Study Case

This Swiss company was founded in 1921. With a history of 90 years producing anthroposophic medicine and natural cosmetics, Weleda S.A. arrived in Argentina in 1946, inaugurating a period of growth which ensured a privileged position in domestic and foreign markets. Currently, the Argentine branch produces and commercializes 40 cosmetic products and more than one thousand compounded formulas for export to Brazil and Chile since 1997.

Company’s Profile
Elements such as pomegranate, sea buckthorn, almond, rose hip, iris, lavender, rosemary and a wide selection of the purest most diverse ingredients are used by Weleda to manufacture its truly natural cosmetics. This Swiss-German company which has shown a deep respect for nature has become a major cosmetic benchmark in Argentina. Its creams, oils, gels and other products are increasingly chosen for their exquisite quality, excellence, and effectiveness for health care and wellbeing, and at the same time for helping live in harmony with nature. Its products are among the most distinguished beauty brands in the world. This company has been recognized for its commitment to ecology through important certifications. Weleda premium quality products have distinguished aromas which help achieve harmony and well being.
Case Analysis
To boost growth, Weleda passed from being under the direction of one person to becoming part of Grupo Weleda Internacional in 1995-96. After the switch of management, new requirements and needs emerged for the company.
In 1997, increased activities and the lack of an integrated system which could organize the company's daily operations encouraged the search for an Enterprise Resource Planning solution; software created to plan business resources. Since that year, natural cosmetics Weleda – NeuralSoft’s first ASP customer- has been managing its computer and administrative systems through NeuralSoft integrated management system. Today, after ten years of outsourcing to NeuralSoft under the ASP model, Weleda has truly been a forerunner.
Solution / Implementation
“After evaluating the management software we decided it complied with the basic requirements needed for various departments such as sales, purchases, production, stock, finance, and human resources. We also perceived there was potential to continue developing other areas and create non-standard reports,” recalled Kung. “We organized training sessions which started in November of 1996. Later, in January 1997, we started to use the basic management processes. Today, we are still using the software and there is still potential to use it in more and better ways.”
Since then, Weleda continued developing the business and the staff personal growth through the ERP and Production, Human Resources, and Business Intelligence solutions. By the end of 1999, they again felt they needed to implement a solution which would meet more recent needs. The decision to change was finally made in March of 2000, when NeuralSoft offered a reliable solution which included all the key elements a SME needed to focus on the business core without wasting resources on technology. The answer was the ASP model, which was implemented in October, 2000. NerualSoft technology enabled Weleda to simplify and integrate internal management processes including areas such as, finance, billing, sales, and purchases, and help make more efficient and quick decisions.
This new modality makes it possible for Weleda's 50 employees to perform distance work by means of licenses and permits. Users can access the information from any computer anywhere in the world. “The bottom line is, the entire maintenance of the systems department was outsourced to a single user”, emphasized the executive.
Benefits
“NeuralSoft’s ASP model helped us optimize our operations and offered security. There are certain intangible values which many times are not taken into account, but when there is a change, you can see the difference and become fully aware that those values were necessary and helpful.”
Alejandro Spieth, Weleda’s System Supervisor
Why NeuralSoft?
“After evaluating the management software it was decided that it complied with the basic requirements needed for various departments such as sales, purchases, production, stock, finance, and human resources. We also perceived there was potential to continue developing other areas and create non-standard reports,” recalled Kung. “We organized training sessions which started in November of 1996. Later, in January, 1997 we started to use the basic management processes. Today, we are still using that software and there is potential to use it in more and better ways.”