Fujifilm frees up HR with ADP
When Avecia's Inkjet and Electrophotography businesses were acquired by Fujifilm in 2006, its payroll needs changed. The new company needed a system that could be run without an internal payroll team, would be quick to implement, require little IT investment and would keep costs down. ADP freedom delivered this with its online payroll service that enables the HR team to concentrate on their core jobs while ADP looks after the payroll.
Background
FUJIFILM Imaging Colorants (FFIC) is a world leader in the development and supply of innovative, high performance colorants for the global digital printing market. The company was created when Fujifilm acquired Avecia's Inkjet and Electrophotography businesses in 2006 and now employs 240 people across two UK sites: Manchester and Grangemouth in Scotland.
Avecia's inkjet and electrophotography division was not a self contained business and its payroll and HR had previously been administered though Avecia Group's in-house SAP system. But once the inkjet and electrophotography divisions were de-merged, the new organisation had to make sure that employees were still paid on time and FFIC had to move quickly to find and implement a new payroll system.
The Challenge
An in-house system similar to that used at Avecia was not suitable for the new company as this was designed for a larger organisation and had required a team of two payroll professionals and seven other admin staff. In the case of FFIC the payroll would be administered by just one person and would be only a part of their entire role. Therefore the requirements of the service would need to be different.
It was decided that the payroll should be outsourced and Fujifilm went out to tender with a number of important criteria that had to be met. Firstly, the system needed to be a combined HR and payroll solution enabling the HR team to access information such as benefits and absence in one place. Secondly, the system needed to be implemented quickly in line with timescales for the de-merger and to avoid dependence on the previous owner. And finally, FFIC was keen that the services should be transparently priced and require minimal investment in IT infrastructure and maintenance, as Fujifilm was understandably keen to keep costs under control.
"What we needed most was a payroll system that could be up and running quickly and that didn't need a huge team to run, as I was to be the only person working on payroll and this was on a part time basis," says Deborah Hutchinson, HR Contract Manager. "We were able to use the old payroll system for a short amount of time during the transition, but we were keen to be self-sufficient as quickly as possible, whilst keeping a lid on costs."
Solution and results
Having considered a number of suppliers, FFIC decided that ADP's web based payroll solution, ADP freedom, offered the best solution to their needs as it did not rely on the company's existing IT infrastructure.
"One of the major selling points for us was that ADP freedom is web based," comments Hutchinson. "This meant we didn't need to spend money on a new server and could get going straight away." In the end the implementation took only two months in total with just two days of training. "This was made as easy as possible for us by ADP, which provided templates to help with the data transfer."
ADP freedom offers a combined HR and Payroll solution and Hutchinson is delighted with both the software and service delivered: "The technical aspects of the package have more than lived up to our expectations, such as the ability to run reports and see payroll data at any time and from any location," she says. "This is hugely important when payroll is only part of your role as you don't necessarily know where and when you will need to input or view data." Hutchinson is now able to devote more time to looking after the company's flexible benefits scheme as well as other more strategic, value-added aspects of her job.
The Future
As a result of the successful implementation, FFIC would like to expand its use of ADP freedom to include self-service functionality, which is where individual employees are able to input and amend their own details online. It is also happy to recommend the service to others, with its former parent company Avecia choosing to work with ADP on Hutchinson's recommendation.
Background
FUJIFILM Imaging Colorants (FFIC) is a world leader in the development and supply of innovative, high performance colorants for the global digital printing market. The company was created when Fujifilm acquired Avecia's Inkjet and Electrophotography businesses in 2006 and now employs 240 people across two UK sites: Manchester and Grangemouth in Scotland.
Avecia's inkjet and electrophotography division was not a self contained business and its payroll and HR had previously been administered though Avecia Group's in-house SAP system. But once the inkjet and electrophotography divisions were de-merged, the new organisation had to make sure that employees were still paid on time and FFIC had to move quickly to find and implement a new payroll system.
The Challenge
An in-house system similar to that used at Avecia was not suitable for the new company as this was designed for a larger organisation and had required a team of two payroll professionals and seven other admin staff. In the case of FFIC the payroll would be administered by just one person and would be only a part of their entire role. Therefore the requirements of the service would need to be different.
It was decided that the payroll should be outsourced and Fujifilm went out to tender with a number of important criteria that had to be met. Firstly, the system needed to be a combined HR and payroll solution enabling the HR team to access information such as benefits and absence in one place. Secondly, the system needed to be implemented quickly in line with timescales for the de-merger and to avoid dependence on the previous owner. And finally, FFIC was keen that the services should be transparently priced and require minimal investment in IT infrastructure and maintenance, as Fujifilm was understandably keen to keep costs under control.
"What we needed most was a payroll system that could be up and running quickly and that didn't need a huge team to run, as I was to be the only person working on payroll and this was on a part time basis," says Deborah Hutchinson, HR Contract Manager. "We were able to use the old payroll system for a short amount of time during the transition, but we were keen to be self-sufficient as quickly as possible, whilst keeping a lid on costs."
Solution and results
Having considered a number of suppliers, FFIC decided that ADP's web based payroll solution, ADP freedom, offered the best solution to their needs as it did not rely on the company's existing IT infrastructure.
"One of the major selling points for us was that ADP freedom is web based," comments Hutchinson. "This meant we didn't need to spend money on a new server and could get going straight away." In the end the implementation took only two months in total with just two days of training. "This was made as easy as possible for us by ADP, which provided templates to help with the data transfer."
ADP freedom offers a combined HR and Payroll solution and Hutchinson is delighted with both the software and service delivered: "The technical aspects of the package have more than lived up to our expectations, such as the ability to run reports and see payroll data at any time and from any location," she says. "This is hugely important when payroll is only part of your role as you don't necessarily know where and when you will need to input or view data." Hutchinson is now able to devote more time to looking after the company's flexible benefits scheme as well as other more strategic, value-added aspects of her job.
The Future
As a result of the successful implementation, FFIC would like to expand its use of ADP freedom to include self-service functionality, which is where individual employees are able to input and amend their own details online. It is also happy to recommend the service to others, with its former parent company Avecia choosing to work with ADP on Hutchinson's recommendation.
