Managing Automation - December 2007 - (Page 13) Quote of the MONTH That idea has now become reality. The facility, based in Raleigh, NC, will serve as a learning center where customers and OEMs can play with product and consult with engineers prior to making an investment. More important, the many variations of services Schneider Electric now offers provide a way for users to customize an integrated system that will meet their industry-specific needs. Schneider Electric has hired more than 50 specialists in the areas of food and beverage, oil and gas, automotive, logistics, water/wastewater, power, mining, and metal and minerals to help customers build turnkey technology solutions that will improve their companies’ operational performance. The effort is part of a plan to achieve doubledigit revenue growth in 2008 for the North American automation and control business, 30% of which will come from services, officials said. “Here in the U.S., we are in a challenging position,” Gravitt told Managing Automation, explaining that the company is competing with automation companies that have a foothold in some of the same markets. Schneider Electric thinks enhanced services — a free planning analysis tool, an online learning system, as well as the typical engineering, migration, and repair services — will help bring companies to Schneider. In today’s world, success is about building relationships, Gravitt said. “It’s our willingness to be flexible with customers and work with them in multiple ways to solve problems,” he said. Of course, the shift from selling product to selling solutions and services requires a savvier sales force who can sell an integrated offering of technology under the Schneider Electric umbrella. To do that, the company is appointing “relationship managers” — people who orchestrate other parties to deliver whatever the end user needs, even if it’s helping a U.S.based manufacturer set up shop in China. The Raleigh Automation and Control Innovation center is one of three such facilities Schneider has in the world. But the company is building similar facilities for other areas of its business. For example, a St. Louis-based Technology Center, which also opened in October, focuses on Schneider Electric’s APC-MGE power backup unit, which serves industry, energy, and infrastructure markets. Collectively, the new technology and innova- tion centers represent a transformation for the company. “We’ve reached a new level of expectation, service, and quality,” said Chris Curtis, president of Schneider Electric USA. — Stephanie Neil “We’ve been shocked by how unorganized the [close] process is.” — says Therese Tucker, CEO of Blackline Systems THE FINANCIAL CLOSING PROCESS GETS SOME HELP For the Continued from page 10 Record O ver the years, manufacturers have spent much time, effort, and money improving and modernizing their financial systems. Investments in enterprise resource planning systems, for example, which have become the financial backbones of many companies, have been large both before and after Y2K and are continuing apace today. These systems have automated the accounts receivable, general ledger, and accounts payable functions, among others, helping many a manufacturer get a more accurate and complete picture of how they are performing. But there’s still one aspect of these financial operations — the close process — that cries out for attention, according to Blackline Systems, a 6-year old Calabasis, CA-based software company. In a recent briefing, Blackline founder and CEO Therese Tucker said that many companies are closing their books either manually or using spreadsheets, leading to errors. And many companies face the problem of having multiple general ledger systems. Moreover, she claimed, ERP systems don’t have the functionality to automate the close process effectively. “We’ve been shocked by how unorganized the Therese Tucker process is,” Tucker said. Her company, which was originally named Oasba, Inc., but changed its name to Blackline last year, started out by developing a wealth management system. Early clients were Merrill Lynch and the First National Bank of Nebraska. In January 2004, Blackline came out with a balance sheet account reconciliation product. Today, the Blackline software has six modules: balance sheet reconciliation, task management, journal approvals, variance analysis, Komatsu America Corp. integrated the Servigistics service parts management product into its parts business ERP system. Canon Inc. selected Siemens PLM Software’s NX and Teamcenter software as its global PLM platform. The J.M. Smucker Co. implemented Terra Technology’s demand sensing software. Beiersdorf AG, a manufacturer of skin and beauty care products, deployed Sopheon’s Accolade PLM system for product development and product portfolio decision-making and reporting. FINANCIALS Business Objects recorded a 67% decline in third-quarter net income, to $6.4 million, on increased revenue of $369 million. The company blamed the decline on a license revenue shortfall and recent acquisitions. Business Objects, itself, agreed to be acquired by SAP. The TRUMPF Group finished its 2007 fiscal year with an 18% increase in sales, to €1.94 billion, and net income of €206.8 million, up from €154 million a year earlier. M&As PTC acquired Logistics Business Systems for its logistics support products for aerospace & defense and civil aviation. PA R T N E R S H I P S Business intelligence vendor ClickBase joined the IFS North American software partner program. eZcom Software is using Extol International’s Business Integrator software to offer EDI and multi-enterprise integration via the software-as-a-service model. Information Builders is bundling ESRI ArcGIS Server with its WebFOCUS business intelligence and iWay Software integration software, Parity Corp. is partnering with Preactor International for its planning and production scheduling software and RedTail for its Transaction Manager software. 13 December 2007
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