Users Rev Up With Intentia
Down in Birmingham, Alabama, the pace can be slow. Nobody’s in a rush, there’s always time for a chat and lemonade, and that’s the way folks down there like it. At least, most folks.
One exception to that rule are the gung-ho employees of Ogihara America Corp. (OAC), the multi-million dollar automotive metal supplies manufacturer where demand has doubled for its products in recent years. The $100 million company is the sole supplier of Mercedes-Benz automotive stampings for the legendary luxury auto manufacturer. It also supplies metal parts for Oldsmobile and Honda. With orders piling up under the transom, company managers recently decided to use an enterprise resource planning (ERP) software package from Intentia to better manage automated real time tasks like resource scheduling, plant floor operations, and electronic data interchange (EDI) transactions.
"We’ve really seen an accelerated growth in demand for our products and for better customer service," says Steve Asano, OAC executive administration manager. "Mercedes-Benz has more than doubled its production requirements for our plants, and our other clients are placing larger orders as well." Traditionally tied via IT to its parent company headquarters in Howell, Mich., OAC sought to establish independence for its Birmingham manufacturing plant. "With that kind of growth, we could no longer function as a satellite facility. To support current and future growth, we aim to ramp up customer service with fast EDI responsiveness, as well as maximizing scheduling and repetitive production for more efficient fulfillment. That’s what led us to install Intentia’s Movex Automotive Enterprise Resource Planning software."
Asano says that OAC plugged in the Intentia software in January, running on an AS/400 platform that recently replaced the company’s old Unix system. About 40 users are expected to use the new software. For its part Intentia says customers can expect more of the same from Movex in the months to come.
Lance LaCross, Intentia's Movex product manager, says, "In addition to core financial, manufacturing and distribution business applications, Movex Automotive also integrates processes specific to the needs of the automotive industry. In our experience, this expanded functionality enables Tier One suppliers like Ogihara America to increase efficiency, speed up material flows and decrease lead times, which ultimately results in greater agility and customer responsiveness."