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Case Studies
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INFINITE Corporation enjoys significant industry experience and many client engagements. |
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Global Automotive Ltd. is the No. 1 supplier of automotive
Importer/Distributor systems in the world and one of the top three
suppliers of Dealer Management Systems in Europe. Global has 3 offices
in the UK, plus a network of subsidiaries and partners worldwide to
provide delivery and support on a local basis.
Jan Jarvis, Global's Marketing Manager, explains how, using BABYiSeries,
the company has extended the life-cycle of its existing software
packages to help retain the loyalty of its customer base and enable new
business opportunities.
Using the INFINITE Corporation range of products, Global Automotive is now
able to offer several of its solutions, originally developed for the IBM
midrange market, on Unix platforms.
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The company
Global Automotive is part of the DCS Group plc whose headquarters are
based in London. We are a recognized leading international supplier of
computer systems and services for the automotive industry. The Company's
unique identifier is its ability to supply systems to cover the complete
automotive distribution process from the time a vehicle leaves the
factory to its arrival in the customers' driveway. Our fully integrated
systems control the process from the importer/distributor level through
to the franchised dealer operations.
With thousands of satisfied customers, Global Automotive is a market
leader in the worldwide automotive distribution sector. Our importer
solutions are used by over 30% of franchises in the UK and we have more
than 5000 Dealer Management System installations across Europe in local
languages and currencies.
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Communication is the key to dealership success
The automotive dealership market is highly specialized and the industry is
constantly changing. Good communication between distributor and dealer
is the key to success. An advanced level of data exchange is essential
so that all members of the chain can communicate directly with each
other. Our applications are designed to meet the needs of motor dealers,
whether they are single location sites or multi-franchise, multi
location groups. By understanding our customers' ever changing business
needs, we are constantly developing our applications to deliver real,
tangible benefits for the day-to-day business operations.
Global Automotive is one of IBM's largest Business Partners, with the
distinction of being accredited 'Centre of Excellence' for both the IBM
AS/400 and AIX platforms for outstanding technical support services.
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Unix chosen for speed, capacity and independence
Originally our application packages were written for the IBM Midrange
System/36 and AS/400. These platforms were reliable, efficient and
popular with both our customers and ourselves. However, in recent years,
manufacturers have demanded Unix applications for their dealer networks
as they felt this was the way forward in building business solutions.
The appeal of Unix was the much improved speed and capacity it offered
compared with IBM's proprietary systems. Furthermore, it would mean
independence from a single hardware supplier, plus would allow access to
a wider range of leading-edge Unix software. The result was that we
adapted several of our solutions for Unix to meet the requirements of
all the major franchises.
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UNIBOL36 delivers modern applications without rewriting
We needed to get our older applications, named Dealerman, Motis and
RDS, to Unix. All three were originally developed for the System/36
platform. Rewriting the packages for Unix was not an option, as this
process would have been too complicated, time-consuming and costly. More
importantly, our DMS packages were well established in the marketplace
and very popular amongst our customers.
INFINITE Corporation’s UNIBOL36 tool provided us with the perfect solution.
UNIBOL36 replicated the complete System/36 development and execution
environment on Unix. This has enabled us to protect our customers'
investment in their existing software and staff skills, whilst
benefiting from the numerous valuable extensions to the System/36
environment.
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BABYiSERIES opens doors to modern technology
Now we are in the process of converting many of our Motis customers to our
MOTIS/Unix package, using BABYiSERIES. MOTIS was also developed for the
AS/400 but has been rehosted to Unix using BABYiSERIES, the most cost
effective method of rehosting AS/400 applications to Open Systems. The
Unix version of MOTIS, running under BABYiSERIES, has provided our
customers with a much richer product in terms of its functionality.
BABYiSERIES proved to be the ideal tool to get MOTIS onto Unix. It totally
avoided the need to rewrite our applications. Since BABYISERIES rehosted
MOTIS at source code level, the applications on Unix have the same look
and feel as they do on the AS/400. This means that our developers can
maintain the familiar AS/400 environment, minimizing the need for
retraining of our customers and enabling them to enjoy all the benefits
of Unix.
Using BABYiSERIES, we have been able to move our customers forward onto
modern hardware technology, and provide applications which are faster
and which require minimum storage space. An additional benefit has been
the reduced volume of physical space required to house an RS/6000 over
an AS/400 machine. This has been particularly beneficial for smaller
retail dealers.
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Customer base is protected against Unix competitors
Most importantly for us, BABYiSERIES has allowed us to safeguard our
customer base. Had we not been able to provide our clients with a Unix
solution, we would undoubtedly have lost them to our Unix competitors.
What's more, BABYiSERIES has given us the opportunity to grow our
business, allowing us to market and sell our MOTIS solution into a
market which was otherwise inaccessible.
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BABYiSERIES implemented at Renault Trucks
We recently installed the package at Renault Trucks (RVI). With its
headquarters based in Dunstable, there are 15 Renault Truck dealers
throughout the UK. Renault Trucks are now using our MOTIS solution
running on Hewlett Packard's HP 9000, using BABYISERIES, at all of its
15 sites. MOTIS has provided them with the ideal solution to ensure
excellent data exchange between headquarters and dealers.
Naj Quaddrei, Operations Manager at Renault Truck Commercial is delighted
with the new software:
"BABYiSERIES is totally seamless and crucial to our business success.
We are delighted with BABYiSERIES. One of its greatest benefits has been
its seamless integration into our product. It is now an integral part of
our MOTIS software. Customers do not know it is there! This is how it
should be and is a real testament to how it suits our purpose."
"BABYiSERIES has been crucial to the success of our business. We are
greatly encouraged by the new business opportunities it has brought us."
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| AT INFINITE Corporation, OUR GOALS ARE SIMPLE: |
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TRADEMARKS
Copyright © 2010 INFINITE Corporation. IBM Midrange,AS/400,
OS/400 and System/36 are registered trademarks of the IBM Corporation.Windows,
Internet Explorer, Visual Basic,VB Scripting are registered trademarks of
Microsoft. INFINITEweb, INFINITE BI, INFINITEiSeries, INFINITE 36 are registered trademarks of INFINITE Corporation. All other
product and brand names are registered trademarks of their respective companies. No part of this document may be reproduced without written permission of INFINITE Corporation.
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