Oxford Instruments measures up for growth with Infor

At the heart of its software suite is Infor10ERP Business (what used to be called SyteLine, which fits well high tech electronics manufacturers), integrated through Infor's Infor10 ION middleware with its PLM (product lifecycle management) software Infor10 PLM Discrete. Gary Wearing, director of Oxford Instruments NanoScience division, states that the PLM suite will help the company to track, manage, monitor and analyse products throughout the product lifecycle. Overall, he says, the expectation is standardised business processes and improved productivity across its operations in China, Germany, Japan, the US and the UK. "We have not just bought a product: we have invested in a partner and have chosen Infor because the company's expertise enables them to cover the majority of our requirements out-of-the-box," comments Wearing. "We have some demanding milestones for the time and cost of implementation, and we will be measuring productivity improvements to make sure that the application delivers," he continues. "But we are confident that both the company and the technology we have chosen will help us to achieve our growth strategy." Over the next three years, Oxford Instruments will deploy ERP Business across its world-wide businesses, replacing a portfolio of legacy systems and improving the links with existing applications. Wearing pints to Infor's 'straight-through processing' where, for example, components for customer requirements will be automatically sent to the relevant companies for fulfilment, without needing additional data entry. Following a 14-month tender process, ERP Business was chosen for its ability to deliver the necessary connectivity across Oxford Instruments, as well as its industry-specific functionality and scalability.