Nagares / IBM

Targeting 28 percent growth through better management of changing client requirements.

Founded in 1971 in Motilla del Palancar, Spain, Nagares manufactures and distributes electronic and spare parts for leading automotive brands, including Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Renault, Nissan and Ford. With a steady 10 percent year-on-year growth since the early 1990s, Nagares generated revenues of EUR67 million in 2013, and has a target of increasing revenues by 28 percent to EUR86 million by 2016.

Setting the scene

Nagares manufactures electromechanical and electronic components for major global automotive brands. The technical, performance and delivery requirements set by its clients change constantly, and business flexibility is almost as important as price and product.

Camilo Gómez, Chief Operations & Technical Officer at Nagares, elaborates, “Tenders to supply and manage the contracts not only require us to provide better prices, but also to showcase our ability to meet ever-changing requirements. Being awarded the management of prestigious projects is important because it enables us to raise our partnership level. For example, moving from a tier-two to a tier-one partnership translates into an opportunity to oversee more and higher value projects, which will help us to achieve our target in revenue growth.”

New technology supports Nagares in meeting its automotive clients’ constantly changing requirements. “Our business fully embraces technology and is always willing to invest in the best. With IBM Rational DOORS, our clients know that we can support their quality and time-to-market objectives,” says Alfredo Perez, Head of Project Management at Nagares.

Nagares wanted to be certain that it captured and complied with all the technical, design, performance and related requirements – in particular, as they changed over time. If the company was to hit its growth targets, it needed a way to ensure reliable and accurate requirements management across large numbers of projects and clients. The company’s existing approaches to requirements management could not easily scale to manage growing client demands, risking error and missed opportunities.

 

 

Cutting-edge technology for higher-value projects

As Nagares runs fully integrated electronic document interchange (EDI) processes with its clients, much of the data is already available; the key is to embed the processes in the company’s operations. As requirements change over time, Nagares needed to be sure that it could manage them effectively – and turned to IBM Business Partner Itera Process Consulting for trusted assistance.

Alfredo Perez says, “The Itera Process Consulting team is fully certified in IBM software, has a strong can-do attitude and took the time to develop a complete understanding of our needs. Itera showcased the features of IBM Rational DOORS and showed how we would benefit; their expertise convinced us that they were the right partner.”

Nagares selected IBM Rational DOORS software to capture, trace, analyze and manage changes to projects and contracts, ensuring accurate monitoring of each development phase, and delivering products that are in full compliance with safety regulations and industry standards.

Alfredo Perez says, “With IBM Rational DOORS, we can manage our clients’ changing requirements in a centralized location for better team collaboration. The solution generates automatic visual notifications of requirement changes in an easy-to-grasp way, allowing us to tailor our processes accordingly with zero impact on time, budget and resources.”

Passing the requirement test with flying colors

The IBM Rational DOORS solution supports Nagares in the design, verification, development and launch of new, more environmentally sustainable products. Increasingly, clients want to see evidence of capabilities, and that suppliers manage and control every step of the business process.

Alfredo Perez comments, “For example, during a recent visit to our production facilities in Madrid, the Mercedes-Benz team was impressed to see how fully DOORS has been integrated into our business processes.

“IBM Rational DOORS is Mercedes-Benz’ requirements management platform of choice, and implementing it helped highlight our continuing commitment to the highest safety standards. By deploying an advanced solution favored by leaders in the automotive industry, our credibility as a provider has risen – opening up new business opportunities within our existing client base.”

Following implementation, Nagares has secured a top-tier partnership with Mercedes-Benz, as Alfredo Perez explains, “Mercedes-Benz has trusted us throughout our tier-two partnership, and implementing IBM Rational DOORS has been key in unlocking the value of a tier-one collaboration.”

Driving towards 28 percent growth

With the IBM Rational DOORS solution in place, Nagares is well-placed to grow its operations, managing project scope and complexity even when workload levels peak unexpectedly.

“We deployed IBM Rational DOORS for a project on vehicle carbon emissions with the aim of creating greener solutions for Mercedes-Benz” North American market. We believe that this could be the first step towards leading similar projects in the future, which could make a significant contribution to our revenue growth,” says Alfredo Perez.

He concludes, “The deployment of the IBM solution with Mercedes-Benz has been so successful that we are already planning to use IBM Rational DOORS to raise our partnership levels with other clients. Thanks to IBM and Itera Process Consulting, we’re well placed to win higher-value projects, boost our market share and achieve our 2016 revenue-growth objective.”

About Itera Process Consulting

Working with clients across Spain and South America, Itera Process Consulting is a service provider that delivers cutting-edge solutions to improve IT and business processes.

With 13 years in the market and a track record of hundreds of successful projects, Itera Process Consulting has strengthened its relationship with IBM by becoming a Premier Business Partner, with special expertise in IBM Rational software.

To learn more about products, services and solutions from Itera Process Consulting, please visit:

http://www.iteraprocess.com/

For more information

To learn more about IBM Rational solutions, contact your IBM representative or IBM Business Partner, or visit the following website:
ibm.com/software/products/en/ratidoor

 

© Copyright IBM Corporation 2014

IBM España S. A.

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Spain

Produced in Spain

April 2014


Artículo original.