Infor, a leading provider of business application software serving more than 70,000 customers, has announced that Zahid Tractor & Heavy Machinery, the Saudi Arabian Caterpillar dealer as well as the Volvo and Renault Truck dealer, will be the first Zahid Group company to implement Infor M3 for Equipment in a two-year roll out.
The Infor M3 solution, composed of scalable applications critical to the equipment industry including Supply Chain Execution, Warehouse Mobility, Sales Management and Financial Accounting, is expected to help Zahid increase visibility of critical business information, support the smooth flow of data between departments and streamline business processes across 40 sites. The contract was signed and will be implemented by Infor with the participation of Accentia Middle East, Infor’s M3 partner for the Middle East and North Africa.
Zahid conducted an exhaustive review of other solutions available to Caterpillar dealers worldwide. Infor M3 was deemed the best application, and both Infor and Accentia were selected because of their extensive industry expertise and longstanding history working with equipment organizations.
The two year implementation, replacing an older system, will help empower 400 users at 40 sites across Saudi Arabia including diverse divisions for construction machinery, commercial vehicles, machine and power rental, as well as the CAT Rental Store.
Infor’s specialized applications specifically designed for the Equipment, Service, Management and Rental industry will make for a faster and more efficient installation over the next two years.
Zahid chose Infor and Accentia as together they have demonstrated the fullest understanding of the company’s business model and its commitment to supporting its future growth.
Infor M3 for Equipment will streamline key information across all 40 sites from sales, service, warranty, finance, and rental departments within a single, central business system. Having one source of information will help to reduce costs whilst providing better customer service through a real-time flow of accurate information.
Additionally, Zahid is taking advantage of the Infor for M3 Equipment system’s use of Caterpillar-specific interfaces for automating service, parts ordering, parts shipment sales, and warranty.
Infor M3 for Equipment also supports the operational departments at Zahid by allowing them to enter information directly into the system, automating financial entries for cost accounting and accounts payable, and reducing the need for the finance team to request data from other departments, which streamlines the process and keeps staff on task.
The two year project embraces numerous group companies: Zahid Tractor & Heavy Machinery Co. Ltd (including its 3 divisions; Construction Machinery, Commercial Vehicles and Rental); Arabian Vehicles and Trucks Industry; TAMGO; Zahid Industries Ltd and Al Taaqa Alternative Solutions Ltd.
“Our business divisions have seen major growth over the last four years. But our legacy systems proved too difficult to maintain and cope with the continuously changing and growing requirements coming both from our suppliers and our internal and external customers,” said Joseph Hrawi, director ERP for the Zahid Group. “We found in the M3, Infor and Accentia combination a best fit for a Heavy Equipment dealer and Power Rental company like ours. We were looking for a completely integrated system capable of helping us with our ambitious growth plans and we believe we’ve found it.”
“Equipment dealers operate in an extremely competitive and challenging market, and so Infor has created a true value-added community by establishing an equipment center of excellence in Sweden and a CAT community where dealers like Zahid can collaborate with similar dealers round the world,” said Samir Alwani, CEO & president, Accentia. “This community and the strength of the Infor M3 application for equipment can really help dealers operate more strategically and profitably in the years ahead.”