Eric Haudiquet

Ghana has commissioned HELVETA for supplying a Timber Tracking System to be deployed nationwide. The system tracks timber flows from tree felling up to overseas shipping and traces timber’s origin throughout. This system is the mainstay of an export licensing scheme that Ghana is implementing to comply with upcoming European Community timber import regulation implemented under the FLEGT approach
- Write and validate [with all stakeholders] detailed functional specifications
- Set a timetable for modules delivery; plan and organize modules unitary tests
- Control project’s progress, Maintain agenda of pending issues and update risk factors situation
- Prepare reports to Pilot Committee

Auditing the production flow
Rougier’s production flow runs through three countries. It involves containerized and not-containerized products. Transportation means include road, railroad, floating and finally ships.
Inconsistencies in order’s management and poor circulation of stock positions within the organization were identified as main causes for slow production flow (cash flow immobilisation) and shortfalls in port loading operations (revenues delay).

Developing and implementing supply chain procedures and indicators
- Defining rules for order acceptance [by plants] and processing priorities
- Implementing indicators on stock levels and flow speed
- Setting alert indicators to raise attention upon a risk of delay against the promised delivery date of an order.

Managing the IT project “Timber products tracking and traceability”
Rougier adopted the main recommendation of the audit, and launched a project for designing and implementing a unified information system covering production and transportation operations.
- The system covers the entire chain of operations, from forest inventory to loading at seaport
- All shipped products, logs or bundles, can be traced back to the stump
- Designing and giving training on the successive releases of the software system