Cosworth Racing, a division of Ford Motor Co., knows that engineering efficiency is the key to success, especially when it comes to the engines it produces for a variety of motor sports, including Formula One, CART and the World Rally Championship. So when it was having problems communicating with its supply chain, it focused on increasing the engineering efficiency there as well.

The company decided to deploy Documentum’s eRoom to link up with its suppliers and improve its processes for purchasing parts and supplies. Documentum’s eRoom is a password security-based Web environment that lets users view, access, markup and share documents, without the need for setting up a physical space and traveling between sites.

Cosworth Racing uses eRoom to exchange technical specification and design data related to new product development. The initial pilot project with eRoom, with 14 suppliers, saw an immediate reduction in operating costs and an increase in procurement efficiencies. Eventually, the company believes the move will significantly reduce its order lead time and time to market. The pilot was so successful, in fact, that the company decided to roll it out to all of its key stock suppliers.

"We needed a secure, Web-based workspace that could be easily configured to suit our business process, that was easy for our buyers and suppliers to use, and could integrate with our existing ERP software," explained Jeremy Hill, head of business systems at Cosworth Racing. Documentum’s eRoom met all of those requirements, he said. "Also, the fact that our parent company Ford is a large eRoom user gave us confidence in the product."

For more information, visit Documentum here.