Click Clack gets its Customer Management under control with Informatica

Wellington, New Zealand, September 27, 2007—Informatica Corporation (NASDAQ: INFA), a leading provider of data integration software, today announced that Click Clack Limited, a major leading New Zealand manufacturer, has now fully implemented its Informatica solution and stands poised to reap the benefits of having full control over its customer data. 

Previously, Click Clack’s operations in the US had relied on a third party logistics company in turn using a third party electronic data interchange (EDI) provider to handle the transactions between click clack US sales offices and customers causing a delay in timing to finalise all functions. As a result, Click Clack did not have a holistic view of its inventory, which meant risking delays in order processing.

To solve the problem, the company needed to integrate all of its US-based customer and inventory records in EDI format into the company’s internal SAP enterprise resource planning (ERP) suite.

Click Clack’s IT team implemented Informatica Complex Data Exchange in-house in an accelerated timeframe, enabling the company to translate its EDI format orders into XML IDOC then into SAP IDOC. To assist in the implementation, Click Clack’s SAP Business Analyst was remotely trained by Informatica, which then allowed him to map EDI document standards into SAP for use on SAP XI servers.

The new system allows Click Clack to set up direct trading partnerships with its EDI customers, helping it bypass the need for a third party system. This reduced time to delivery and maximized efficiency for Click Clack, creating a boost in the company’s organization-wide supply chain.

“Informatica has allowed us to get complete control of our inventory and radically changed the level of contact we have with our customers,” said Click Clack’s Group IT Manager, Natarajan Subramanian. “The accuracy of data we provide to the customer has improved dramatically, that in itself has improved the business. We have minimized order processing times as well. Another direct benefit has been around our ability to bring the customer management function in-house. We no longer have to pay the ongoing fee to our third party distribution centre for the provision of these services, and have better direct customer relationships which will help us to grow our business.”

The need to increase efficiency comes at a time when Click Clack is facing strong competition from overseas manufacturing companies. With increased logistics capability, Click Clack is better positioned to face that competition.

The company had initially considered competitive solutions, but Informatica was the overwhelming choice, according to the company. “There were two criteria we considered when looking at a solution – ongoing support and the total cost of ownership – and on both counts Informatica won the race,” said Subramanian. “We trialed Informatica for six months and did not even consider [the competitor] as it did not justify the cost for a company of our size”.

Based on the benefits achieved in the first two months of production, Click Clack has decided to extend its inventory and customer management program to its European, UK and Australian EDI customers.

“We are always pleased when our customers are able to realize the benefits that Informatica offers in terms of comprehensive data integration,” said Laurie Newman, country manager, Informatica Australia and New Zealand. “By translating corporate data in almost every form into comprehensible business information, Informatica helps companies gain and maintain a competitive edge in the market.”

About Click Clack
Operating for more than 60 years formerly as part of the Salmond Smith Biolab Group, Click Clack Limited has established itself a leading New Zealand company in the design and manufacture of innovative products within the brand-leading airtight storage, polycarbonate beverage ware and other industrial cleaning & metal preparation products categories. Out of its corporate and manufacturing base in New Zealand, Click Clack exports to more than 70 countries worldwide including its fully owned subsidiaries in Australia, UK and USA. These key markets are subsidiary corporations with extensive infrastructure in place to handle Warehousing, Distribution, Information Management and Sales Representation throughout each country. Click Clack is among the New Zealand’s top 50 manufacturing exporters and has a combined global staff of 250 people. Click Clack is in top 3 percent of NZ exporters.

About Informatica
Informatica Corporation (NASDAQ: INFA) is a leading provider of enterprise data integration software and services. With Informatica, organizations can gain greater business value by integrating all their information assets from across the enterprise. More than 2,850 companies worldwide rely on Informatica to reduce the cost and expedite the time to address data integration needs of any complexity and scale. For more information, call +1 650 385 5000 (+1 800 653 9871 in the U.S.), or visit www.informatica.com.

Note: Informatica is a registered trademark of Informatica Corporation in the United States and in jurisdictions throughout the world. All other company and product names may be trade names or trademarks of their respective owners.