Infor, the largest global enterprise software provider focused on developing solutions for the manufacturing and distribution industries, has supplied its Infor Manufacturing Essentials for Automotive, Infor SupplyWeb software solution to Fairline Boats, one of Europe's largest manufacturers of luxury yachts, operating from three sites located in the Oundle and Corby areas in Northamptonshire, UK. Matthew Taylor, Fairline Boats' supply chain director, explained why the purchase of Infor SupplyWeb was an important decision for the company: 'Prior to sourcing and implementing SupplyWeb, we communicated with our suppliers primarily by email and written correspondence. We therefore had a well-defined need for the new system in terms of wanting to communicate more seamlessly with our suppliers, and for quick dispatch and receipt of forecasts and delivery instructions.' He continued: 'EDI is not appropriate for our sector; it is too complicated and too difficult to implement from our perspective.

There was clearly a role for a web-based product because most suppliers no matter how small have a web browser, and the ability to connect to, and communicate through, the web.' For Fairline, it was a question of finding a solutions provider that offered a web-based solution with the right functionality and flexibility.

'We surveyed a number of systems and the Infor solution appeared to be perfectly capable to meet our requirements,' said Taylor.