AutoBytes: The electronic newsletter for members of the MEMA Information
Services Council |
April 2006 |
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Chris Gardner |
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Member Profile Carlos Cabrera Carlos Cabrera truly understands the supplier IT environment. He has 39 years of overall IT experience, including 35 years with Sun Chemical Corp. and three years at Exide Technologies, where he currently serves as the company’s Vice President and CIO. Exide is a leading supplier of batteries for automotive and other transportation applications. Cabrera is responsible for Exide’s global IT infrastructure and applications and has 100 IT professionals and 30 FTE people from consultants and EDS helping him keep the servers running and applications performing. Business needs drive Exide’s approach to providing IT services. Cabrera works closely with business leaders to identify projects that will support efforts to achieve objectives and add value to the corporation. Cost-effective solutions are implemented, and in many cases providers are brought in as partners to help Exide minimize its investments during the initial phases of projects. The IT staff surrounds core legacy applications with “best-in-class” solutions to meet functional gaps and ensure the solutions will work well with future ERP decisions. IT currently is implementing a new Intranet portal, a new BI solution for sales reporting, upgrading its global data network (converting from frame relay to MPLS) and legacy application enhancements. Future projects include e-commerce, HRMS, planning and forecasting. Cabrera graduated from New York University and received a Masters in Information Systems from Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey. He enjoys spending time with his four children and six grandchildren, traveling and visiting new places. He hopes to improve his golf and tennis games soon. |
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MEMA’s Strategic Services & Technology department recently announced the hiring of Zoltan Borsodi for the position of Web Support Manager. Borsodi has 14 years of IT and finance experience and seven years of Web application development experience. His expertise in Web development and design, network and system administration, and programming will be fully utilized in his role of managing more than 15 Web sites for MEMA associations, councils and groups. |
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| NEW FALL CONFERENCE FORMAT |
| The MIS Council board of governors has worked diligently to modify the format of the annual Fall Conference. Two new aspects to the event will ensure members receive the highest value possible. A three-hour session on Monday afternoon will enable attendees to collaborate on developing the basis for best practices for a specific issue facing aftermarket suppliers. An entire session on Tuesday afternoon will focus on the e-commerce and IT direction of customers. Technology executives from O’Reilly Auto Parts, The International Group (GPI/CARQUEST), Genuine Parts / NAPA and Midwest Wheel have agreed to present and participate on a panel. Speaker details will be provided in a future issue of AutoBytes. |
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| AUTOMOTIVE SUPPLIER IT SURVEY BRIEFING |
Several MIS Council members participated in an automotive industry IT survey conducted by Deloitte Consulting. The results of the survey will be presented at an OESA (Original Equipment Suppliers Association) briefing on May 3 at the MSU Management Education Center in Troy, Mich. Joseph Bulat, director of ITM global procurement and supply for DaimlerChrysler, will present a keynote address on supply chain initiatives at DCX during the briefing. Visit http://oesa.org//events/eventdetail.php?eventId=311 for additional information and to register. |
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| CIO/CTO FOCUS GROUP |
MEMA will be conducting a focus group activity for IT/IS executives soon. The purpose of the activity is to identify the most critical issues and challenges facing aftermarket and heavy duty parts suppliers and develop a direction for addressing them. Several members have volunteered to participate, but a few more are needed. Please contact Chris Gardner, cgardner@mema.org, with the name of your IT executive to ensure your company’s perspective is included in the process. |
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| MEMBER NEWS |
An updated roster of MIS Council members is now available on the Web site (www.miscouncil.org) and can be accessed by last names of individuals or by company name. Required password was e-mailed in early April. Don’t forget to send your news to AutoBytes (info@miscounci.org). We want to share with other members your department expansions, new implementations, promotions and other news. |
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| MEMBERS ARE ASKING |
Don't forget our "Members Are Asking" service. This enables you to ask technical questions of other members without worrying about non-members bothering you. Simply e-mail info@miscouncil.org and use "Members Are Asking" for the subject. Include your question, and the Council staff will send the questions to our manufacturing members. Watch for a new "Members Are Asking" submission very soon on Labor and Productivity Management applications. |
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| FAST FACTS AND IT STATS |
2006 Project Spend
Source: BASELINE Top 10 Projects in 2006 survey Internet Use in China Growing Fast
Source: Computer Industry Almanac Credit Card Guideline Compliance Source: VISA USA E-learning
Source: IDC Compliance Technology Investment Source: AMR Research |
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| MIS COUNCIL SPONSORS |
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