Our competence center is at the wheel
A high dynamic, strict quality controls and the need to keep optimizing processes are just a few of the challenges that the automotive industry faces on a daily basis. Overcoming all these obstacles and even gaining a competitive edge requires a strong ERP system.
Which requirements does an ERP solution have to meet in order to effectively drive customers in this industry? We at proALPHA have been dealing with this for quite some time and even founded our own competence center – with experts who know exactly where the problems lie. One of our automotive experts is Ralf Marchlewitz. In this interview, he gives us insights into the tasks of the competence center and explains what benefits he and his team offer our customers.
| Ralf Marchlewitz Automotive Expert at proALPHA |
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What are the tasks of our competence center for automotive?
The team at our competence center for automotive – also known as CCA – is responsible for the industry specialization in automotive. One of the essential tasks is consulting, which is provided by experienced consultants from the industry. At the CCA, we also drive the development of the software forward to provide our customers with the right support, even if the requirements of the market change.
Our precise knowledge of the market is based, firstly, on our project experience and, secondly, on our networking with various institutes and associations. This also includes well-known associations such as the ITA Automotive Service Partner (ITA) or the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA), with whom we're collaborating on various projects. In this context, I also want to highlight the 3-stage certification by ITA/VDA, which we successfully completed as the first ERP provider in 2020.
Another main aspect is the cooperation with our group companies or other strategic partners, such as Böhme&Weihs for quality management or Rocket and PROHERIS in EDI.
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What are the key proALPHA solutions for the industry and what added value do they offer our customers?
Knowing and understanding the challenges of the industry is essential to providing our customers with the most relevant and key solutions in the proALPHA standard version. This includes, for example, the extremely high pressure for innovation, the strong dependence on a few OEMs and Tier1 customers, and the strict quality requirements in terms of traceability and related issues. Industry-specific functions can be derived based on these challenges.
This results in the functional strengths of our ERP solution. We know the requirements and processes of the industry very well and are able to support our customers competently. This is also reflected in the "ERP System of the Year 2021" award in the category "Automotive", which we received at the ERP Congress at the end of October.
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The next release is around the corner: What improvements can our customers expect in proALPHA Version 8?
The new version comes with several new features. Standing still means falling behind and standing still is not what SMEs do. Thanks to the continuous improvement of our software, we are able to provide our customers with extensive new functions in the upcoming version again. There are new functionalities for shipping, staging and packaging material.
