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Case Studies

FCC North America Shifts Business Processes Into Gear with Plex

Shifting Business Processes Into Gear — Then Maximizing Efficiency with Plex Platinum Support

FCC’s long track record of success as a manufacturer of clutches for cars and motorcycles began when the new company started supplying Honda in 1948. In recent years, FCC has pursued more business from other automakers—and realized that to serve these companies efficiently, it would need to digitize its paper-based shop floor processes in a modern enterprise resource planning system.

At A Glance

Technical Account Manager support leads to 10-15 minute case resolution time
Saved staffing dollars by utilizing Plex resources and expertise
Increased technology adoption resulting from mentoring sessions
Gained valuable insight to help drive business process improvements

We’re glad to be a Plex Platinum Support customer. Our needs are always heard and our issues are solved in a timely fashion. We also get the opportunity to provide our input to Plex, which is important to us. It’s good to know that our needs as a company are influencing Plex’s future development efforts.

Michael Hunt
ERP Systems Manager, FCC North America

When a tsunami hit Japan and FCC was forced to rethink its on-premise approach to computing, the company’s ERP evaluation process took a critical turn. Suddenly, FCC executives who had been adamant about keeping the company’s systems in-house were open to cloud solutions. That’s one of the major reasons why FCC chose to implement the Plex Smart Manufacturing Platform.

To maximize its experience, the FCC team then turned to Plex Platinum Support.

Driving Efficiency and Adoption with Plex Premium Support

With Plex Platinum Support, FCC gets prompt attention for its day-to-day support needs. Even hard-to-diagnose issues see timely resolutions. “With a sophisticated manufacturing ERP like Plex, many issues are hard to recreate,” explains Diane Parr, Senior Staff Engineer, and lead ERP Systems Implementation Administrator at FCC North America. “It’s easy to schedule a call with our Technical Account Manager (TAM) and work through it together. They’re always able to understand the root cause and find a solution. We’ve found they’re able to clear up most cases within 10 to 15 minutes of those conversations.”

The strategic value of working with Plex Platinum Support became apparent to FCC when the company first began transitioning to the Plex UX interface. FCC worked closely with Plex Platinum Support to determine the best time to make the switch.

FCC took advantage of mentoring sessions offered by Plex Platinum Support to ensure its team was trained and proficient on the interface. The result was greater and more successful adoption across the company.

“We ended up rolling out UX department-by-department across our company,” explains Parr. “To prepare our employees, we scheduled mentoring sessions with Plex Platinum Support. The Plex team was great at framing up the new functionality. That made a huge difference in getting our team to take the change seriously and embrace it.”

Growing Company Gets Timely Support, Keeps Overhead Down

As FCC continues to attract new customers and expand its business, the company will rely on Plex Platinum Support to help it get the most out of Plex without exceeding its IT budget.

“If money were no object, we could hire 10 more people and try to develop them to the level of expertise we’d need,” says Hunt. “Plex Platinum Support gives us the expertise we need right when we need it, in a way that respects our budget. We’re saving staffing dollars by utilizing Plex’s expertise and generating efficiencies in the process,” says Hunt.

Beyond the cost savings, Hunt also believes in the relationship FCC and Plex have developed.

About FCC North America

FCC Logo 800x800

FCC North America is a clutch assembly manufacturer with comprehensive product development and manufacturing systems, encompassing everything from development of friction material to assembly. FCC has an extensive friction material catalog that covers automotive, powersports, and power equipment.

Industry: Manufacturing

Location: Portland, IN