Nissan Europe to drive down non-production costs

Barry Wilmer, purchase systems development manager at Nissan Europe, says its new Wax Digital web3 P2P software will help the car manufacturer engineer a major overhaul of its procurement strategy and financial management processes across Europe. "We have had an ambition for a number of years now to move all our European operations to a common e-procurement platform that can transform our purchasing and finance processes for both our purchasers and suppliers," states Wilmer. "In Wax Digital web3 we're confident that we have now found a system and a supplier that can improve the way we do business with our supply chain across Europe and drive significant process efficiencies, controls and savings," he adds. Wilmer explains that the system will enable 3,000 Nissan employees to raise requisitions electronically, ensure they are authorised and approved according to the corporate approvals hierarchy, and issue approved orders automatically to suppliers. Goods receipting, supplier management and invoice matching will all be handled within web3, he says, with most suppliers expected to migrate to a fully electronic order-to-invoice process. The overall project is part of Nissan's Power 88 mid-term business plan, which is expected to raise market share to 8% and improve global profitability to 8% by 2016. Close integration with SAP and mainframe back office systems is part of the deal and Wax Digital will be using its dedicated integration platform. "Moving from paper and email based purchasing and accounts payable processes to the Wax Digital web3 portal-based system will provide significant benefits to both Nissan and our suppliers," asserts Michael Brook, finance process control leader at Nissan Europe. "The functionality and controls that Wax Digital web3 provides covering new supplier set up, approvals, expenditure recording and reporting certainly look impressive."