ERP Data Wonderland

Imagine you're standing in the middle of an airport runway, except instead of airplanes taking off and landing, it's an endless stream of data, rushing past you at high speed. And you, the CFO, are wearing a neon orange vest, trying to direct all these flights. No pressure. This is where SK AeroSafety's Chief Financial Officer found themselves—in the midst of an unending flurry of ERP data, analytics, and some frustrating Excel files that made them want to pull out their hair. That's how our story begins.

The Problem with Data

The CFO had a problem—a lot of data and not enough power to make it all usable. The company was processing around 60,000 aircraft component repairs a year. Every repair generated data, and every data point was a potential treasure trove of insights. But how do you dig up treasure if your tools are shovels made of jelly? They were stuck using Excel, which is fantastic for some things (like trying to understand why your quarterly budget includes "Miscellaneous Unicorn Expenses"), but it's not built to deal with a million rows of data from 60,000 jobs.

So, the CFO set out to find something more powerful. They needed a new tool—something to cut through the data and make sense of it all. Enter: ERP upgrade time.

ERP Upgrades and Maxa vs. Plainwater

If you've ever gone through an ERP implementation, you know it's a lot like trying to fit an octopus into a wetsuit—there are just so many moving parts, and they all need to be in sync. SK AeroSafety had implemented different ERP systems before: Quantum, SAP, and others. But each came with its own set of complications. This time, they wanted a system that would not just manage data, but actually help generate insights. It was time for Maxa vs. Plainwater—like Godzilla vs. King Kong but with more Power BI dashboards.

Plainwater was a Dutch company—promising but costly. Maxa, on the other hand, seemed to be a better fit for their needs and budget. The CFO chose Maxa because they weren’t just about giving tools; they were offering an entire layer of insight. Plus, who could resist a good sales pitch from someone named Darren?

The CFO realized they didn’t just need a fancy ERP; they needed a data warehouse, a proper structure, and analytics to boot. And Maxa delivered just that, providing functionality to identify those valuable outliers that could change business decisions in seconds.

Predictive Maintenance and Other Wizardry

One of the coolest things about SK AeroSafety's setup was predictive maintenance. Imagine being able to tell your customers: "Hey, this component? It's about to go belly-up in 2 weeks." With the data structure Maxa provided, the company had the power to process historical data fast—like, "two-hours-for-a-project-that-used-to-take-two-weeks" fast.

This predictive power wasn’t just about fixing stuff; it was also about optimizing costs. They could determine the true life cycle cost of each part. By linking data from 60,000 jobs, they knew exactly how often each part failed, and which customers might be sending them lemon parts. This let them price everything just right—which meant more profits. It was like being a fortune teller, but for broken airplane bits.

With these insights, the CFO wasn't just pushing numbers around anymore; they were crafting narratives that led directly to savings and operational efficiency. In the competitive aerospace industry, having that kind of insight could make you the superhero of repair turnarounds. Just imagine what the cape looks like—probably covered in graphs and Excel formulas.

Operational Efficiency, One Dashboard at a Time

Maxa didn’t stop at predictive maintenance—they also delivered dashboards that made life easier for every manager involved. They created sales and margin analysis dashboards that brought data to life. Instead of long wait times and cumbersome processes, now it was simple: click, apply a filter, and boom—the data was there. No more "grab a cup of coffee and wait for Excel to churn" situations.

These dashboards even allowed for something magical: targeted pricing adjustments. Imagine you’re running a repair shop for 10,000 different parts, and every year, instead of making blanket price adjustments, you can now decide which parts need individual tweaks. The CFO was like a laser-focused cat playing with price-point laser dots, pouncing at the right moment on the right components.

Conclusion: From Manual to Marvelous

What started out as a journey to manage ERP data better evolved into something way more powerful—they ended up transforming the way the company made decisions. From making day-to-day manual work more manageable to actually predicting the future (albeit just for aircraft parts), this transformation was a huge leap. They became more efficient, more competitive, and dare we say it—even more profitable.

The CFO’s journey with data at SK AeroSafety is a masterclass on the potential of ERP systems and analytics when they’re approached with a smart strategy and good partnerships. And it’s a testament to how the right tools can turn chaos into opportunity—like taking that never-ending stream of data airplanes on the runway, and getting each one of them to land smoothly, perfectly, every time.