Toyota Material Handling is a global enterprise operating in more than 30 countries. Columbus collaboration with Toyota started many years ago and has gradually expanded and developed since then. Today, Columbus is responsible for the global operation and the support of the company’s IT platform for business systems.
Three parallel teams introduced M3 in 30 countries
"In close consultation with THM's employees, we started by developing a stable solution based on Infor's M3 business system. We installed, tested and adapted the system in one country before introducing it to another 30 countries. Three parallel teams travelled around different parts of the world and tailored the system to local requirements and conditions.
– It was a massive job that lasted a few months, and we received useful insights and much practical experience, says Jan Sellö, Sales Manager at Columbus and Chief Project Manager.
Then, a global support contract was established with monitoring, incident preparedness and other support, 24/7. Columbus took over the operation of Toyota's support centre in the Czech Republic.
Substantially lower IT costs
The result was a well-oiled ERP machinery where the center located in Prague exhibits just as high performance as similar operations in Sweden but at a substantially lower cost.
The same solution is used in all 30 countries. It simplifies the management of internal transactions between different companies within the corporate group and streamlines processes. It also makes it easy to see which affiliates are the most successful, so that their work can be used as a role model for other countries.
The system acts as a catalyst for initiating changes in the business, and it can gradually be adjusted on various parameters so that the solution is optimized everywhere.
Toyota has secured access to IT skills
Toyota's collaboration with Columbus has, among other things, led to the possibility of focusing more on the core of the business, but also secured access to skilled employees at the centre located in Prague.
If crucial personnel happen to get sick at the same time or leave the company, other employees with similar knowledge can be flown in within a couple of hours.