Hitachi Automotive Gets Boost From Geac's ERP System

Compiled ByDoug Bartholomew Enterprise resource planning systems continue to pay off for many manufacturers. Hitachi Automotive Products Inc. has achieved efficiencies in production, reduced accounting costs, and improved its supply chain using Geac Enterprise Solutions' System21. Implemented in 1998, the software package used by the Hitachi unit includes modules for financial management, manufacturing and customer service and logistics. "We have realized tremendous benefits in savings, increased efficiency, and more accurate inventory control since implementing System21," says Robin Riley, manager of IT for Hitachi. "The solution has helped improve our bottom line by giving us greater visibility into, and control over, our business processes. For example, we can now monitor inventory during production, something we could not do previously. The savings in time and resources from this alone is tremendous." Based in Harrodsburg, Ky., Hitachi Automotive Products is a subsidiary of Hitachi America Ltd. The company manufactures, remanufactures and markets a variety of electrical and electronic automotive products for all major automotive OEMs worldwide. Geac Enterprise Solutions Americas, based in Atlanta, is a division of Geac Computers Inc., headquartered in Markham, Canada. Its System21 ERP package includes financials, manufacturing, customer service and logistics, and service management modules.