Great Ocean Group
From 15 Companies to One Connected Marine & Offshore Operation
How Great Ocean Group connected CRM, Projects, WIP, Manpower, Procurement, Intercompany Billing, Payroll and Finance across 15 Singapore companies.
Great Ocean Group has grown into a diversified marine and offshore engineering services group in Singapore, with 15 companies and more than 200 employees.
Its operations span ship repair, mechanical and hydraulic works, piping, structural fabrication, thermal insulation, electrical and automation services, testing, offshore engineering, and technical manpower solutions.
Projects are delivered across in-house workshops, client sites, afloat operations, and voyage-based assignments.
With every subsidiary operating different projects, services, employees, costs, revenues, and profitability, the group’s biggest challenge was not simply managing transactions.
It was gaining one connected view of the entire group.
THE BUSINESS CHALLENGE
15 Companies. Hundreds of Employees. Hundreds of Project Decisions.
Each subsidiary could have different:
- Projects
- Customers
- Service activities
- Project values
- Employees
- Man-hours
- Materials
- Purchases
- Sales
- Project costs
- Work-in-progress
- Profitability
- Financial results
A project could involve employees from different teams, materials from different suppliers, intercompany transactions, milestone billing, and multiple cost components.
The critical management question was:
How much has each project earned, how much has it cost, how much work remains, and what is the actual profitability?
BEFORE → AFTER
BEFORE → AFTER
From Company-by-Company Processes to One Group-Wide ERP
BEFORE | AFTER |
15 companies operating with fragmented information | One connected multi-company ERP environment |
Project information across different processes | Centralised project visibility |
WIP difficult to monitor consistently | Project-based WIP tracking |
Employee allocation difficult to analyse | Employee and man-hour tracking by project |
Project cost and revenue separated | Project profitability visibility |
Different company financial records | Individual company P&L and Balance Sheet |
Intercompany transactions handled separately | Integrated intercompany billing |
Sales and purchase processes disconnected | Complete order-to-finance workflows |
Payroll administration across companies | Employee-wise payroll management |
Manual statutory processes | Structured CPF and IR8A workflows |
THE ERP TRANSFORMATION
One Group. 15 Companies. One Connected Digital Backbone.
01 — CRM & ENQUIRY MANAGEMENT
Every Opportunity Starts With Structure
The process begins in CRM:
Enquiry → Customer → Service → Opportunity → Quotation → Project
Each enquiry can be associated with the relevant company, customer, service, and project requirements.
This creates a structured commercial pipeline before work begins.
02 — PROJECT MANAGEMENT
From Enquiry to Execution
Once an opportunity becomes a project, the ERP connects:
Project Value
Scope of Work
Tasks
Milestones
Resources
Materials
Man-Hours
Costs
Revenue
WIP
Profitability
Project managers gain a structured environment to monitor project execution from start to completion.
03 — PROJECT WIP
Know What Has Been Delivered—and What Is Still in Progress
Work-in-progress was one of the group’s critical management requirements.
The ERP tracks project progress against:
- Project value
- Completed work
- Pending work
- Tasks
- Milestones
- Man-hours
- Materials
- Costs
- Billing
- Revenue
PROJECT VIEW
Contract / Project Value
↓
Work Completed
↓
WIP
↓
Cost Incurred
↓
Revenue / Billing
↓
Project Profitability
This provides management with a more structured way to understand project performance before final completion.
04 — GANTT & MILESTONE MANAGEMENT
Turning Project Plans Into Visible Execution
Projects can be managed through task-based planning and milestones.
PROJECT
Planning
↓
Task Allocation
↓
Execution
↓
Milestone
↓
Progress
↓
Completion
Gantt-based planning provides project teams with a visual view of activities, dependencies, timelines, and progress.
05 — PROJECT COST VS PROFITABILITY
Every Project Has a Financial Story
For each project, the ERP connects:
REVENUE
Sales → Billing → Receivables
COST
Materials → Purchases → Man-Hours → Expenses
WIP
Work Completed → Work Pending → Unbilled Work
RESULT
Project Revenue − Project Cost = Project Profitability
Management can analyse project performance while considering the underlying operational costs.
06 — EMPLOYEE & MAN-HOUR TRACKING
Know Who Is Working on Which Project
With more than 200 employees across the group, workforce allocation is closely connected to project profitability.
The ERP tracks employee involvement by:
Employee → Company → Project → Location → Task → Man-Hours
This provides a stronger connection between workforce utilisation and project cost.
07 — MARINE & OFFSHORE OPERATIONS
One Platform for a Diverse Service Portfolio
Great Ocean Group’s operations include:
- Ship repair services
- Mechanical and hydraulic repair
- Pumps and deck machinery
- Piping fabrication and repair
- Structural fabrication
- Thermal insulation and ducting
- Tank cleaning
- Scaffolding and painting
- Electrical and automation
- Air-conditioning services
- Staging and load testing
- Pressure testing
- Offshore and marine engineering
- Technical manpower solutions
The ERP provides a common operational foundation across these diverse service activities.
08 — SALES & PURCHASE
Connecting Commercial Activity to Project Execution
SALES
Enquiry → Quotation → Sales Order → Project → Delivery → Invoice
PURCHASE
Requirement → RFQ → Purchase Order → Receipt → Supplier Bill
Sales and purchasing activity can be connected to the projects they support, creating better visibility into project-related revenue and costs.
09 — 15-COMPANY INTERCOMPANY BILLING
Connecting the Group Without Losing Company-Level Control
Operating 15 companies creates another layer of complexity:
Company A → Service / Material → Company B → Intercompany Transaction → Finance
The ERP supports intercompany transactions while maintaining individual company records.
Management can therefore view:
GROUP LEVEL
Consolidated Business Activity
while retaining:
COMPANY LEVEL
Revenue • Cost • P&L • Balance Sheet • Transactions
This creates a connected group structure without losing subsidiary-level financial visibility.
10 — FACTORING & INVOICE MANAGEMENT
Connecting Receivables to Cash Flow
Invoice and factoring processes are connected with the financial system to provide better visibility into:
- Customer invoices
- Receivables
- Factored invoices
- Collections
- Outstanding balances
- Cash-flow position
This helps finance teams maintain a clearer relationship between sales, receivables, and funding activity.
11 — HR & PAYROLL
From Employee Records to Statutory Submission
The ERP connects employee information with payroll processing.
EMPLOYEE
Employee Record
↓
Attendance / Payroll Inputs
↓
Salary Calculation
↓
Payroll
↓
CPF
↓
IR8A
↓
Statutory Reporting
This creates a more structured payroll environment across the group’s companies.
12 — FINANCE
15 Companies. 15 Financial Views. One Connected Group.
Each company maintains its own financial records while the group gains a connected management view.
COMPANY FINANCE
Revenue
Expenses
Receivables
Payables
Assets
Liabilities
P&L
Balance Sheet
GROUP MANAGEMENT
15 Companies
↓
Intercompany Transactions
↓
Company-Level Financials
↓
Group-Level Visibility
BUSINESS IMPACT
Turning Multi-Company Complexity Into Operational Control
PROJECT VISIBILITY
Every Project Has a Digital Trail
From CRM enquiry through project execution, WIP, billing, cost, and profitability.
PROJECT PROFITABILITY
Understand Performance at Project Level
Connect project revenue, materials, manpower, purchases, and other costs.
MANPOWER CONTROL
People + Projects + Man-Hours
Track employee allocation and project-based manpower costs.
WIP MANAGEMENT
See Work Before the Final Invoice
Track project progress and WIP alongside financial information.
INTERCOMPANY CONTROL
15 Companies, Connected Transactions
Manage intercompany billing while retaining company-level accounting.
PAYROLL
Employee-to-Statutory Workflow
Connect employee records, payroll, CPF and IR8A processes.
FINANCE
Company-Level Financial Control
Maintain individual P&L and Balance Sheet visibility across all 15 companies.
KPI-TRANSFORMATION
The Great Ocean Group ERP at a Glance
15 COMPANIES
One connected multi-company ERP environment
200+ EMPLOYEES
Employee and project-based workforce tracking
PROJECT-CENTRIC OPERATIONS
Revenue • Cost • WIP • Man-Hours • Profitability
MULTI-COMPANY FINANCE
Individual company P&L and Balance Sheet visibility
INTERCOMPANY BILLING
Connected transactions across group companies
END-TO-END PROJECT FLOW
CRM → Sales → Project → Purchase → WIP → Billing → Finance
PAYROLL & STATUTORY
Employee → Payroll → CPF → IR8A
Note: These KPI figures describe the scope of the Great Ocean Group implementation and connected processes, rather than independently measured percentage improvements.
THE GREAT OCEAN PROJECT LIFECYCLE
From Customer Enquiry to Project Profitability
CRM ENQUIRY
↓
OPPORTUNITY
↓
QUOTATION
↓
SALES ORDER
↓
PROJECT
↓
TASKS & MILESTONES
↓
EMPLOYEE ALLOCATION
↓
MAN-HOURS
↓
PURCHASE & MATERIALS
↓
PRODUCTION / MARINE SERVICES
↓
WIP
↓
PROJECT BILLING
↓
PROJECT COST
↓
PROJECT PROFITABILITY
↓
FINANCE
THE DIFFERENCE
From Managing 15 Companies to Managing One Connected Group
The transformation was not about putting every company into the same accounting database.
It was about connecting the entire operating model.
COMMERCIAL
CRM + Sales
OPERATIONAL
Projects + WIP + Tasks + Milestones
WORKFORCE
Employees + Man-Hours + Payroll
SUPPLY CHAIN
Purchase + Inventory + Materials
FINANCIAL
Billing + Cost + P&L + Balance Sheet
GROUP
Intercompany + 15 Companies
One ERP. One Connected Group. Complete Project Visibility.
POWERED BY INFOCOM X & NEXORA AI
The Next Generation of Marine & Offshore ERP
With Infocom X ERP powered by Nexora AI, the connected foundation can evolve toward intelligent project and financial operations.
PROJECT INTELLIGENCE
Identify project exceptions, WIP movements, cost changes, and outstanding milestones.
PROFITABILITY INTELLIGENCE
Surface significant movements in project costs, revenue, and margins.
WORKFORCE INTELLIGENCE
Analyse project-based manpower allocation and man-hour patterns.
FINANCE INTELLIGENCE
Connect company-level financial information with group-level management insights.
GROUP INTELLIGENCE
Give leadership a clearer view across 15 companies, projects, employees, customers, and financial performance.
THE OUTCOME
A Connected Digital Backbone for Great Ocean Group
Great Ocean Group’s transformation demonstrates how a modern ERP can bring together the complexity of a multi-company marine and offshore engineering organisation.
From the first CRM enquiry to project execution, WIP, employee man-hours, purchasing, billing, intercompany transactions, payroll, CPF, IR8A, P&L and Balance Sheet, the entire business lifecycle becomes connected.
The result is a stronger foundation for:
Project Control
WIP Visibility
Profitability Management
Workforce Tracking
Multi-Company Operations
Intercompany Billing
Payroll & Compliance
Financial Control
Scalable Growth
15 Companies. One Connected ERP. One Clearer View of the Business.
Infocom X ERP — Powered by Nexora AI.