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| Our Customer MHG Systems Improves Bioenergy Operators' Effectiveness |
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| Monday, 01 September 2008 | |||||
 Arnora's customer MHG Systems Ltd has developed an open enterprise resource planning system to connect bioenergy operators. The solution, which is already in productive use in several places, improves the availability and quality of biomaterials and increases the bioenergy operators' effectiveness and competitive strengths.MHG Systems, a Finnish company specialising in the bioenergy business and managing related forest and field work, published its new Bioenergy ERP enterprise resource planning system today at the Forest Bioenergy Conference held in Jyväskylä. This open system that brings all bioenergy operators together had been developed for more than two years. "This solution that we developed for over two years will increase the availability of biomaterials on the market, improve resource utilisation rate and materials' quality features. It will also reduce the time and workforce needed for raw material acquisition. Furthermore, it is very important that we can increase both transparency and traceability throughout the bioenergy chain, and that we can return the ashes, which can sometimes create problems, back to the nature's nutrient cycle in a controlled manner", says Seppo Huurinainen, the managing director of MHG Systems Ltd. "Optimising terminals and their internal logistics and processes will only become more and more important as the acquisition and use of bioenergy continue to grow. Functional terminal operations ensure fast, real-time and site-specific fuel deliveries", continues Huurinainen. Comprehensive storage and logistics management MHG Systems' new enterprise resource planning system, Bioenergy ERP, enables comprehensive biomaterial storage management and enterprise resource planning of forest and bioenergy chains and terminals in all well-known business models. This enterprise resource planning system also comprises the mobile device solutions (data transfer included) for task and transportation management as well as invoicing and ash recycling management. The planning and implementation of Bioenergy ERP has been based on open interfaces from the very beginning. The intelligent open interface solutions make it possible to transfer data between the various IT systems in which the data has been produced. The integrity of these systems is preserved using restricted user roles and SSO technology. In practice this means that MHG Systems' Bioenergy ERP is very easy and flexible to integrate into existing IT systems used in the bioenergy networks, and doesn't force companies to abandon the systems they have accustomed to and found effective. From its very beginning, the Bioenergy ERP development team has included forestry societies, entrepreneurs and power plants, which has guaranteed that the system is a perfect match for its users' practical every day needs. The machine entrepreneurs, for example, get great savings by using the Bioenergy ERP system. Enterprise resource planning can now be handled with a single IT system, whereas earlier entrepreneurs may have been forced to learn and use a different system for each of their clients. "At MHG Systems we feel that implementing the Bioenergy ERP system, especially among the operators in charge of wood acquisition, could significantly increase the amount of biomass brought onto the market, whereas now a great deal is left in the forests. Naturally this presents a very desirable change with regards to the goals of our society", says Janne Arenius, the marketing manager of MHG Systems. "Even now, the system includes interfaces for developing the authorities' IT systems towards more real-time records and less paperwork and bureaucracy. And especially an opportunity for more transparent business operations with reports coming from the people actually working on the field", adds managing director Huurinainen. Mobile and multilingual MHG Systems' services are now available in seven different European languages. The reception of MHG's services has been exceptionally enthusiastic in Spain where the politicians are introducing new incentives for burnable biomass collected from plantations. This particular case really brings out the importance of the documentation and bioenergy tracking features of Bioenergy ERP. The Bioenergy ERP system is very easy to use, which ensures fast and cost-efficient introduction period of new users. The main user interface of the system is a standard web browser, and using the system can be compared to using an online bank. The true power of the system can, however, be unleashed by fully implementing its mobile solutions, which will boost work efficiency and supervision. All of the data within the system can be distributed and maintained directly from the users' own mobile phones, which is to say that the system can save storage coordinates as well as full-size photos and driving directions sent to it from the field. On the other hand, Bioenergy ERP also includes a feature to transfer sites directly into various navigational devices and electronic map solutions. "A practical example of utilising the system could be a so-called short-distance haul situation, in which the forwarder driver scavenges the site for felling waste suitable for bioenergy purposed, and transports that to the side of the nearest forest truck road. Using the Bioenergy ERP's mobile application the driver can enter the location, quality, number of piles, volume, and owner of the energy storage to the IT system immediately after unloading. The application records the exact location of the load from the mobile phone's satellite receiver, and attaches it to the information to be sent. Furthermore, the driver can ease the work of the collecting vehicle's driver by adding even more detailed information about the storage locations on different sides of the road and also about other terrain-related factors, such as frost heaves or a need to plough the road. This type of detailed information can be then utilised by chipping contractors using the Bioenergy ERP service to optimise their routes to the materials on the road side. This means less time driving around and making wrong turns, which translates into real savings. On the other hand, the materials' quality information entered into the system help to decide the best possible chipping time and to optimise terminal logistics based on the current needs of the power plant", describes the marketing manager Arenius. Bioenergy ERP provides tested functionality MHG Systems' Bioenergy ERP system provides its users with strong and tested functionality starting from the very first moments. The new Bioenergy ERP comprises both MHG Power and MHG Forest, which MHG Systems had provided as independent services up to this point. MHG Power and MHG Forest have been available as service-based data management systems for many years, and are currently used in several European countries. MHG Power has been designed especially for operators within the bioenergy industry, whereas MHG Forest has provided more help to those in charge of controlling forest work. Both of these services have enabled two-way communications between the companies' administrative and field workers. ”Bioenergy ERP continues to serve the customers of both MHG Power and MHG Forest by combining the best, tested and functional features of these two systems and by introducing several new functionalities. Bioenergy ERP will be delivered for customer use either as a browser or mobile phone based service, and its basic use still doesn't require any software to be installed onto the customer's system”, explains MHG Systems' technology manager Veli-Matti Plosila. Utilising bioenergy Bioenergy is our most important renewable source of energy, which similarly to many other places is based in Finland on the large raw material base. The final report of the Action Plan for Renewable Energy funded by the Finnish Ministry of Trade and Industry states that one of the most important tasks with regards to the future development of the bioenergy industry is to activate and commit the vast number of its different types of operators. Several power plants can significantly increase their bioenergy production by developing the technology and logistics used to improve joint use of wood waste and whole-tree chips. In Finland, the use of bioenergy has increased from the beginning of 1990's to the mid-2000's by more than 70%. The National Climate Strategy states that by 2010 the utilisation of bioenergy should be increased from the beginning of 1990's by approximately 120%, and according to the same vision the bioenergy utilisation rate should have improved from the beginning of 1990's by more than 250%. Source: Action Plan for Renewable Energy 2003–2006, current situation and future outlook (Finnish Ministry of Trade and Industry / Motiva). MHG Systems MHG Systems Ltd is a Finnish information technology service company who specialises in the bioenergy business and managing related forest and field work. The company has used its extensive business know-how on the forest and biomaterial industries to create the new Bioenergy ERP system, which helps customer companies to boost their business operations. Relying on its comprehensive industry know-how, MHG Systems sells and develops data management services for optimising biomaterial acquisition and logistics chains. Its services improve the customers' resource utilisation rate and increase their know-how on materials' quality characteristics, and also reduce the time and workforce needed for raw material acquisition. MHG Systems' services allow the industries and the European society to achieve the commonly agreed carbon dioxide emission levels. More information: http://www.mhgsystems.com/ Arnora Ltd Arnora is an experienced Finnish ICT business expert organization that operates globally. We offer development services related to business communications, business processes and internationalization to our customer companies. Arnora helps growth-seeking companies to sharpen their business concepts, to develop their business competence and to accelerate sales. We understand technology and assist our customers in communicating their competence efficiently to the correct target groups. Arnora is not just another consulting company, instead we do sparring and whip our customers' business efforts to ever better results by actually doing, not just advising. For companies looking for internationalization, Arnora offers a complete service package that includes everything from the planning of the internationalization to finding the needed funding and closing of the very first deals. Our typical customer is an European or Asian SME company operating in the field of ICT or associated services. Arnora's customers are committed to internationalization, growth and profits, they don't just settle for tinkering with their business problems. More Information: http://www.arnora.com/ More Information: For more information about Arnora and this media release, please contact: Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Tel: +358 (0)9 2316 3006 Contact Information: Arnora Ltd P.O. Box 234 FI-53101 LPR, Finland
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| Last Updated ( Monday, 01 September 2008 ) | |||||
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