In the multimedia marketplace where complete product lifecycles are measured in months not years, leading international supplier Imagination Technologies needed an integrated distribution and financial management system which would support, manage and control their business. Strategix was their choice.

managing the multimedia revolution
Imagination Technologies Group plc creates and licenses silicon and software technologies targeting the fast growing digital entertainment and consumer electronics markets. Since its foundation in 1985, the company has introduced a succession of innovative new add-in boards and silicon chips which have played a major role in the development of the multimedia industry.

In 1992, Imagination Technologies won the prestigious Queen's Award for Technological Achievement and in 1994, became a publicly quoted company on the London Stock Exchange. The company sells its products via OEM's distributors and resellers in over 40 countries and has offices in the UK, US and Europe.

the multimedia marketplace
Multimedia is the result of the convergence of four key industries - computing, telecommunications, TV/video and publishing - each of which has changed the way we work and live.

The industry is now entering the digital era where information from all four media types can be manipulated by computer technology, in particular the PC.

managing rapid growth
Having gained a well-earned reputation for supplying high quality, high end multimedia products, VideoLogic has had to remain competitive through continuous research and development and a continual strategy for reducing "the time to market" of their products.

core business needs
VideoLogic's core business objective is to remain the number one company in multimedia technology.

buying a new system
As a result, the company undertook an in-depth review of the marketplace and identified several market leading packages that would run on their chosen platform, the IBM RS/6000. After narrowing the field down to two, the company chose Strategix.

Strategix is an integrated suite of business software applications which supports the financial accounting, project accounting, distribution and service management functions of medium to large companies. Strategix is inherently flexible and can be configured to suit the requirements of each customer.

Three modules of Strategix are probably the key elements: Sales Order Processing, Stock Control and Works Order Processing. Imagination Technologies has contracted out its warehousing and using Electronic Data Interchange, daily overnight electronic despatch notes can be sent out. The Sales Order Processing module enables close control to be kept over all stages of the process and for orders to be despatched within 24 hours of the order being placed.

The implementation of Strategix was completed smoothly in early 1995 with support from Strategix consultants.

third party tools
Once installed, Strategix was linked to a number of third party tools in order to add further functionality. Informix has been linked to the server and Microsoft Office, mainly using Access, has been set up to give access to the database to create tables and write reports. As Stewart Cooper, MIS Manager at Imagination Technologies explained; "The Board had a requirement for the presentation of information in a particular format and the addition of certain tools linking to Strategix has enabled us to provide this."

Strategix has also been linked to Excel, in particular using the Microsoft Query function, allowing information to be dropped directly into spreadsheets.

future developments
Imagination Technologies' aim is to expand the system particularly in the areas of Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), Configure-to-Order and EIS tools.

in the words of kim godwin, operations director:
"Ours is a high volume, very competitive, rapidly changing marketplace where you don't get a second chance. We need to manage our sales and stock control and to respond quickly to customer demands and control costs in order to grow and be profitable."

"Our future success and growth will be achieved by investing in new innovative products while, at the same time, managing our costs. Controlling the business on a global scale is the key!"

"In the eighties and early nineties, we managed our activities using a well-known PC-based financial accounting package. However, the old sales order processing and purchasing system was weak and didn't provide the analysis and reporting we needed. So in 1994, we decided to invest in a new system."

"We wanted full integration between our accounts, distribution and assembly manufacturing operations plus the flexibility to change the system quickly to support our ever changing business environment. Strategix provides this together with user-defined screens, security and full audit facilities. Integration, flexibility and tailorability were our key reasons for choosing Strategix."

"We got real added value from the consultants who worked hard with our own staff to make the project a success."

business benefits
"There are several key areas in which Strategix will bring benefits to our business."

"We currently operate a 24 user system from our headquarters in Kings Langley, Hertfordshire and Strategix provides a good real time system. We can assess our worldwide sales on a real time basis to give us information that is dynamic and accurate."

"Strategix will also give us greater business integrity. The audit functionality is designed so that we will not lose a transaction."

"Strategix will also help us to be more flexible. Our warehousing is carried out by a third party and our products tend to have a six month life cycle. As a result we must be first in to the market with a new product; we must be able to respond quickly and we must monitor closely all stages involved in getting the product to market. Failure to do this will result in a steep decline through loss of price and margin."

"We now have full control of our business with Strategix and the flexibility we need to meet our customer's expectations. Order placement and despatch within 24 hours to mainland Europe is now achievable!"

"EDI links to suppliers and key customers is becoming a fundamental requirement of doing business especially if you are contracting out the physical distribution and warehousing of your products. We need to link to other companies systems seamlessly so that we can increase operational efficiency."

"Configure-to-Order linked with Works Order Processing is also an exciting prospect so that orders can be quoted and assembled to the customer's specific requirements. In addition, links to industry standard Enterprise Information Systems will help us with decision making on a worldwide basis."

building for the future
Our business changes literally on a day to day basis. We need to manage this change and exploit it and Strategix through its integration, flexibility and tailorability will, I believe, enable us to maintain our leading position in this industry.