Epicor Gives Scuderia AlphaTauri a Competitive Edge

Epicor is the data management engine at the heart of the Formula 1 team’s ability to streamline production, correlate components with telemetry data, and maximize vehicle performance

Epicor logo to debut on Scuderia AlphaTauri cars at the Formula 1 Aramco United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas

Epicor, a global leader of industry-specific enterprise software to promote business growth, and Scuderia AlphaTauri today announced that Epicor has been named the Team’s Official ERP Partner. The multi-year agreement builds on an already successful long-term technology relationship and solidifies Epicor as the powerful driver behind Scuderia AlphaTauri’s operations, enabling the team to focus on continuous performance improvements, both on and off the track.

In a racing environment where success is measured in milliseconds, real-time performance data and attention to every detail is critical. The Epicor Kinetic industry productivity platform for manufacturers enables Scuderia AlphaTauri to centrally manage all processes and data across its operation, optimizing every aspect of the team’s production, inventory, component testing, and financials with greater speed, accuracy and organizational visibility. 

Just one racing car is made up of more than 14,000 precision components. Many of those parts are custom-made onsite by technical designers and engineers. Historically, managing production of each unique part, understanding lifespan, and ensuring the right parts were ready for race day proved challenging with older, siloed software systems and manual processes.

Today, with Kinetic, Scuderia AlphaTauri can automatically render an entire schematic structure of its racing cars and every part, all serial-tracked, and store a snapshot of that structure coded to a specific race. During component production, Kinetic automates the job creation process for each part, minimizing data entry and speeding productivity. The team also has granular visibility into which machine, operator, and tools were used to manufacture each part, helping develop cost-analysis models that inform make-or-buy decisions, as well as quickly correcting any production issues before getting to the track. 

During testing, Scuderia AlphaTauri overlays all telemetry data collected on the track from the more than 900 sensors onboard each racing car, providing a precise and accurate view into individual part performance, when each part is installed or replaced, and predictive analytics. The team can also automatically “unwind” the data to earlier snapshots of the car structure to pinpoint potential component issues and ensure a problem is not replicated.

Epicor also plays an essential role in eliminating unplanned costs, over-ordering, and waste. With Kinetic, the team can better manage inventory and materials through every phase of production, particularly vital for use of carbon fiber that must be maintained at a precise refrigerated temperature. Epicor provides immediate visibility into how much carbon fiber is in stock, its integrity and lifecycle, and real-time consumption, so the team never orders more than required. Kinetic also provides advanced supplier quoting capabilities, allowing the team to reduce time to receive a component from days to mere hours, to be able to fit a part the same day. 

For a sport in constant innovation mode, Epicor designed an upgrade service to automate software upgrades and minimize system downtime. The approach will help the team seamlessly migrate this year to the latest version of Kinetic without business interruption or additional operator training, which means more time on the track focused on what matters.

“F1 demands a commitment to excellence, something in which the Epicor and Scuderia AlphaTauri teams align,” said Paul Stoddart, Epicor CMO. “Epicor is excited to be an essential partner enabling the team’s constant drive for performance, something we strive every day to deliver for all of the makers, movers and sellers we serve worldwide.”

The Epicor wordmark will debut on the AT02’s front wing endplates at the upcoming Grand Prix in Austin, celebrating the beginning of a long brand and technology partnership with the ERP innovator.