Being innovative is crucial for us to maintain the position we have in our market: That we’re at the forefront and constantly developing. We have many competitors chasing us, and we must always be better, says Managing Director of Vestdavit, Rolf Andreas Wigand.
Vestdavit is a Norwegian manufacturer specialising in davit systems used to launch and recover boats in demanding offshore and maritime environments. The company serves customers in the navy, coast guard, offshore energy and offshore wind sectors, where reliability, safety and documentation are critical.
With a clear strategic focus on a single product category, Vestdavit has built a strong global position over more than 40 years. As a project-based manufacturer delivering customised equipment, the company must coordinate engineering, production and service across each delivery.
Vestdavit has experienced rapid growth in recent years. With headquarters in Bergen, a production facility in Poland and subsidiaries in the US and the Netherlands, the company now operates across multiple locations and functions.
As the organisation expanded, existing systems no longer provided sufficient support for managing operations.
We’ve grown a lot in a short period of time. That triggered a need for a more comprehensive IT and business management system, says Wigand.
Previously, Vestdavit relied on multiple systems, resulting in fragmented processes and limited visibility across projects and profitability. This required significant manual work to maintain control.
The lack of a unified system made it difficult to manage project execution, financial performance and collaboration across locations.
The decision to implement a new ERP system was further accelerated by the acquisition of a production facility in Poland. Bringing engineering and production closer together highlighted the need for more integrated processes.
We realised that we had a lot to gain by streamlining project execution between our engineers here and the team that builds davits in Poland, Wigand explains.
After evaluating several alternatives, Vestdavit chose to implement Infor CloudSuite LN.
We concluded that Infor CloudSuite LN is the right system for us, because it’s larger and more developed than the others. This gives us better control over the setup and how we want to run the business, says Wigand.
The goal was to establish a single ERP platform supporting engineering, production, project management and finance across all entities.
Vestdavit operates in a highly demanding environment, where delivery precision, documentation and product quality are essential. In addition, the company has a significant aftermarket business, with requirements for spare parts, service and long-term customer support.
With Infor CloudSuite LN, key processes across the value chain will be brought together in one system — from sales and engineering to production, documentation and aftermarket services.
This is particularly important for companies delivering complex equipment with long lifecycles, where service and installed base management are critical to both customer satisfaction and profitability.
For Vestdavit, choosing the right implementation partner was as important as selecting the system itself.
These are extensive and business-critical processes. Having the right system is one thing, but finding a partner to implement it is another. Mazeppa had the right industry competence and experience from working with companies like ours, says Wigand.
He highlights the importance of aftermarket in particular, noting that davits operating in harsh maritime environments are exposed to wear, corrosion and continuous use. This makes reliable access to spare parts and service personnel essential.
Mazeppa understands the importance of aftermarket, which is critical for both customer satisfaction and profitability. That was a key reason why we chose to work with them, says Wigand.
Following a completed preliminary project, Vestdavit has now entered the implementation phase, with a planned go-live in Q3.
The company has prepared by allocating resources and building internal readiness for change, recognising that ERP implementation is both a technical and organisational transformation.
The biggest challenge will be the phase after go-live. People need to learn new systems while unlearning old routines, and that takes time, says Wigand.
Looking ahead, Vestdavit aims to use the new ERP platform to increase efficiency, support continued growth and create a more attractive working environment.
By taking over some of the routine tasks, the system will free up time for each individual employee to use and develop more of their skills. Thus, we hope that this system change, in addition to creating more profitable growth, will also contribute to making us a more exciting place to work, for both current and future employees, concludes Wigand.
