nVent, a global leader in electrical connection and protection solutions, has completed the first phase of its Infor M3 CloudSuite deployment in Europe and in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, led together with global IT cloud consultancy companies Columbus and Infor. This project is part of a multi-year digital transformation of capabilities, business processes and technology solutions all focused on enhancing digital end-to-end customer journey, making it frictionless and easy for customers to do business with nVent.
nVent is focusing on four strategic pillars in its digital transformation: digitizing go-to-market, digitizing operations, data platform and analytics capabilities and innovating through connected solutions and software-enabled products. nVent’s partnership with Columbus and Infor is a key piece of the digitize operations pillar of its digital strategy. Becoming a 100% cloud company and modernizing its ERP is a critical piece of making sure the operations side of the company is ready to support a seamless customer journey.
Empowering employees & improving efficiency
nVent rolled out its new Infor M3 CloudSuite, running on Amazon Web Services (AWS), at its site in Andrezieux, France, in the first half of 2021, Tilburg, Netherlands, in the first half of 2022 and five sites in Asia Pacific (Shanghai, Qingdao, Singapore, Hong Kong and Sydney) in the 4th quarter of 2022. The goal of the project was to consolidate its ERP systems into one single core solution, with the goal of streamlining its processes, enhancing efficiency and improving customer equity.
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Photo: Implementing Infor CloudSuite has empowered nVent's employees and improved efficiency of their overall business processes.
“A few years ago, we surveyed our employees and found that “barriers to execution” was a large concern for them. As nVent grows, our processes and systems need to scale with our business so that our employees don’t need to spend time shielding our customers from inefficiencies,” says Vice President of Digital Transformation Andy Hohman, also adding that:
"The M3 journey is giving our teams the tools to fully support our customers and make sure they have a fast, simple and fruitful experience with nVent, so they can better support their customers.”
“This journey has dramatically enhanced our velocity by shrinking lead times, improving customer response times, and lowering processing costs, all with the goal of driving value for our customers and improving their experience,” says Vice President of Information Technology, Mufaddal Photographer, and continues:
"It has also empowered our employees and improved efficiency of our business processes. nVent is ready and willing to rethink and change how we do business today in order to build on our success and ensure lasting benefits for customers, employees, and shareholders.”
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Photo: Mufaddal Photographer, Vice President of Information Technology at nVent.
Digitizing end-to-end- supply chain processes
Among several vendors evaluated, Columbus, with Infor M3 CloudSuite was the preferred ERP choice for achieving nVent’s goals. One advantage for Columbus was its “glocal” (global and local) consultants available to support nVent business operations at all sites around the world.
“We wanted a tailor-made system that could meet our high demands and help us digitize end-to-end supply chain processes from planning to shipping. Infor M3 CloudSuite was the best possible solution for us as it clearly felt made-to-measure for the manufacturing industry. We have also offered associated training to get everyone acquainted with the new ERP system, a decision that has proven valuable for us,” says Photographer.
“nVent now boosts its performance and efficiency in areas that are essential to its manufacturing organization – with improved customer engagements, operations, and an even more well-organized supply chain as a result,” says Ed Allen, Infor’s executive vice president for discrete manufacturing industries in the US, while adding:
“Its decision to implement Infor M3 CloudSuite helped it transform its business and now provides access to the industry best practices, emerging technology, and consumable data it needs to grow and thrive—all within a smaller IT footprint than it had before.”
Columbus is one of Infor’s largest channel and alliance partners, with offices in 13 countries around the world and a global team of experienced Infor consultants. After a successful implementation for nVent’s sites in France and The Netherlands, nVent and Columbus have now rolled out Infor M3 CloudSuite at nVent’s Asia Pacific sites. They plan to bring the system to several of its North America sites in 2023, including additional Infor modules and new integrations.
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Photo: Tina Algkvist, Business Line Executive for Columbus' global Infor M3 business
“The project is still ongoing and engages a team of approximately 100 nVent and Columbus resources across several continents with project governance managed in Europe and the United States. Columbus has been involved in the nVent transformation project since the beginning and will continue through go-live and post-live stabilization,” says Tina Algkvist, Business Line Executive for Columbus' global Infor M3 business, and continues:
“We are proud of the collaboration and partnership between our consultants, nVent and Infor. Columbus’ expertise in IT, efficiency, process improvement, and digital leadership was a valued contribution to the success of the implementation. We are focused on helping nVent leverage best practices and achieve a stronger, more efficient production community, with the end-customer at the center.”
