Japan’s automotive industry is undergoing an accelerated speed of digital transformation, embracing Internet of Things (IoT) and other technologies to get ahead of the highly competitive industry.
Responding to the industry’s rapid digital transformation, Topre Corporation – a manufacturer of pressed automotive components for frames and other parts of automobiles – has deployed a cloud-based ERP solution as its core business system for management of production, sales, purchasing and inventory for its domestic automotive business across seven sites.
The company has selected Infor CloudSuite Automotive for upgrading from their existing ERP solution and will also use the suite for accounting management across its entire domestic operations.
“To survive what people are calling a once-in-a-century transformation in the automotive industry, we have to transform our business structures in cooperation with the automakers,” said Tesshu Harada, acting general manager, Business Process Re-Engineering Department, Auto Parts Headquarters, Topre.
“We will start this process by stepping away from our old systems and rebuilding a core business platform in a highly scalable cloud environment to drive further digital transformation across Topre. We chose Infor for its highly specialised cloud solution with a track record in realising the standardisation of business transformation,” he added.
Cloud adoption was the way to go
Infor CloudSuite Automotive is a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)-based cloud ERP suite of solutions for the automotive industry. With rich functionalities for the automotive industry incorporated into a beautifully-designed user interface, it is delivered on the highly-reliable Amazon Web Services (AWS) platform.
Topre chose Infor CloudSuite Automotive as the solution comes packaged with the functionalities required by automotive suppliers, and that it is already being used extensively in the industry. Enabling advanced production and quality management, coupled with the sharing of data with automakers, and visualisation of supply chains, the suite offers cloud-based functionality for agile responses to marked changes in the industry. The Infor Automotive Exchange component of the suite, in particular, supports the unique Electronic Data Interchange system for managing sales of the main domestic automakers, and helps improve the efficiency of Topre's operations.
At the same time, Topre will adopt Infor Birst, a cloud-based business intelligence platform to utilise data accumulated in the cloud for its transformation. Together with Infor CloudSuite Automotive, Topre will build a platform for driving digital transformation aimed at improving business processes through standardisation and efficiencies, and implement data-based management and policies.
Looking ahead, Topre plans to roll out the cloud ERP solution to all its global sites, including the US, China and Thailand. Infor's cloud ERP is viewed as a platform with capability in production management, which is an absolute priority among automotive companies seeking accurate production-planning and on-time customer delivery.
Besides manufacturing pressed automotive parts which accounts for 70% of the company’s total sales, the company creates a range of products such as refrigerated trucks for the safe transportation of food, air-conditioning systems to improve comfort, and electronic equipment that is essential in the information technology economy.
