CFO on her years with Monitor – and a successful G5 upgrade
Gunilla Borg served as Chief Financial Officer at Skandia Elevator for 18 years. She was involved in selecting and implementing MONITOR G4 15 years ago, and has since worked closely with the company on the development of Skandia’s operations in the role of MONITOR responsible.
In 2021, Gunilla decided to retire from her post as Chief Financial Officer in Vara, but not before leading Skandia Elevator through an upgrade to MONITOR G5. We caught up with her to talk about her years using MONITOR, and her thoughts on G5 compared to the previous generation.
Gunilla first crossed paths with Monitor in 2006, 15 years ago. Skandia had begun a preliminary study to decide what it wanted from a new ERP system. With the help of consultants, Skandia drew up a broad set of requirements.
“This was really extensive and thorough, and I don’t think we missed anything,” she explains.
“We then started visiting exhibitions, and this is how we first came into contact with Monitor. In the end there were four different providers left in the race, but we eventually chose MONITOR for a number of reasons. The system met our requirements – maybe not one-hundred percent, but as near as we could get without having to spend a lot more money. And what we lacked we could easily add through adaptations in MONITOR, so in truth, it was quite an easy choice.”
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Another key factor was that Monitor was a family business, and around the same size as Skandia.
“We felt we’d be a good fit for Monitor; that they’d listen to us and give us the chance to make our voice heard. We just felt confident it was the right move. And Monitor has really listened to us.”
Working with improvements is important to Gunilla, and over the years she’s made lots of suggestions to Monitor regarding changes and what could be added.
“I’ve made loads of suggestions, and the important ones have been implemented sooner or later. It’s great to feel like you’ve actually come up with a good idea. We’ve also been involved in specifications for adaptations.”
What are the main strengths of the MONITOR ERP system?
“The production side, that is, manufacturing and production planning, is without doubt MONITOR’s greatest asset. The system is really strong here, while also flexible. Not everyone wants to work in the same way, but most things can be fine-tuned in the system settings. G5 provides the full process flow, and the functionality you need. It’s a very complete system.”
What’s the best part of G5, on the finance side in particular?
“I really like drilldown, that is, jumping from one procedure to another and looking at vouchers simply by clicking around and digging for data. It’s easy to find what happened in one place, and see why something was done in a certain way. You don’t need to open new procedures all the time. G5 will really make life easier for the Finance department. It’s much cleaner overall, and structured the same in all procedures compared to G4. When you change ERP system you often feel like the old one was better; but I didn’t need to work with G5 for long before I knew it was a big improvement. The flexibility it offers will be much appreciated.”
In her role as MONITOR responsible, Gunilla has had a lot of contact with the Monitor Support Center down the years.
“They’ve been fantastic over the years, skilled and knowledgeable. And I’ve hardly ever been referred to anyone else, getting the help I needed right away.”
G5 will really make life easier for the Finance department. It’s much cleaner overall, and structured the same in all procedures compared to G4.
Gunilla also stresses the importance of getting regular help from Monitor’s consultants to develop operations and find new, improved working methods.
“Consultants aren’t just there for implementation. There are many different ways of working, and failing to explore what’s possible simply doesn’t make sense. This investment pays off over time. Monitor’s consultants are highly valued by our staff. They’re down to earth, and have the flexibility to deal with everyone,” she adds.
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“Consultants are the difference between a successful or failed upgrade. You shouldn’t think you can do it without them. They’re incredibly good at analyzing how you operate and learning about the areas you work in – where you need a re-think, and what works well.”
Gunilla has also appreciated being able to solve problems herself with the online manual; the new G5 help function in particular.
“This has really improved, and you can see how much work they’ve put into it. When you’re in a procedure and need help, you come straight to the right section.”
During the upgrade project, Skandia worked with Monitor Academy to train its staff on the new ERP system. Everyone was given access to courses that matched their working tasks, so they could learn about the relevant procedures.
“And we’ll continue to use Academy, which is like a sounding board where we can see how Monitor intended for the program to be used,” adds Gunilla.