industrial Paper Sdn Bhd, a unit of the Genting group and the country's largest integrated industrial paper and corrugated carton manufacturer, has benefited from Rosetta Net, implemented in February this year. Rosetta Net is an independent, non-profitable consortium dedicated to the collaborative development and deployment of open Internet-based standards that align processes within the global high-tech trading network. The company's successful implementation of Rosetta Net initiatives has made it a model case study during the Small and Medium Industries Development Corp's annual showcase and Japanese Chamber of Trade and Industry's 20th anniversary in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. Genting Sanyen IT manager Victor Chew said the company's venture into Rosetta Net began early this year when one of its Japanese clients, Sony Malaysia, decided to link up a few of its suppliers online to enhance business-to-business (B2B) collaboration between buyers and sellers. He said the company, which had spent RM200,000 on the set-up, was now beginning to reap benefits from the Rosetta Net initiative. The company has a corrugated carton plant in Prai, as well as two paper mills and one corrugated carton plant in Kuala Langat, Selangor. “The implementation of Rosetta Net allows the group to cut down lead times and improve efficiency as our sales and marketing offices, paper mills and corrugated carton plants are all seamlessly linked up with that of our clients on a real time basis,'' Chew told StarBiz. Chew said that given the encouraging results so far, the company was looking at ways to extend the use of such technology to other business operations within the Genting group. Assistant IT manager for e- business solution Ng Chee Wan said the successful implementation of Rosetta Net in Genting Sanyen showed the potential benefits that information technology could bring to companies, especially SMEs. He said manufacturers should also adopt an open mindset when it came to using technology in their business processes. “Companies should realise that although the use of IT in backroom operations will not contribute directly to higher profits and sales, such initiatives will improve efficiency and lower costs, which lead to higher margins and ultimately, would be reflected in a company's bottomline,' Ng said. -- GridNode --