LAS VEGAS, April 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Infor, the largest global enterprise software provider focused on developing solutions for the manufacturing and distribution industries, discusses significant emerging challenges for manufacturers in four industries and technology solutions to address these trends at Inforum 2006, Infor's global customer conference in Las Vegas, at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center.
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In meetings with more than 3,000 discrete manufacturing executives,Infor's vice president of global industry marketing for discrete manufacturing, Mike Frichol and other Infor executives highlight the latest challenges that are reshaping the industrial equipment and machinery, electronics, metal fabrication and automotive sectors.

Industrial equipment and machinery enter the services businesses Established manufacturers of industrial equipment and machinery are responding to increasing competitive pressure by low-cost suppliers in emerging economies and customer demands by offering additional value-added services to their customers. These services range from installing and commissioning equipment, running quality tests, training customer staff, performing preventative maintenance and repair, immediate provision of spare parts, and even leasing and financing. In extreme instances, customers are simply leasing equipment with comprehensive complementary services from industrial equipment manufacturers.
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"These manufacturers must transform their businesses into service-orientated organizations," said Frichol. "Wrap-around services must be provided locally, where the customers are, which provides an additionaloperational challenge."
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Infor service management solutions are necessary for industrial
equipment and machinery producers to establish a well-managed services business covering all post-production business processes for more providing effective and profitable services to customers.

Electronics manufacturers face new environmental restrictions
For electronics manufacturers, the biggest emerging challenge is compliance with the new Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) and Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directives. RoHS restricts the use of six hazardous substances in the production of electronic equipment. Although the ROHS directive originated in the EU, other countries are considering adopting similar restrictions in the near future.

Any electronics companies that do business in regions with such requirements must be able to prove they are in compliance. Frichol said the challenge for electronics manufacturers is to collect compliance data on raw materials and components used to build their final products through a supply chain that may be five or six layers deep.
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Infor ERP solutions enable electronics manufacturers to track and report product content accurately all along the chain as items are manufactured. "We provide our customers the means to collect and electronically store compliance declaration documents, linked to their bill of materials," said Frichol.

Metal fabricators must better manage supply of raw materials
A soaring global demand for steel and metal commodities, led by industrial expansion in China and India, has caused substantial price increases and constrained availability of steel and other raw materials.

"In the past, metal fabricators were generally assured of consistent steel supplies at reasonably predictable prices," Frichol pointed out. "Now fabricators have to manage their raw material supply requirements more closely and accurately to ensure they get the type and amount of raw materials they need within time and price parameters."
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Leveraging its worldwide expertise in automotive manufacturing to metal fabrication, Infor now is helping metal fabricators manage a very tightly structured supply base through its SupplyWEB solution. Fabricators are placing considerably more emphasis on scheduling and planning, and they are finding Infor solutions to be perfect for their new focus on managing supplies.

"They have to be much better at managing their supply requirements and collaborating with suppliers to ensure a predictable supply of steel and other raw materials," Frichol said.

Automotive manufacturers relocate to low-cost regions close to market With major volatility in the automotive manufacturing environment, automotive suppliers need to restructure their business to service the changing business environment of their OEM customers.

OEMs in the automotive industry are using two key factors to determine the location of manufacturing facilities around the globe:
1. They must be close to their high-potential markets, which is why we see GM and Ford building plants in China to make vehicles for the Chinese market; or Hyundai and Toyota opening plants in the United States to
serve the U.S. market.

2. Low-cost geographic regions are vying for and securing automotive business -- Thailand, Poland, Czech Republic and the Southeastern U.S. are gaining the attention of automakers.
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With these key factors in mind, automotive component manufacturers need more sophisticated customer and supplier management solutions to service their customers. "Infor ERP solutions provide automotive suppliers with global visibility into releases, production, inventory, shipping and finance," Frichol noted, "with real-time data as their key advantage."
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Infor ERP solutions for Automotive essentials help suppliers work with OEMs very closely to manage demand, coordinate downstream suppliers, improve operations with lean processes and provide the global capability for suppliers to service OEMs as they move to new locations.
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"As manufacturers encounter new challenges in an increasingly competitive marketplace," Frichol added, "Infor is applying its
industry-specific expertise to furnish these businesses with the tools they need to be successful for the long haul and create opportunities from changes and new challenges."