The challenge

In a racing environment where success is measured in milliseconds, Scuderia AlphaTauri required real-time performance data and attention to every detail. Each 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.

Optimized operations

With a focus on continuous performance improvement on and off the track, Scuderia AlphaTauri chose to partner with Epicor. Designed and built for manufacturing, Epicor Kinetic acts as 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. Centrally-manage processes and data inform and optimize all operations, including production, inventory, component testing, and financials.

Epicor Kinetic enables Scuderia AlphaTauri to automatically render a complete racing car schematic, with every part serial-tracked, and store a snapshot of that structure coded to a specific race. In addition to the accurate detail captured, Epicor Kinetic also automates the job creation process for each part, which minimizes the amount of data entry required and boosts productivity.

Granular visibility is provided into which machine, operator, and tools were used to manufacture each part, enabling cost-analysis models to be developed that inform make-or-buy decisions, as well as to quickly correct any issues before the team gets on the track.

In our data-driven world, there is no off-season. The demand for high-quality data and intelligence across every aspect of our business and racing operations is paramount. Epicor is at the center of everything we do.

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.

Data drives competitive advantage

Epicor plays an essential role in eliminating unplanned costs, over-ordering, and waste. With Epicor 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.

Epicor 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 Epicor Kinetic without business interruption or additional operator training, which means more time on the track focused on what matters.

We’re able to quickly deliver the right information to the right people at the right time, which gives us a competitive edge.

Franz Tost, team principal of Scuderia AlphaTauri, stated, “In our data-driven world, there is no offseason. The demand for high quality data and intelligence across every aspect of our business and racing operations is paramount. Epicor is at the center of everything we do, and this technology partnership makes perfect sense for us. We’re able to quickly deliver the right information to the right people at the right time, which gives us a competitive edge. We are looking forward to go racing with Epicor for many years to come and achieve always greater results.”