Client background

A leading global manufacturer of precision-engineered assemblies and modules for the automotive, multiuse vehicle and furniture industries. 

The business challenge

The company made the decision to deploy the Plex Manufacturing Cloud as their corporate standard ERP system and implemented Phase 1 eight-plus years ago in three locations in Michigan. In Phase 1, they worked with Baker Tilly to develop and deploy a “common model” for the Plex implementation. This established the baseline functionality that would be deployed and utilized at each site. In Phase 2, the company embarked on deploying Plex to their international sites in Queretaro and Naucalpan Mexico. The introduction of the Mexican entities presented a number of challenges because some international aspects were not considered in the build out of the Phase 1 “common model.” These included:

• Electronic invoicing
• Currency conversion methodologies
• GL structure
• Costing impacts due to currency conversions
• Differing taxation rules
• Difference in reporting periods between corporate and the Mexican government
• Language barriers

Other Phase 2 implementation challenges included:

• Costing methodologies utilized in legacy systems
• Existing robust visual manufacturing techniques
• Integration of shop floor machines

The Baker Tilly approach

The decision to move to Plex from the legacy systems in Mexico necessitated a rapid GAP analysis and the utilization of a global compliance approach. The implementation at the Mexico sites started in April with a go-live for Queretaro in August and October for Naucalpan. The majority of the functionality defined in the Phase 1 “common model” was put to use at each site on day one. Both sites experienced the need to adjust certain processes to adhere to localization requirements, so enhancements were made to the common model in order to continue industry best practices that were already established at the Mexican facilities.

• Implemented Kanban functionality within Plex at the Queretaro facility to continue use of visual manufacturing techniques
• Full adoption of MRP driven decision making at the Naucalpan facility for the deferment of head count additions in the planning department

The business impact

The following global compliance issues were addressed:

• Identification and implementation of a third party “e-factura” or electronic invoicing that was closely integrated with Plex and approved by the Mexican government. This fulfilled a regulatory requirement at both sites.
• Establishment of appropriate currency clearing accounts allowing for Plex to manage exchange rates and eliminate a number of MS Excel tracking files
• Adherence to government general ledger references for reporting purposes
• Adjusted costing procedures to ensure accurate costing means and methods were being utilized throughout the international locations
• Enabled advanced taxation tables, allowing for the automatic calculation of multiple taxations utilized in Mexico and Europe

For more information on this topic, or to learn how Baker Tilly specialists can help, contact our team.