Z Nautic Group Floats to the Cloud with Infor

Renowned rigid inflatable boat manufacturer opts for Infor CloudSuite Equipment, a modern and scalable ERP solution, to optimise business processes and offer employees a new autonomy thanks to embedded analytical functionalities and an intuitive user interface.

RUEIL-MALMAISON, France – May 11, 2021 – Infor, the industry cloud company, today announced that Z Nautic Group — formerly known as Zodiac and whose boat brand has become synonymous with inflatable boats around the world — is deploying Infor CloudSuite Equipment, a multi-tenant cloud ERP system specifically designed for equipment manufacturers, dealers and rental companies. The project follows the group's demerger and the relocation of its French production unit to Tunisia, events that caused it to lose control of its IT tool in terms of distribution, equipment management and tracking of boats by serial number.

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Founded 125 years ago, Z Nautic has undergone several changes in recent years that have reshaped the company and its organisation. Today, with 600 employees, the group has 1,600 dealer partners (and a few distributors) throughout the world and is exclusively dedicated to the production and distribution of boats in the leisure and professional markets.

Z Nautic was already equipped with an older version of Infor M3, which it had not upgraded due to internal events and changes. In 2019, the company decided to transform its IT solution and entrusted Ernst & Young with an audit and market consultation. Following a call for tenders involving various vendors, Z Nautic chose Infor and its partner Hetic 3 at the end of 2020, opting for a cloud migration process rather than replacing its solution.

Anthony Chapeltegui, Z Nautic’s IT manager, says: "There were three main reasons for this choice. The first was Infor's ability to offer us standard business functionalities that were perfectly adapted to our equipment sales (including rental), spare parts management, procurement and stock management issues. The second is our desire to switch to a SaaS mode configuration for security, scalability, simplicity and reliability. The last is the integration of embedded analytical modules to be able, in the long term, to give our users control over the production of tables and reports, particularly by geographical area and by product."

Christophe Pino, Hetic 3’s sales manager, comments: "The relationship of trust we have had with Z Nautic for many years, as well as the cloud option offered by Infor, were key factors in their decision to migrate. This option offered real advantages in flexibility and scalability on demand, while respecting the customer's needs and financial capacities."

The solution, deployed in a multi-tenant cloud environment, will allow Z Nautic to eliminate time-consuming maintenance and upgrade processes for its IT team.

Today, while the pandemic crisis has accelerated the development of the equipment manufacturer's activities and filled its order book, 130 users will be working with the new Infor CloudSuite Equipment solution by the end of 2021. For the time being, all the functions that will use the new system (finance, production, sales, marketing, quality, product management, purchasing and supply) have participated in a series of remote training workshops organised by Hetic 3 and have validated the choice of the tool.

Chapeltegui concludes: "We were impressed by the user-friendly interface offered by Infor. It has won over our teams, taking them from the stone age to the digital age, with customised settings and displays to meet individual needs. Combined with strong process automation and workflow capabilities, we expect rapid performance gains once the solution is deployed and ultimately benefit from better knowledge of our dealers through improved data centralisation, as well as our time and budget."

The deployment of a customer and partner configurator is also expected to eventually offer greater fluidity and efficiency in terms of customisation and choice of options, but also management of associated parts, when building a boat.

About Z Nautic
With its unrivalled experience, Zodiac Nautic, the originator of major innovations in the field of inflatable boats, is today at the forefront of products and services in total harmony with the times. With 125 years of experience and as the inventor of the inflatable boat, Zodiac Nautic offers products of exceptional resistance and reliability thanks to materials and manufacturing processes that are always at the cutting edge of technology. Zodiac Nautic is present in more than 50 countries around the world and has more than 1,600 authorised dealers. Our mission: To enable everyone to experience unforgettable adventures on the water. Visit https://www.zodiac-nautic.com/en-us/

About Hetic 3
A subsidiary of the HELIOS Group, Hetic 3 is the result of more than 15 years of combined skills and experience. A recognised player in the integration of ERP solutions, Hetic 3's ambition is to position itself as a major partner of Infor for the distribution and implementation of the M3 solution. Hetic 3's activities are based on three main areas: distribution, integration and third-party application maintenance. Hetic 3 has nearly 70 consultants working in 4 agencies in France and serving more than 100 customers in the food, retail, industrial and fashion sectors. Its functional knowledge of the business, combined with its expertise in Infor M3 ERP, provides real added value and a guarantee for its clients' projects. Hetic 3 also offers a preconfigured M3 solution for the wine and spirits industry. Visit https://www.hetic3.fr/

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Media contact
Richard Moore
Infor PR, EMEA
+447976111243
Richard.Moore@infor.com