Generational Shift Demands Digitalization

Q: How can CIMATIC’s offering of Infor products stand out from other international ERP developers such as Oracle, SAP and Epicor?
A: Infor has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in developing modules to support micro verticals across all industries that are available in its core product set. This approach reduces the need to modify applications to meet specific micro vertical needs, thereby making products easier to implement, maintain and upgrade.
Q: How does CIMATIC’s relationship with Infor work and how has that helped you develop a stronger portfolio to cater to automotive clients?
A: For 15 years, CIMATIC has strengthened its alliance with Infor, becoming its most important distribution partner in Latin America and ranking among its 10 most important partners globally. Our commitment to the company has spurred blind faith from Infor in CIMATIC’s operations for the development of the Infor brand in Mexico. CIMATIC is now spearheading distribution, implementation and even operation of Infor’s solutions, particularly in the automotive industry.
Q: How can CIMATIC’s offering adapt to clients in the four different verticals it manages?
A: We offer a single unified solution built for automotive OEMs, specialty vehicle companies, original equipment suppliers and aftermarket providers. Infor’s solution provides end-to-end functionality wherever companies need it. The platform is extremely intuitive and simple to use. Furthermore, our Cloud Suite strategy takes a holistic view of our client’s business, making the platform cost effective in its implementation.
Q: What do you see as the main opportunities for clients to optimize their operations and how can CIMATIC’s solutions help in this process?
A: Skills needed to maintain older or heavily customized ERP systems are becoming obsolete as new technologies enter the market. Furthermore, competition among clients for talent with these skills is intense. New generations are more likely to use the cloud and mobile services to access ERP systems and as the baby-boomer generation retires, it might be time to consider upgrading or replacing these older platforms.
At CIMATIC, we are focused specifically on challenges that automotive companies and suppliers face. We have deep experience in the industry and we partner with our customers to deliver value and enhance their solutions, thus ensuring a high return on investment. Furthermore, we continue to invest heavily in our strategy and our technology.
Q: How can CIMATIC and Infor target companies that are more reluctant to change their traditional management and administration practices?
A: Our best bet is on offering specific business intelligence. Our platform has its core on manufacturing activities, which allows it to deliver industry-specific KPIs, dashboards, operational reporting and in-context business intelligence. Our experience in the industry is also an added advantage. We continuously add and refine our functionality and capabilities based on the industry’s needs and we try to maintain and expand our global trading partner catalog. Our Hook & Loop approach also helps us support projects to streamline processes and workflows to improve collaboration and efficiencies between clients and their suppliers.
Q: What is the expected ROI timeframe after the implementation of CIMATIC’s solutions and how have you optimized your technology to reduce this?
A: We implement a complete Cloud Suite ERP solution in a period of 4 to 8 months depending on the complexity of the working environment. Driven by the process alignment toward best practices, plus the opportunity and deviations analysis on the data we get to make decisions, ROI is positive since the first year of implementation.