Defiance Metal Products Standardizes on Infor ERP SL

March 26, 2008 - PRLog -- Infor today announced that Defiance Metal Products (DMP), a leading precision fabricator of metal parts and assemblies, has selected Infor ERP SL 8.0, formerly SyteLine, to manage manufacturing operations at its four facilities throughout the United States. DMP chose Infor ERP SL for the specific functionality built into the software for metal fabrication companies, which it will use to help standardize operations and implement lean manufacturing principles across its facilities.

Headquartered in Defiance, Ohio, DMP is a full-service precision metal fabricator serving industries such as truck/transportation and HVAC that has grown rapidly through organic growth and acquisition. DMP first recognized the strength of Infor ERP SL after its acquisition of Texas-based Central Industrial Supply, an existing Infor customer who used Infor ERP SyteLine 5. In the Texas plant, DMP leveraged the software to help implement lean processes in its production stamping press room. DMP used the scheduling and reporting capabilities of the software to implement team-based reporting, improving the efficiency of its assembly area teams and eliminating information silos between buyers and planners in the production planning and scheduling of jobs.

Based on this experience with the software, and after reviewing competing products from other vendors, DMP chose to standardize all of its facilities on the latest version of Infor ERP SL. Beginning at its Texas plant, DMP will upgrade its current version of the software and then begin a phased roll-out to its three other plants located in Arkansas, Pennsylvania and Ohio. At those plants, Infor ERP SL will replace an existing ERP system developed in-house by the company.  

“Defiance Metal Products has developed a proprietary production system that has helped us achieve consistently high levels of product quality and customer service,” said Sam Strausbaugh, CFO and co-president of Defiance Metal Products. “We needed software that could support that production system and the way we do business, and Infor ERP SL stood out for that reason. By standardizing on the software across our plants, we expect to increase the capacity of each plant, reduce inventories, and enhance our overall competitiveness.”

Since the acquisition of MAPICS in 2005, Infor has continuously invested in Infor ERP SL, culminating in the latest release which features services-oriented architecture (SOA) capabilities through Infor Open SOA. Infor’s SOA approach allows companies to add additional components to their software ecosystem - from Infor, other vendors, and in-house sources - without the disruption associated with typical enterprise software implementations. This architecture supports long-term growth, especially for companies like DMP which have grown in part through acquisition and need to cost-effectively integrate systems and standardize operations across multiple facilities.

“Infor ERP SL provides the business and IT flexibility that allows companies like DMP to remain agile in ultra-competitive areas of discrete manufacturing,” said Kevin Piotrowski, director of Industry Product Marketing for Infor. “Its built-in features are based on Infor’s years of domain expertise in these industries. The technology architecture allows manufacturers to configure the software to fit their needs, making it easier to implement and able to evolve with their growth.”

About Infor ERP SL
Infor ERP SL, formerly Infor ERP SyteLine, is the next generation software solution for the unique requirements of businesses within discrete manufacturing.  Infor ERP SL not only supports design, sell, plan, source, make, deliver, service, and finance functionality, but also provides a path to additional business-specific functionality, such as supplier relationship management and enterprise asset management, through a service-oriented architecture.  With expanded multi-site capabilities, an application-wide event modeler, and a role-based user interface, Infor ERP SL improves workflow and collaboration across the entire enterprise, allowing manufacturers to make real-time decisions to improve productivity, order accuracy and inventory management.  

About Defiance Metal Products
Defiance Metal Products (DMP) corporate headquarters is located in Defiance, Ohio and began operating in 1939. Today DMP operate facilities in Ohio, Arkansas, Pennsylvania and Texas with over 720,000 square feet of manufacturing space with TS16949 and ISO 9001:2000 registered teams. As a full service, precision fabricator of metal parts and assemblies, DMP can handle every stage of the fabricating process on-site, including design and engineering, tool and die making, light, deep and heavy stamping, CNC Laser or Rotary Punch, Standard and Robotic Welding, and Coating/Painting. DMP supplies quality metal parts and assemblies to many different industries including the HD/MD trucking industry, commercial vehicles, military vehicle, commercial HVAC and others. Whether you need a simple stamping or a complete assembly, Defiance Metal Products can deliver: http://defiancemetal.com.

About Infor
Infor delivers business-specific software to enterprising organizations.  With experience built in, Infor’s solutions enable businesses of all sizes to be more enterprising and adapt to the rapid changes of a global marketplace. With more than 70,000 customers, Infor is changing what businesses expect from an enterprise software provider. For additional information, visit www.infor.com.