SAP Perfect Lap Issue 03
Leading the SAP integration process at McLaren is
Chief Information Officer Stuart Birrell and he has
no doubts as to the benefits optimised software and
IT integration can bring: “McLaren is a high-tech
company,” he says. “We are founded on technology
and how we apply technology, so as a CIO, my role is
enabling the technology to be applied to the business
to get the business results. So we help and work
with all the technology teams across the business
to answer questions such as: ‘How do they go to
market?’; ‘How do they make things faster, slicker?’;
‘How do we become cheaper?’ and ‘How do we get the
best out of the engineers?’
It’s evident, therefore, that there’s a natural synergy
between McLaren’s goals and the way SAP’s products
and systems are designed to run. Both companies
are intent on maximising efficiencies and replacing
complexity with elegant simplicity – running simple,
in the broadest sense. And while the notions of
‘simplicity’ may seem at odds with a company driven
by high-tech aspirations, that’s a false perception,
reckons Birrell. “We stay competitive by a variety of
means. And really, it’s about the competitive edge. It
drives innovation. It drives competition. We bring in
the brightest and best from the top universities and
allowing those guys the freedom to go and work the
ideas, give them a problem, ask them to go solve it…
it’s really inspiring when you see some of the relatively
simple solutions to complex problems.”
Cross-group implementation of new IT systems to
replace home-grown utilities is not the work of a
moment, however, and McLaren are still working
through their SAP integration programme. Already all
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HR functions are running through SAP software, Birrell
confirms, as are finance, procurement and projects.
The next element in the cross-Group implementation
process is to bring SAP to McLaren’s automotive
business – the section of the company building ultradesirable high-performance cars. In recent years there
has been a rapid growth for McLaren Automotive and
in keeping with the rest of the McLaren Group the
company has ambitious plans for the future.
In 2011 the company moved into the McLaren
Production Centre, a 34,500 sq meter purpose built
facility next the McLaren Technology Centre. 2015
sees McLaren Automotive launch the third car in their
model range, significantly increasing production and
demands on the business so with this in mind SAP
have been helping McLaren drive innovation with a
single group wide IT platform to support this growth.
Scheduled for the first quarter of 2015, McLaren
Automotive will be implementing SAP Finance, SAP
Project Systems, and SAP ERP to compliment SAP HR
that has been live for some time.
Replacing an old legacy home grown system the
continued deployment of SAP will see decision
making and management information unified in a
single system, simplifying operations for better cost
management, optimizing resources and enabling
easier financial reporting. However as Birrell highlights
McLaren’s customers will benefit too, “The ultimate
benefit for our customers is a much more agile service.
When a customer configures a car online and then
visits one of our retailers to buy that car, the retailer
will be able to pull that configuration out, which in turn