ApolloPlus Distribution uses cloud technology to improve operations

MANILA, Philippines— For a pharmaceutical distribution company in the Philippines, paperwork just became paperless.

ApolloPlus Distribution, one of the major pharmaceutical distributors in the country, is the first company to utilize a cloud-based version of a world-renowned software program used by big multinational corporations in running their business.

Ricardo Abelardo, General Manager of ApolloPlus Distribution said in a press briefing, “we are really proud to be the first company in the Philippines to implement SAP Cloud.”

SAP is an enterprise resource planning (ERP) software program that integrates and automates many of the work processes within a business. The program can streamline accounting, purchasing, logistics, financial, operations, etc, processes by creating a single database that all departments have access to.

Using SAP, a document that is filed in the computer of one department will immediately become visible in the computers of all other departments, allowing for faster processing of documents and sharing of information.

Big multinational companies use large computer servers to run SAP systems throughout the company. Servers, however, cost millions excluding the maintenance and the manpower needed to maintain them.

Coca-Cola, Nestle, Philippine Long Distance Telephone (PLDT) Company, Unilab, Procter & Gamble, Solar Television Company, ABS-CBN Broadcasting Company are among the companies that use SAP.

The cloud, meanwhile, is a metaphor for the internet where information and resources can be stored and shared by any number of users using a variety of devices.

Using SAP through the cloud greatly helps businesses because “interconnectivity issues were addressed through the cloud system” and “real-time information is readily available through the entire system as inventory and financial management are updated in real time,” Abelardo said.

Kerwin Malabanan, the Managing Director of FastTrack Solutions Inc, the company that is offering SAP Cloud services, said that bringing SAP to the cloud greatly reduces costs for SME’s because they do not need to buy the software and the servers.

FastTrack offers SAP cloud services at very flexible costs because the companies are just renting the software and the server infrastructure.

They also have flexible terms for the number of users that can access the SAP software, making it more cost-effective for SME’s.

Malabanan said the cost of a hosting and license deal with a company that will have five users is around 30 to 45 thousand per month.

“We really cater to the SME’s, we think that is the market that we understand the most and that is also the market that we think can make significant changes,” Malabanan said.

ApolloPlus went live in its implementation of the SAP Cloud system last October 12, 2011 after just two months since the project began.

Abelardo said it has made their operations more efficient, accurate and timely.

A separate company that has also used the SAP Cloud service is The Heavenly Urban Chef Inc. (HUCI), a food catering company that operates throughout Luzon.

Russell Tacorda, HUCI general manager said the SAP Cloud system allows for the “integration of all departments and automation of processes.”

He said he was able to check on the performance of each outlet wherever he was located simply by accessing the SAP system through the cloud. He could get information about all their 30 outlets in real time.

The SAP software program was developed in Germany by SAP AG and is said to be the leading ERP program in the world used by 75 percent of the Fortune 500 companies. In the Philippines, 14 of the top 15 companies registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission use SAP.