-First of all, please tell us about the background behind the introduction of HUE Classic. 

Mr. Sugimoto:
The background of the implementation was a system renewal in anticipation of future business expansion. First of all, we had been using the package for about 10 years prior to the introduction of HUE Classic.
However, as a business, we are engaged in the design, procurement, construction, and maintenance of photovoltaic power generation systems, and there were many requirements that could not be met with the standard functions of the package. As a result, over the past 10 years, more than 40 customizations have been performed, at a cost of more than 100 million yen, and some departments were unable to modify the system due to budget restrictions, resulting in inefficient operations and insufficient control.
Under these circumstances, with an eye on further business expansion in the future, we considered introducing a new system to reduce costs and achieve operational improvements and strengthen internal controls.

-What were the deciding factors in selecting HUE Classic?

Mr. Sugimoto:
The deciding factor was Works' business model, in which maintenance costs are fixed and the product continues to evolve. General ERP packages are often based on customization, and tend to incur additional costs each time the system is changed or the business expands.
However, HUE Classic can handle all business operations with standard functions, even for a business like ours, and the standard functions of the product will grow permanently with the payment of fixed maintenance fees. We believed that such a business model would greatly improve on the challenges we have faced in the past.

-How have you seen changes and benefits since implementing HUE Classic?

Mr. Hashimoto:
We are now able to manage each "project" of each photovoltaic panel installation, and we have seen a real improvement in efficiency.
We recognize the information related to the construction of solar panels, such as orders, orders, sales, and purchases, as a single "project" unit. In the past, this information was scattered throughout various locations, and it was very time-consuming to collect information to check income and expenses. HUE Classic has enabled us to manage related vouchers on a case-by-case skewed basis, which has improved the efficiency of our overall operations.

Mr. Yoshizumi:
In addition, operations related to the monthly closing of accounts have become more efficient, leading to earlier closing of accounts.
In the past, there were many cases of late-night overtime work during the closing period, but now that the automatic preparation of journal entries for accounting has become faster, the time required for consistency checks, redoing, etc. has been reduced, and we feel that we have been able to reduce the amount of overtime work.

-We understand that replacing the entire ERP system was a large scale project, but were there any difficulties in implementing it?

Mr. Hashimoto:
Since the previous system had been customized exclusively for our company for 10 years, many of our employees had "faith" in it, and it was difficult to explain the changes in specifications and what HUE Classic could not do.
However, we were able to discuss with Mr. Works about the areas that could not be done, and he was able to consider enhancing the standard functions. Conversely, there were many aspects of the specification changes that became more convenient, so we devised explanations to make them understandable and responded accordingly.

Mr. Hashimoto:
Among the HUE Classic functions in the accounting area, the manuals and Q&A are abundant, so we often make good use of them, for example, actively utilizing new functions by referring to the manuals.
Even when I do not understand how to use a function and raise an inquiry, I can often solve the problem myself by looking at the manual and Q&A in parallel.
We feel that the documentation has not yet caught up with some of the functional areas, but we look forward to future enhancements.

Mr. Sugimoto:
We plan to start using the system in June 2021, following the release of new functions such as "Execution Budget" and "Foreign Currency," for which we have long been raising requests.
We are looking forward to using the new functions as they have been absorbed into the product as standard features rather than being customized.

We believe that the more we continue to use Works' products, the greater the return on investment. While there are some areas where we would like to see future improvements, such as the linkage between products, we hope to continue using Works' products as an "ever-evolving ERP.