Viking Yachts upgrades software technology

ATLANTA – Viking Yachts will implement software provider Infor’s most advanced enterprise resource planning technology, ERP SyteLine 7, to extend the results it has gained from the Infor SyteLine 6 system it had used previously, the software company said in a release earlier this week.

“Viking Yachts has both reduced costs and improved customer satisfaction dramatically with its current Infor solutions and will build on its results to date with even leaner production methods,” Infor said in its release.

Viking Yachts began using Infor SyteLine in 2001 to control operations at its production facility in New Gretna, N.J., and its customer-exclusive marina and service center in Riviera Beach, Fla.

Viking employs Infor SyteLine, part of Infor’s Manufacturing Essentials suite of solutions for discrete manufacturers, to manage product configuration, inventory control, production, procurement and financial management. It uses Infor’s Field Service-Plus software for service history, scheduling and execution. With Infor SyteLine 7, Viking will take advantage of new functionality for controlling operations in multiple sites.

Infor said Viking has achieved major improvements in its operations due to the software. “Islands” of IT programs and information have been eliminated and everyone throughout the organization uses SyteLine for all functional areas.

“All the information is processed the same way and is available to everyone based on access levels,” said John Kasinski, vice president of finance for Viking Yachts. “We feel that this standardization has decreased the time our supervisors spent chasing paper and following up on questions by about 40 percent.”

Viking has expanded to 15 business units, all using SyteLine.

Kasinski estimates that Viking Yachts enjoyed a full return on its investment in less than one year, with higher profitability resulting from lower costs for warranty, production and administrative work, as well as from improved brand loyalty and faster decision-making.

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