AFT Portugal: Transforming Home Furnishings Production with ERP and Process Automation

AFT, a Portugal-based home furnishing manufacturer, has streamlined its production processes by implementing a comprehensive ERP solution. The company specializes in mattress production, but its diverse product range also includes beds, sofas, pillows, blankets, and covers. With a production facility of 23,000 square meters, AFT uses cutting-edge technology and premium materials to deliver the finest home furnishings. The company’s facilities include a primary manufacturing plant (11,500 m²), a warehousing facility (6,500 m²), and a wood cutting center (5,000 m²). In 2022, AFT invested over €10 million in modernizing its facilities, ensuring that every stage—from design to manufacturing and testing—meets the highest quality standards.

Key bottlenecks

Despite its advanced infrastructure, AFT faced challenges in managing complex production workflows, especially in localization and compliance with fiscal and tax regulations. Many routine processes were duplicated across multiple systems, leading to inefficiencies and increased operational costs. The company needed a solution that would streamline these processes, eliminate redundancy, and support its vertical integration strategy.

Project implementation

To solve these issues, AFT partnered with the Rise SA Team to implement an ERP system tailored to its unique needs. The project included:

Core production launch: The initial phase focused on integrating the main production processes, ensuring seamless operations and data consistency.
Vertical integration: AFT expanded its capabilities by launching an in-house wood processing center, followed by the upcoming production of springs. This vertical integration allows AFT to control every aspect of production, from raw materials to finished products.
Localization and compliance: The Rise SA Team helped AFT navigate complex fiscal and tax requirements, ensuring full compliance with local regulations. The ERP system automated day-to-day activities, reducing manual errors and improving efficiency.
Integration with external systems: AFT integrated its ERP with PHC (Portuguese tax authority platform), enabling seamless order exchange and real-time data synchronization.

A standout achievement of AFT’s digital transformation is the automation of its wood processing operations through the implementation of a mini-WMS (Warehouse Management System). This system seamlessly manages material flow between the warehouse and production site, as well as various stages of wood processing. The workflow is fully optimized:

The ERP system processes the production plan, calculating material requirements based on bills of materials.
This data is then sent to an external optimizer, which refines cutting patterns for maximum efficiency.
The optimized data returns to the ERP system and is forwarded to the mini-WMS, which automatically generates tasks for each machine.
Throughout the process, the ERP system tracks the output of semi-finished products, ensuring accurate inventory management and quality control.

AFT has also advanced marking and quality control. Each component is automatically marked with a barcode using thermal printers, with data directly sourced from the cutting optimization software. Workers inspect each part upon production—if the component meets quality standards, it is scanned, and its barcode is instantly recorded in the ERP system. This process ensures full traceability across the production cycle and minimizes defects: defective components are excluded from the system, as their barcodes are not scanned or logged.

To further streamline operations, AFT implemented a robust integration between ERP and PHC. This integration eliminates manual data entry: there is no need to create customers and invoices manually in PHC, this information is sent automatically from ERP.

How it works:

When the user posts a customer invoice in ERP, the system automatically sends the required data (customers, inventory, prices, and so on) to PHC. The invoice is registered and fiscalized in PHC.
PHC send back the created invoice data. Documents are stored as external files in the external directory (safe file storage). Other data that one might need to access quickly from the system (IDs, incoming doc. No., date registered, status, and so on) is stored in the ERP’s information register.

This integration not only simplifies AFT’s financial workflows but also strengthens compliance and operational efficiency.

Implementation outcomes

The implementation of the ERP system has delivered significant benefits for AFT:

Eliminated redundancy: Automated processes replaced manual, duplicated tasks, reducing operational inefficiencies.
Enhanced compliance: AFT now meets all fiscal and tax requirements seamlessly, avoiding penalties and ensuring smooth operations.
Improved production efficiency: The integration of WMS and ERP systems has optimized material flow, reduced wastes, and improved production speed.
Implemented data exchange with PHC: No need to manually input customer or invoice data into PHC. What’s more, invoices are automatically fiscalized in PHC, meeting regulatory requirements.
Scalability: AFT is now well-positioned to expand its production capabilities, including the upcoming launch of spring manufacturing.

AFT’s partnership with the Rise SA Team has transformed its production processes, enabling the company to achieve greater efficiency, compliance, and scalability. By implementing ERP, AFT continues to set new standards in the home furnishing industry, delivering high-quality products to customers.

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