Epicor Software Corporation has been retained as the primary logistic and manufacturing system for Red Bull Racing following its take over of Jaguar Racing.
Epicor Software Corporation has been retained as the primary logistic and manufacturing system for Red Bull Racing following its take over of Jaguar Racing. With the decision by Ford Motor Company in 2004 to move out of Formula One racing, the future of the then Jaguar Racing team was uncertain. The company was saved when energy drink manufacturer Red Bull stepped in to take over in late 2004.

Ian Prior, manufacturing systems manager for Red Bull Racing, said: 'Red Bull brought with it a vitality, commitment and a strong will to succeed.

It understood that this is our passion and that the people here have built up a great deal of expertise, which they allowed to continue, while injecting new spirit into the business.' The Jaguar Racing business had chosen Epicor's Avante manufacturing software in 2003 to replace an aging custom-built, in-house manufacturing and parts system.

The Epicor software is designed specifically for complex manufacturing environments with integrated front and back office applications, tying together virtually every aspect of a manufacturer's business operation, from just-in-time manufacturing procedures, to supply chain management and logistics, said Epicor.

Avante has also been heavily modified by the Red Bull engineering teams and, as Prior emphasises: 'Our Epicor system travels with us to races and tests all over the world and is used trackside on a portable server to manage the parts tracking and logistics operation.' Before each race, the primary Epicor system at the Red Bull Racing headquarters in Milton Keynes is duplicated to a special transportable server that accompanies the race team.

If new parts are required during a race, the primary Epicor system at headquarters manages the process and creates a data entry that updates the remote system, either via a conventional data connection if available, or uses a data storage device that accompanies any air freight or, in most cases, hand baggage to the race site.

At the track, race technicians use the system for parts management.

If a data connection is available, the local Epicor system is then synchronised overnight with the main Epicor systems at headquarters.

If no connection is available, the systems are synchronised when the race crew returns back to base.

Prior added: 'Our Epicor system is unique and allows us to streamline our parts control and manufacturing process, which is essential in the costly world of Formula One.' Red Bull Racing uses other specialist software for design and financial applications - its benefits mean that Prior and his team have successfully implemented connectivity between the applications with minimal downtime, said Epicor.

Prior commented: 'Most IT project managers dread system consolidation but this has been a relatively smooth one and has allowed us to quickly move on to new projects which will benefit the team.' Red Bull Racing is currently working on further modification to Avante and its accounting procedures to allow it improved visibility into future financial commitments based on the racing calendar and long term design goals.