Diamonds Are Forever – Genero immortalises inventory system for world’s largest diamond company
Jwaneng, Botswana – August 8, 2008 — The Debswana Diamond Company (Pty) Ltd. – the world’s largest diamond provider by value and powerhouse to Botswana’s high growth economy – went live July 21 with a brand new diamond inventory management system developed in Genero by leading South African software house iAdapt.
The new system, considered mission critical due to its ‘end of process’ weighing and sorting prior to release to the Diamond Trading Company Botswana, underlines Debswana’s commitment to corporate governance and superior risk analysis by replacing an old unstable system that had become a liability to the group.
“This new application supports future platform decisions and can evolve with the organisation,” said Mr. Doc Matenge, Project Leader of the Debswana Jwaneng Mine.
“That means we can take advantage of new business opportunities without having to reinvest in new skills or tools.”
“It was by far the most beneficial solution,” said Matenge. “We didn’t have to migrate away from our current business processes nor did we have to generate any new code.”
“What impressed us the most though was Genero’s flexibility, especially when it comes to databases. Now we can manage our software assets across various applications and platforms without huge capital outlay. Furthermore this project was so successful, we came in under budget and with days to spare for implementation and change management” said Matenge.
Debswana’s 1990s home grown Diamond Inventory Management System used Informix 4GL and Informix Online. This system, unaltered since its inception, required use of serial cable server connections – no longer available in the market.
Project ‘DIS Stabilisation’ was given top priority and iAdapt’s site evaluations of February 5 and April 7 2008 highlighted the sensitive issues. From the date of Debswana’s order to the ‘Go Live’ on July 21, less than one month had taken place.
“Our 7 year business partnership with Four Js allowed us to move very quickly,” said Gilbert Parsons, Managing Director of iAdapt. “Debswana had felt locked in for a very, very long time and were almost in disbelief that we could solve their problem so quickly.”
In order to upgrade the current system from Informix Online Server, iAdapt provided a business benefit analysis, proving Genero as the most cost effective solution. Debswana wanted to leave the past that it had clung on to for so long and give users a fresh Web 2.0 graphical representation. Data entry speed and TCP/IP based scales were critical to the new system. The risc based IBM RS 6000 system using Informix relational databases was migrated to Intel and Microsoft.
The brief included moving source code from Informix 4GL to Genero, converting Informix to Microsoft SQL Server 2005 and Unix to Microsoft Windows. The Unix based scales and printing scripts were also converted to Windows.
About Debswana
The Debswana Diamond Company (Pty) Ltd. is owned in equal shares by the government of the Republic of Botswana and De Beers Centenary AG. Debswana is the world’s leading diamond producer by value and has played a significant role in the transformation of the Botswana economy.
It is the largest non-government employer and the largest earner of foreign exchange in Botswana. Debswana’s mining operations have been largely responsible for transforming Botswana from an agricultural based economy in the 1960s to a country that has consistently displayed one of the highest economic growth rates in the world. In keeping in line as the leading corporate company in Botswana, Debswana has invested in having the best software and systems in order to keep the company ahead of the competition.
Learn more here at http://www.debswana.com/Debswana.Web/
About iAdapt
iAdapt is a business solutions company that provides software and technical expertise to assist businesses in embracing technology. iAdapt is author and reseller of the iAdapt Software comprising a number of integrated business modules that assist companies in their back office administrations. This is complimented by a set of rapid application development tools – the iAdapt Business Development Framework (BDF). This tool allows a company to develop or enhance the base software for the front office and ensures that standards are maintained and full integration is achieved to the core financial software. iAdapt has been a business partner with Four Js for 10 years and is a pioneer in the use of the Genero components for customers and its own software solutions.
Learn more here www.iadapt.co.za
