Europe's leader in the automobile aftermarket enhancing business operations to help increase efficiency and reduce costs

London, UK, Dec. 15, 2011 – Lawson Software, an Infor affiliate, today announced that the ALCAR Group, the leader in the European automotive aftermarket industry, has chosen to upgrade to the latest version of the Lawson M3 Enterprise Management System, Lawson M3 10.1. ALCAR will use the solution to help simplify its international distribution and financial processes to help increase efficiency and lower overall operating costs.

ALCAR, headquartered near Vienna, Austria, has six proprietary brands and a European-based network of 30 companies that employ more than 780 people in 14 countries. The company manufactures steel and alloy wheels, provides steel furniture systems and serves as a wholesaler both nationally and internationally. The companies that comprise ALCAR stand for innovative design, state-of-the-art production, technology and service-oriented logistics.

To meet its business objectives, ALCAR needed to better align its distribution and financial processes to more effectively coordinate operations across all its locations. As a Lawson customer since 2001, ALCAR elected to upgrade and expand its use of Lawson enterprise management applications to 220 users in the areas of purchasing, distribution, warehousing, finance and controlling. The upgrade to Lawson M3 10.1 began in early November 2011, with a goal of launching in early 2013. ALCAR is working closely with the same experienced project team that consulted the company successfully when implementing the first Lawson solution 10 years prior.

Lawson M3 10.1 will help ALCAR better manage inter-company processes, reduce overall administrative efforts and connect its current applications, particularly in the area of ​​product configuration. “Our interconnectivity demands have increased as our company has grown. Lawson M3 10.1 provides a standardized toolbox to help us manage this process more effectively instead of programming each interface individually,” said Andreas Ritter, CIO, ALCAR.

ALCAR has also implemented Lawson Smart Office, which combines Microsoft Office tools and Lawson M3 applications into one intuitive user interface so users can personalize their information workspace.

For an international company like ALCAR, selecting a global ERP solution is also a strategic decision. “The ability to optimize the handling of international processes was only one aspect of our decision to upgrade to Lawson M3 10.1. It’s also important that we’re strategically positioned in a manner that allows us to work with a company in a long-term relationship at low costs. Lawson offers not only the right technology, but as a subsidiary of Infor, it also provides the necessary stability to be a reliable partner for years to come,” added Ritter.

About Lawson Software
Lawson Software is an Infor affiliate with more than 4,500 customers worldwide, primarily in specific services, trade and manufacturing/distribution industries.

 

For more information:

Eva Richter
Lawson
+49 8106 321451
Eva.Richter@de.lawson.com