KUALA LUMPUR (May 2): Hartalega Holdings Bhd, the world’s largest synthetic glove manufacturer, is investing over RM14 million to upgrade its Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, as part of its commitment towards realising the Industry 4.0 concept, which entails a smart manufacturing system.

As part of the implementation process, Hartalega said it has undertaken a comprehensive business process review (BPR) of Hartalega, which was concluded in 2017 and resulted in a blueprint which became the basis of Hartalega’s group-wide ERP implementation. 

Hartalega said the pilot ERP project will begin with its Next Generation Integrated Glove Manufacturing Complex at Sepang this year, and subsequently rolled out at its Bestari Jaya plants in 2019. 

“Hartalega’s prowess in production technology and innovation is a key factor in maintaining our competitive advantage,” Hartalega’s managing director Kuan Mun Leong said in a statement today. 

“Capitalising on advanced technologies such as Industry 4.0 and the Internet of Things (IoT) will enable us to take the next step, bridging automation and data connectivity to develop sophisticated integrated manufacturing and business systems. Investing in this is all the more crucial, as the industry becomes more globalised and competition with other countries intensifies,” Kuan added.

To upgrade the business process system, Hartalega said it will be partnering with 9 Dots Consulting, an ERP solutions provider to implement the complete suite of Microsoft Dynamics 365 to consolidate and streamline processes across all its business functions.

According to Kuan, upgrading the ERP systems will reduce costs and wastage in Hartalega’s production process.

“This will enable us to strengthen our operations and integrate automation across our supply chain, further enhancing productivity, improving efficiencies, reducing costs and boosting profitability for the group over the long-term,” he added.

Listed on the Main Market since April 2008, Hartalega’s two plants in Sepang and Bestari Jaya have an annual capacity to produce over 29 billion gloves, which is exported to more than 60 countries.

At 11:39am, the stock was trading at RM5.79, giving it a market capitalisation of RM19.18 billion.