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Technology Evaluation Centers Midsize Manufacturers ERP for TEC Buyer’s Guide 2014
Technology Evaluation Centers
Midsize ManufacturersERP for
TEC Buyer’s Guide
2014
Table of Contents
5 About This Guide
6 Preface by Kelly B. Keller, VP Marketing, SupplyChainBrain
8 ERP for Midsize Manufacturers by Aleksey Osintsev, Senior ERP Research Analyst, Technology Evaluation Centers
10 Typical Business Considerations
15 Technology as a Challenge and Opportunity
21 State of the Market: ERP for Midsize Manufacturers
25 Product Comparison
30 TEC Special Report The Pros and Cons of Cloud-based Manufacturing ERP Software
40 TEC Selection Project
44 TEC Resources
46 Casebook
47 Aptean Customer Success Story Made2Manage ERP Software from Aptean Helps Press-Seal Gasket Navigate the Construction Industry Environment
51 Deacom Customer Success Story
Kelley Technical Coatings—Achieving Rapid Return on Investment
56 Epicor Customer Success Story Chirch Global Looks to Cloud ERP to Support Its Worldwide Operations
61 Epicor Customer Success Story ARPAC
65 Epicor White Paper Top6TechnologiesSmallandMidsizeManufacturersCan’tAffordto Ignore
75 IFS Customer Success Story Miller-St. Nazianz Achieves Full Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) with IFS Applications
78 IQMS Customer Success Story Network Polymers and IQMS: A Mixture for Success
84 Kenandy Customer Success Story Merrow Sewing Machine and Kenandy: Stitching Together Success Seamlessly
87 Microsoft Customer Success Story Chobani Increases Its Appetite for Business Growth with Microsoft Technologies
90 Microsoft Customer Success Story Manufacturer Partners with Microsoft Consulting Services for Global ERP Overhaul
95 SAP & Navigator Customer Success Story Kalmar RT Center: Moving Forward in a Rough Terrain Environment
98 NetSuite Customer Success Story Anisa International Streamlines Chinese Manufacturing Operations with NetSuite OneWorld
101 Oracle Cloud Customer Success Stories Oracle Cloud Applications—Empowering the Modern Business in the Cloud
109 Plex Customer Success Story Plex Manufacturing Cloud Trims Global Auto Supplier’s IT Costs, Improves Quality and Productivity
112 ProcessPro Customer Success Story Primrose Candy Company
115 SYSPRO Customer Success Story von Drehle Outpaces the Competition with SYSPRO Software
119 Vendor Directory
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About This Guide
It’s hard to imagine a modern manufacturing business operating without the use of some
kind of ERP software that facilitates the management of day-to-day production, and
financial, logistical, and other operations. In fact, many manufacturing companies have
undergone ERP selection and implementation processes not just once but several times
already in their existence.
As one of the largest segments of manufacturing companies, midsize manufacturers have
the largest choice of available ERP software to choose from. Technology is also constantly
evolving, bringing plenty of new features and capabilities every year. Yet, it is becoming
increasingly difficult to break through not only the abundance of technologies, concepts,
and marketing terms, but also the hype associated with business software.
The purpose of this buyer’s guide is to provide readers more clarity regarding the ERP
market for medium-sized manufacturing companies, its specifics and overall trends, as
well as provide an overview of the major players and their solutions, which is particularly
useful for those organizations that are in the early stages of the software assessment or
those companies looking to select software systems at some point in their near future.
The guide also includes a special report on cloud ERP solutions. Looking at the cloud
argument, the sides of both cloud enthusiasts and those who aren’t yet convinced are
explored, and more in-depth analysis and an unbiased overview of cloud, and on-
premise ERP alternatives are given with consideration for the various manufacturing ERP
deployment options.
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Preface
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software is often considered a “magic bullet” for real-
time management of a company’s operations. With the span to integrate nearly all essential
units in an organization—accounting, financing, procurement, marketing, sales—it’s no
wonder ERP software has grown in popularity and functionality over the past decade-plus.
The right choice of ERP software can make life a dream for a midsize manufacturer. Imagine
having a comprehensive view of your product planning, development, manufacturing
processes, sales, and marketing activities at any time . . . and having the capability to
share relevant, critical information with all internal departments in real time. Then add this
component: ERP software that not only facilitates access to essential information within
the organization, but also communicates with outside stakeholders, including customers,
partners, suppliers, and more.
Now, imagine thinking you’ve made the correct choice of ERP software for your company,
only to discover that the investment of many resources—funding, time, employees and
management, technology—across a myriad of departments has resulted in adopting
a system that doesn’t nearly address your company’s needs! Your career dream has just
become a nightmare. You’re not even at square one, because not only do you have to fix or
undo what’s been implemented, but you also need to get everyone on board again for the
correct one you’ve yet to find!
Fear not, intrepid visionary. Selecting ERP software that best serves your company does
not have to be the stuff of magic or dreams. It may feel overwhelming to consider all the
permutations, but in actuality it simply takes a solid process—consisting of analysis, group
input and collaboration, careful planning and preparation, and maybe some consultancy
or customization if needed—to identify software that will bring your company to a level of
functionality that allows everyone to sleep at night.
First off, it helps to break down the assessment of your company’s needs into smaller
operational groupings; then you can bring the assessments together for an overall analysis
of required ERP functionality. Key operational departments might include procurement,
finance, human resources (HR), product planning, manufacturing, supply chain, marketing,
sales (quoting), and customer service.
Next, the caveats. Implementation of ERP software has been shown to have some
characteristic pitfalls unique to manufacturing companies, which you can avoid if you plan
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carefully and thoroughly. The two most critical challenges are budget and timing. In order
to successfully implement ERP, a company should
• earmark a budget with ample wiggle room,
• delegate a team of qualified people, representing key departments, with a proven
track record of collaboration,
• prepare for lengthened timetables in order to attain required goals,
• remain open to possible customization of critical processes,
• research scalability for technological evolution and company growth, and
• establish an agreement with the provider that covers servicing and future
improvements.
A final important opportunity a company has in selecting ERP software is the mode of
delivery. While years ago options were scarce, today’s choices include a number of trends.
Due diligence research should be done on mobile ERP, cloud ERP, social ERP, and two-tier
ERP, alongside the more traditional methods of delivery.
It may seem that there are miles to go, and it’s clear that the dreamscape is vast. But we all
know that good, hard, honest work almost guarantees a good night’s rest.
The right combination for your company’s unique needs exists, and can be found by
dedicating the time and effort necessary to determine a successful match. We anticipate
that the TEC 2014 ERP for Midsize Manufacturers Buyer’s Guide will guide you well in
your efforts.
—Kelly B. Keller, VP Marketing, SupplyChainBrain
SupplyChainBrain, the world’s most comprehensive supply chain management information resource, is accessed year round through a
wide range of ever evolving multimedia formats by hundreds of thousands of senior level industry executives. In addition to addressing the
fundamental principles of supply-chain management, SupplyChainBrain identifies emerging trends, technologies and best practices, forward
thinking ideas and cutting-edge solutions—and continues to write and report about these as they evolve and mature.
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ERP for Midsize Manufacturers
Midsize manufacturing organizations constitute a unique segment of companies. They
occupy a particular niche in the business world—mature and large enough to exploit
advanced management concepts and engineering technologies, yet small enough to stay
close to customers and flexible enough to rapidly adjust products and business processes
to changing environments.
This group of manufacturers is certainly in the sights of enterprise resource planning (ERP)
software vendors as their next target market, after global multinational corporations.
However, the ERP selection process is a top concern for medium-sized manufacturers. With
the enormous quantity and variety of marketing materials produced by ERP vendors in order
to persuade organizations to make the “right” ERP choice, the end result is that the overall
selection process for many manufacturers isn’t clear and often requires systematization
and clarification.
It is not simply a question of which two or three ERP systems to put at the top of one’s short
list, as the selection process is typically much more complicated. In particular, there are
parallel challenges of developing one’s own ERP paradigm and whether to accept long-
term strategies regarding cloud or traditional on-premise roadmaps, as well as many lower-
priority issues.
With all of these factors to take into account, selecting an ERP solution for midsize
manufacturing businesses becomes a question of choosing a way of business evolution for
the years to come. The ERP decision is imperative for most companies, and with this buyer’s
guide, TEC’s goal is to provide some guidance to manufacturers seeking to implement a
new ERP solution or replace or upgrade an existing solution, and to draw a picture of the
ERP market as a whole.
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Definition of a Midsize Manufacturing Company
Midsize manufacturers generally fill the space between small producers and large
multinational manufacturing corporations. However, it is difficult to arrive at a more accurate
definition of a “midsize” manufacturer, as that will differ substantially by geographic region
and thus depend on multiple factors that define a country’s overall development, economic
stability, and business climate; population size and density; entrepreneurial activity level;
and other less significant factors. In addition, different types of organizations may define
business size differently depending on the purpose of their research. Governments and
economists appear to agree on two main measurements that can be used to easily outline
the size of a business: number of employees and annual revenue.
As an illustration of the different definitions of a medium-sized business, let’s see how
different governments define the term “medium-sized business.” In the United States,
a medium-sized company typically refers to a company with between 100 and 1,000
employees, and up to 1,500 in certain vertical industries; in Canada a medium-sized business
has between 100 and 500 employees; in the United Kingdom, the European community,
and Mexico a midsize company has from 50 to 250 employees; in Australia a medium-
sized organization is one with between 16 and 200 people; and for Russia a medium-
sized company is defined as one with between 100 and 250 employees. The only notable
exception is China, where a medium-sized manufacturer constitutes a manufacturer that
employs from 300 to 2,000 people (according to different information sources, this number
can reach 25,000).
Annual revenue numbers for defining a medium-sized business also vary greatly by region,
from $5–10 million to $1 billion (USD). So, there is no shortage of estimates, but the majority
of the estimates appear to fall in the range of 100 to 500 employees. Obviously, a single,
global definition of a medium-sized business simply does not exist.
Of note, a medium-sized manufacturer does not necessarily have just a single manufacturing
facility. It may have only one, but an increasing number of midsize manufacturers operate
at multiple sites in multiple regions or countries, and use multiple languages in everyday
business. Recent globalization processes, along with the wide availability of commercial
information systems, have made this practice even more common.
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Information about what is going on in medium-sized manufacturing companies is often
mixed with information about these companies’ smaller or larger counterparts. Therefore,
there is no consensus on how companies of different sizes differ regarding their business
needs, issues, and concerns. Moreover, medium-sized manufacturing companies are
hard to describe as a uniform group, as they are very diverse. They run their businesses
in different business environments (e.g., developed countries, developing countries, etc.),
they operate in different industries (discrete, process-based, engineer-to-order, and so
on), and they are located in different regions of the world and thus differ considerably in
population, business environment, and climate conditions.
Although medium-sized manufacturers experience a broad spectrum of multifarious
problems, here we’ve tried to identify and frame a few challenges that are typical for
medium-sized manufacturers, regardless of their location and manufacturing environment.
Trend Toward a Service-centered Economy
Manufacturing has always been a strong industry sector and driver of the economy
despite the predominant service-centered approach to doing business in many developed
countries of the past two decades. Even leading economists and politicians often
underestimate the huge role manufacturing plays in the economy overall, which often
leads to unnecessary complications of manufacturing business rules and compliance
requirements. But as manufacturing cumulatively creates more jobs than any other
industry, the move of manufacturing sites to countries with less expensive workforces
may actually weaken the economy of developed countries. Although manufacturing will
not disappear from developed countries, the move to offshore manufacturing makes
manufacturing less attractive and not so prestigious a career option, particularly to
younger generations—compared with jobs that are more readily available in developed
countries, such as financial services and information technologies. Offshoring also creates
a shortage of manufacturing and engineering skills, with fewer young people studying
manufacturing science and engineering these days than in the past. In fact, the majority
of medium-sized manufacturing companies today are having difficulty in acquiring skilled
Typical Business Considerations
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employees. Unfortunately, there is no simple resolution to this issue. Consolidated efforts
of federal and local governments, manufacturing business communities, educational
institutions, and mass media are needed to help make manufacturing more attractive as a
career path, particularly to the younger generations.
Tough Competition and a Need to Compete with Large and Global Organizations
Due to their size and resource availability, small and midsize companies are more exposed
to the influence of global competition than their larger multinational counterparts, which
obviously have more wealth to locate or relocate their facilities for optimal performance
as well as to use other resources (political, lobbying, etc.) to achieve their business goals.
Global competitors typically exert pressure on their smaller rivals through lower prices and
in doing so oftentimes force them to seek out other opportunities, or in the worst case
scenario to close up shop. Also, larger competitors typically have easier access to financial
resources; this is something that independent medium-sized manufacturers often struggle
with.
In today’s business world, however, there are many examples of healthy competition
between medium-sized businesses and their larger rivals. Successful medium-sized
manufacturers typically find success owing to aspects of the product lifecycle that are better
suited to smaller companies—shorter product delivery times, higher-quality products,
greater speed in decision making and procedural flexibility, better understanding of local
or regional customers, and quicker response—resulting in higher-value products overall.
Large global companies tend to compel customers to follow their business models
and operations standards, which often prove to be burdensome. Their products, often
manufactured by outsourced companies, are not necessarily of better quality than those
produced by smaller companies, and may require longer delivery times. The arsenal of
medium-sized manufacturers is the ability to be very close to their customers, quickly
produce exactly what they need, and provide personalized, high-quality customer
service, along with their ability to constantly improve internal business processes and
produce innovative products. A philosophy of manufacturing that closely follows the lean
business paradigm enables midsize companies to remain competitive. And medium-sized
companies have the advantage of easier lean transformation over larger competitors that
are typically burdened with the financial obligations of being a public company.
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Strong competition among manufacturing companies is a major motivator in the quest for
innovation. Innovation in the modern manufacturing business environment is often a vital
component of success; beyond manufactured products, it makes sense to promote and
encourage innovation in internal business processes, in the supply chain, in information
technology, and even in such traditional components as financial management or talent
management.
Business Internationalization and Entry into New Markets
The internationalization of businesses and their entry into new markets is a direct
consequence of globalization. Internationalization also occurs because medium-sized
companies have to follow the markets of their larger international customers. Regardless
of whether such companies enter new markets, they are certainly more heavily involved
in international trading and international supply chains than they were even a decade
ago. Today, medium-sized companies are adept at online purchasing, subcontracting, and
offshoring.
Many medium-sized manufacturers operate a multicurrency, multisite, and multilanguage
business. With the development of IT tools to track inventory and delivery, and high
speed and reliable transportation channels, the importation and exportation of goods has
been made technically easier and faster. However, with internationalization come many
compliance issues—such as international and/or regional health and safety initiatives,
language compliance, and other complex business regulatory issues—that either didn’t
exist previously or did not affect the business to a great extent.
Many complications originate from conceptual miscommunications with outsourcing
partners, as companies in different countries (and cultures) may have a different
understanding of the objectives and priorities of the parent manufacturing company. The
obvious challenges with outsourcing are inflexibility and the resultant inability to quickly
react to customers’ demand changes, late shipping, order mismatch, noncompliance with
technical requirements, and quality issues. This results in higher-than-expected overall
outsourcing costs and increased complexity of communications, rendering outsourcing
less attractive and making it a necessity for companies to undergo extensive outsourcing
feasibility analysis prior to a decision to outsource.
At the same time, medium-sized manufacturers may find it easier than they expected to
export to new markets, and this can serve as a business boost for them, rapidly increasing
their market shares in other countries. Thus, not only large corporations, but also midsize
manufacturers have the potential to benefit from market globalization.
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Constantly Changing Business Environments and Customer Demand
Other challenges facing medium-sized manufacturers include constant changes to
both internal and external business environments and the growing trend of custom-
manufactured products. With the extremely high speed of information sharing these
days, customers are aware of new products and innovations as soon as they come on the
market, and are thus demanding newer, more innovative, and customized products from
manufacturers. This is compounded by the need of manufacturers to rapidly respond to
customer requirements—in B2B environments, this trend is reflected in an increasing
volume of custom or individually tuned products. This leads to an increasing complexity
of manufacturing processes and optimal manufacturing planning, supply, and production
execution in order to deliver products on time.
In fact, manufacturers are often hard-pressed to deliver what customers want on time
without the use of sophisticated manufacturing management software applications.
Beyond having the capability to produce exactly what the customer wants, a manufacturing
company should be highly adaptive to the constantly changing business environment, such
that it can quickly modify and adjust its structure, business processes, and management
tools within a short timeframe to stay current with renewed external conditions of any
nature.
Another external factor adding to the complexity of the business environment of medium-
sized manufacturers is mergers and acquisitions (M&A). In fact, M&A activities are quite
frequent occurrences in the manufacturing industry. Manufacturers that are capable of
quickly adapting to internal and external changes of any nature have the highest likelihood
for success in the marketplace.
Growth and Transformation Problems
Small to medium-sized manufacturers often reach a certain point in their development
where they face a new type of challenge: transforming themselves from relatively small
and “manually” managed businesses to structurally managed organizations that have
the working attributes of professionally managed businesses, such as a formal upper
management team, standardized business processes and procedures, an assigned board
of directors, and so on. Smaller companies are typically managed by their owners or
founders, and don’t pay much attention to formal management roles, internal policies,
established standard procedures, and other “formalities.” However, at some point these
leaders should realize that they need to transform the company structure to a professional
management structure, establish strategic planning initiatives, and in some cases even exit
from a leadership role, and leave the company in the care of experienced managers and an
advisory board.
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Those transformational processes can be very painful for all parties involved, but are
necessary for a company that has the objective of expanding its market and becoming
more profitable. Otherwise, a manufacturer risks getting trapped in an inappropriate
management scale, which will likely prevent it from attaining the dynamic development
required for success. Such transformation problems are more typical for small- to medium-
sized organizations, but can also be seen at larger companies. Growing midsize companies
that have all the elements of structural management, such as declared strategic goals,
boards of directors, and advisory boards, tend to be more successful than those companies
that don’t have these structures in place.
In reality, however, in many fast-growing medium-sized manufacturing businesses,
management is more concerned with daily operations and technical details than with how
to further the company’s strategic development and global and long-term vision. This often
occurs because the company owners are transformed into managers but still hold onto
their previous views and perspectives. Busy with daily routine, founders may not realize the
urgency of such strategic exercises, and therefore they may not choose the right time and
conditions to start taking more strategic decisions.
Complexity and Cost of Regulatory Compliance
The vast majority of medium-sized manufacturers, and specifically those that operate
in the business of food manufacturing, health and safety products, defense, and many
other industries, must comply with an increasing number of requirements and numerous
legislation acts in many spheres and at multiple levels—from international down to local,
dealing with issues such as energy consumption, availability of material safety data sheet
(MSDS) information, and data access security. Those compliance measures are indeed
necessary, but the time and financial cost for companies to align their business processes
accordingly and to be constantly current with new standards is tremendous. Operating
in international markets brings an additional level of complexity, as the requirements of
two or more countries need to be met instead of just one. In addition, the compliance
requirements need to be maintained, modified, and updated on a regular basis.
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Medium-sized manufacturing companies need to embrace and implement new
technologies, like nearly every other business these days, as technology has become an
integral component of our daily personal and work lives. So any discussion on technology
for business should not address whether to adopt new technology, but rather on which of
the latest technologies to adopt and how to best implement it.
Keeping abreast of the latest trends in the ERP software industry has become a central
technology-related challenge for manufacturers. With the fast pace of development of and
change in ERP software, even companies that have recently implemented such software,
should continue closely monitoring ERP and other corporate software markets to ensure
that they are aware of any potentially vital technologies to their business.
A number of technologies have emerged in recent years that deserve careful examination
by manufacturers. This report will not cover production-related inventions specific to
manufacturing verticals, but will present global technology developments applicable
to virtually every company associated with the business of manufacturing. Many of
those technologies are not prohibitively expensive and are available to medium-sized
companies. So, the early recognition of potentially suitable technologies and the ability to
rapidly make the right decision on those tools become strong competitive advantages for
a modern manufacturing company.
A manufacturer’s decision to adopt new technology for its business depends on many
factors, both internal and external to the organization. For instance, the decision might
be whether to outsource production or manufacture on one’s own products, remain a
local company or go to external markets, concentrate on one group of products or range
of products or services diversification, etc. The outcome of the decision can have wide-
ranging effects for a company. For example, a strategy to manufacture a product in another
country would inevitably lead to upgrading long-range audio and video communication
channels, having to provide access to the company’s ERP system from abroad, and needing
to interact with workers in multiple languages. On the other hand, deep focus on a few
products would probably require that a company have a more sophisticated product
development management (PDM) system in place.
Technology as a Challenge and
Opportunity
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Interestingly, these business decisions are also affected by commoditization and
consumerization of business software and information technology (IT). Such software
trends have been increasingly accepted in recent years due to the wide availability of
cloud software and exponential expansion of mobile devices. Following the logic of IT
commoditization and consumerization, it would seem that businesses should become less
fastidious about which technology and technology vendors to choose from, as technology
itself is practically a commodity these days. However, upon closer examination of the
available options, it is evident that different types of software may vary greatly in available
functionality and thus the advantages they afford organizations. Therefore, paying closer
attention to a specific technology’s core as well as obtaining details on the functionality
of specific products can help manufacturers get the most out of the available technology.
Of the many new types of technologies available today, three stand out, as they have the
potential to affect how a large number of manufacturers carry out their business:
1. Mobile technologies have permeated nearly every aspect in business for quite
some time now. Businesses in all industries, including manufacturing, have already
acknowledged the vital importance of mobile communications and mobility-focused
technologies in everyday practice, and many are actively pursuing new application
areas where those technologies may be used to increase productivity and create
innovative products. Mobile access to a company-wide IT infrastructure, including
corporate software such as ERP, improves flexibility of and potentially enhances and
shortens decision making regarding operational and strategic issues. The bring-your-
own-device (BYOD) trend is one of the consequences of the general acceptance of
mobility in business. Employees that extensively use their own mobile devices for
personal matters prefer not to switch to corporate phones or tablets to conduct
their work activities. As such, companies need to integrate and support the variety
of personal devices their employees use for work-related purposes. This leads to an
increase in the technical requirements related to security and data access assignment,
and thus an increase in the corporate costs incurred.
2. The Internet of Things (IoT) is an extension of the mobility trend. Constituting a whole
variety of “smart” devices equipped with radio transmitters and linked to a worldwide
network, the IoT technology has an enormous application area and spans literally
all industries. It has huge potential, particularly within manufacturing, in providing
tracking and monitoring capabilities, creating real-time environment awareness,
and generating new types of data for analysis. Certainly, all this should transform the
way products are manufactured and used. Imagine smart production machines and
production lines that are capable of informing users or supervisors about potential
failures on the line, or remotely operated pressure transmitters on thousand-mile
pipelines that are connected to an operator’s monitor and receive control signals from
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operators. As for the manufactured products, those equipped with data transmitters
can forward any data related to the product to the manufacturer throughout the
product’s entire lifecycle. As a consequence, large amounts of data will be generated,
and will thus need to be properly stored and analyzed. The IoT concept is currently
in the beginning stage of its mass expansion, but early adopters of the technology
already have an opportunity to benefit from it.
3. Additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing, is a technique to produce (or “print”)
a virtually unlimited variety of custom parts. Additive manufacturing is beginning to
be seriously considered as an alternative to traditional ways of manufacturing. Many
large manufacturing companies have already initiated pilot projects exploring the
use of 3D printing in their operations, and some of them are currently producing
items and components using the process. Obviously, additive manufacturing cannot
and will not entirely replace traditional manufacturing in general due to natural
limitations of materials and for other technical reasons. However, it may create a new
and unforeseen manufacturing paradigm, where it would be easier and less expensive
for customers of manufacturers to use 3D printing to create necessary products or
parts on their own. At any rate, medium-sized manufacturers should be aware of and
recognize the potential of additive manufacturing, and plan to perform future testing.
The unique flexibility of additive manufacturing and the exceptional characteristics
of printed items may eventually help manufacturing businesses to discover new
products and services that were previously inconceivable.
Pressure Points Related to Business Software
Medium-sized manufacturers face a whole range of business software challenges. For
such enterprises, to ERP or not to ERP is not a relevant question anymore—they must
have an ERP system if they want to compete with other manufacturers and sustain their
business. But the evolution of corporate business software can follow drastically different
paths, each with its own business issues and uncertainties.
Use of ill-fitting software systemsA large number of medium-sized manufacturers still use systems primarily designed
for small or even micro businesses—systems that, for the most part, aren’t capable of
adequately supporting the business realities of larger companies. At the same time, a small
number of companies operate without the use of any organization-wide software at all,
and therefore have to deal with disparate systems or perform business processes manually
using Microsoft Excel, for instance. The lack of sufficient and modern software tools can
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seriously hinder a company’s development. This is particularly true for manufacturing
companies, which are becoming interdependent and operate in an industry that is
becoming increasingly complex. Thus, business partners are required to speak the same
language—and the commonly accepted language of a manufacturing business is ERP
software, whether we like it or not.
Many companies that use old or narrowly focused applications do sometimes consider
selecting and implementing newer systems, and their experience with the older application
often helps them to properly formulate objectives and know the right parameters of a
future solution. Managers and users that have previous experience in working with ERP
or other business software will obviously have an easier time making a decision to move
to a new system than those who depend on manual processes. But the main issue here is
to realize that no matter what your company’s current ERP situation is, it’s smart to start
looking at the ERP solutions that are on the market today and make sure all required
resources are in place for when the decision is made to select one. In addition, a significant
number of manufacturing (and other) companies would benefit from having third-party
assistance in selecting and implementing a system, particularly if they are evaluating ERP
solutions for the first time.
Emerging ERP software capabilities Unlike smaller businesses, medium-sized manufacturing companies typically understand
what they need in terms of core ERP requirements and how they will be utilizing those
systems. At the same time, the fast-paced evolution of ERP software coupled with
manufacturers’ shifting priorities means that a manufacturing company’s short list of
potentially suitable solutions likely changes every year, or even more often. For instance,
just two or three years ago, hardly any medium-sized manufacturing businesses could have
imagined that they would need a social collaboration platform embedded in their ERP
software. Now this platform is often considered among must-have ERP software features,
and it is revolutionizing the way most internal company communications are conducted.
Another emerging capability is routine access to ERP data, ERP functions, and analytics
data from mobile devices of all types, which often belong to employees. If we consider the
wide range of newly available functions and functionalities of ERP software on the market
today, especially in light of the marketing hype most ERP vendors create in the promotion
of their solutions, we can easily see how businesses can be confused and frustrated by
the plethora of available software options. It is not easy to preserve a clear vision of the
company’s strategy and remain objective while selecting and prioritizing capabilities to
meet current and future software needs.
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Prerequisite for cybersecurityThe level of interdependency and connectivity of modern manufacturers, as well as their
across-the-board dependence on software solutions, continues to increase and is now
higher than it’s ever been. It is therefore essential to pay more attention to cybersecurity
as one of the crucial conditions for building a corporate IT infrastructure and certainly
for making decisions regarding future software. With the increased number of devices
used by businesses (especially with the forthcoming boom of the IoT), expanded software
systems delivered over the Internet, an increased number of employees interacting with
various software systems, and, inevitably, increased numbers and types of malicious acts,
you don’t have to be a prophet to predict an increase in cybercrime, including the breach
of corporate ERP and other software. Unlike previous years, when only larger corporations
were targets of such attacks, medium and even smaller businesses will now often be held
at the cyber equivalent of gunpoint by criminals, with threats of disruption to operations
and networks, competitor spying, or loss of sensitive data. Manufacturers selecting ERP
software should therefore give cybersecurity factors the same priority as functional
software factors.
Potential of in-memory technology Recent growth of in-memory technology-based ERP software has the potential to change
the entire configuration of the ERP market, including the ERP market for medium-sized
manufacturers. Initially designed for analytics and business intelligence (BI), in-memory
technology has mainly been available to large businesses, due to their needs for analyzing
large data arrays, and has been so costly that most midsize companies could not afford it.
More recently, however, many ERP vendors have embedded in-memory technology into
their ERP solutions, and have begun offering them to smaller-than-large–scale companies,
including manufacturers.
The main benefit of in-memory technology is that it allows for capturing and analyzing
data on a single in-memory platform, with data operation speeds exceeding those of all
known existing business solutions by several hundred to several thousand fold. This allows
users to perform their typically lengthy business processes in just seconds, or practically
in real time—e.g., overnight material requirements planning (MRP) processes can be done
within a few minutes. Business processes can be run as often as required, immediately
producing greater manufacturing flexibility and higher customer satisfaction levels. Thus,
this technology may force manufacturers to reinvent the way they do business. Many
routine procedures could be heavily modified or even bypassed altogether.
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Social and collaborative toolsThese software tools allow for directly connecting users in real time, regardless of their
location. There is increasing interest in internal, company-wide communication tools that
are capable of replacing conventional e-mail and telephone communication channels, as
they offer better flexibility and direct linking of discussions to business software systems,
and enable full auditing and traceability. More and more ERP and other business systems
vendors are offering social collaboration tools and including such instruments in their
portfolios—whether those are their own solutions or their partners’ products. Social
collaboration tools that are well integrated with other software would be a better choice for
manufacturers than typical, traditional communication channels (e-mail and telephone).
Such social collaboration tools offer even greater opportunities for streamlining business
processes. This is particularly true considering the widespread adoption of mobile
technologies in business and increasing acceptance of personal mobile devices for
accessing business software systems, as well as cloud computing in general. All these
factors form the technological basis of and spur exciting opportunities for the next
generation of truly mobile and extremely flexible manufacturing businesses.
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The segment of the ERP market targeting medium-sized manufacturers is the most
competitive, as reflected by the wide range of distinctive and compelling solutions
available. And, certainly, reviewing the offerings and selecting one that fully satisfies a
particular company’s requirements today and for years to come is a challenging endeavor.
Besides the substantial cost of the ERP software selection project itself, improperly chosen
software may affect the efficiency of the entire company, complicating routine business
processes and impeding business development. Therefore, making the right ERP software
choice is the cornerstone of a company’s future success.
Don’t Be Confused by the Plethora of ERP Software Options
First of all, before deciding to undertake an ERP software selection project, a company’s
management team should have a clear and unambiguous definition of the project’s
objectives—and be able to answer the following questions:
• Why is the existing system (if one exists) being replaced?
• What are the immediate and long-term goals of selecting and implementing ERP
software?
Only after those answers are well formulated is it time to start looking at ERP solution and
vendor selection.
Selection of the most suitable and best-fitting ERP, however, isn’t a simple and
straightforward process. Plenty of intermediate but still important decisions have to be
made about what type of solution to consider and how to look for the right software
supplier.
Some of the typical ERP vendor and ERP software selection considerations are the following:
• Legacy system upgrade versus new system. Before stepping deeply into a new
system acquisition process, it makes sense to review the system a business currently
State of the Market:
ERP for Mid size Manufacturers
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runs, thoroughly estimate its strengths and weaknesses, and draw a conclusion about
its suitability to address current and future operations. Surprisingly enough, in many
cases, a serious upgrade of an old software system may render the system usable for
another few years, saving the company significant cost investments and disruptions to
existing business processes.
• What implementation strategy to follow. Another important question a manufacturer
faces is whether to align existing business practices according to the inherent logic of
the new ERP software system, or to modify the ERP software in compliance with the
existing business practices. The answer to this question potentially affects many long-
term aspects of the software selected. Although fully customized software fits real-
life business processes the best, making massive system modifications will be more
costly due to the need for tracking and supporting modified code pieces with every
system update or patch installation. In addition, customized software is associated
with increased vendor costs, and hence higher customer system price overall. On the
other had, implementing a vanilla version of a system isn’t easy either, as the base
version will never reflect all the realities of a company. So the ideal approach would
probably be to make a number of carefully evaluated changes—and to keep those to
a minimum.
• Vertically-focused versus generic ERP. This dilemma is a direct derivative of the
previous consideration. Many manufacturing ERP software vendors offer deep
industry-focused versions of their software that already include the common practices
of a specific vertical industry, and are preconfigured accordingly. The major benefits of
implementing a vertical solution stem from the configuration and setup of a simplified
system, including the overall system cost reduction owing to avoiding significant
modifications. Such systems often use business process terminology according to
industry standards, their processes are based on specific industry practices, their
reports are often unique to the industry, and they provide other industry-specific
features that make users’ jobs easier. So if a company is solely focused on a specific
industry segment, it probably makes sense to choose an appropriate industry-specific
solution; but if a company covers a variety of business areas, it may be more appropriate
to consider more generic ERP software.
• Best-of-breed solutions versus a single all-inclusive ERP system. The dilemma of
favoring a set of best-of-breed solutions over a single all-inclusive ERP system, and
vice versa, is not new. But it would be useful to remind medium-sized manufacturers
about the importance of this choice, as cloud computing becomes a reality and
dramatically changes the ERP market. A decade or so ago when cloud-based delivery
was not a viable option, the choice was between a single ERP system or best-of-breed
applications, and the solution selection itself was quite narrow. A decision could be
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made relatively easily based on current business processes and whether or not there
is an intention to expand the business. Today, a vast number of potential options
exist. For example, cloud deployment of core financial, inventory, or sales functions
can be combined with best-of breed production, purchasing, or other applications
important to a company’s business. Such combinations may vary, but the main idea of
mixing solutions in both cloud and on-premise deployments, as well as hybrid ones,
substantially increases the freedom of choice as well the flexibility of the software.
At the same time, best-of-breed application implementation—i.e., integration—is
more readily accomplished these days, as software systems are designed with extensive
integration capabilities. All this complicates the choice of software selection, which
now requires thorough examination of both business processes and priorities and the
technical aspects of single ERP versus best-of-breed perspectives.
• Large global ERP vendor versus smaller counterparts. Whether to go with
a large global vendor or one of its smaller competitors is another important
consideration. Although vendors of all sizes offer decent ERP solutions for medium-
sized manufacturing businesses, there are some nuanced differences among them.
Being multinational businesses themselves, large vendors obviously have greater
capabilities for handling diversified and multinational businesses, providing unified
support for international manufacturing facilities, and more easily handling multiple
language requirements. At the same time, as these ERP vendors have more resources
and are more stable financially, they are likely to be public companies that are
oriented toward serving larger numbers of bigger clients and, obviously, providing
less personal and often outsourced support. There are also many privately owned
vendors, predominantly regional or local vendors that tend to emphasize their local
origins as their competitive advantage. One would expect direct involvement of the
upper management of smaller ERP vendors in all implementation projects, and more
apparent willingness of these companies to create end value for their customers and
to provide individualized and often personalized support. Generally speaking, the
larger the vendor is, the more difficult it is to negotiate on the price and conditions of
an ERP software purchase and implementation services.
• Large ERP vendor relationships with partners. Also, in the case of a large ERP
vendor, the customer would most likely be dealing with the vendor’s partner rather
than directly with the vendor. This arrangement would have its own advantages and
disadvantages, depending on the situation and preferences of the customer. For
example, an issue resolution process may be longer in the case of a developing partner,
as the partner may share the responsibility and the code ownership with the vendor
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and in some cases software problems would need to be resolved by the two parties
working together rather than by just one of them. On the other hand, a large vendor’s
partners are more agile, and often comprise companies that are local or vertically
focused and that know specific details of the customer’s business better. Overall, the
size of potential ERP vendors should be considered as one of the selection criteria.
Specifically, potential customers should consider the risks associated with non-ERP
suppliers of a similar size as the ERP vendor, as they probably apply here as well.
• ERP deployment method. Cloud, on premises, or a combination? This seems to have
become one of the central questions in ERP selection, particularly considering the large
number of publications devoted to it. This issue is extensive and deserves a separate
in-depth examination. That’s why we have produced the following comprehensive
report presenting the arguments of both proponents and opponents of cloud-based
ERP to help prospects with their software deployment decision.
Aptean Made2Manage 7
Aptean Ross ERP 7.0.3
DEACOM ERP 14
Epicor ERP 9.05.701B
Epicor Standard SaaS/On-Premise
9.05.701BFunctionality
Fina
ncia
ls
Accounting—GL, AP, AR, cash management S S S S S
Fixed assets P S S S S
Cost accounting S S S S S
Budgeting P A S S S
Project accounting P S S S S
Hum
an
Reso
urce
s
Personnel management, employee self-service A A P S S
Payroll/Benefits A A A S S
Health and safety A A NS S S
Training management A A NS S S
Dis
cret
e M
anuf
actu
ring
Man
agem
ent
Production planning and scheduling S NS S S S
Product costing S NS S S S
Shop floor control S NS S S S
Product data management (PDM) A NS S S S
Product/Item configurator S NS S S S
Proc
ess
Man
ufac
turin
g M
anag
emen
t
Formulas, recipes, and routings NS P S S M
Process batch control and tracking NS S S S M
Process manufacturing costing NS S S S M
Material management NS S S S S
Conformance reporting NS S S S S
Inve
ntor
y M
anag
emen
t Inventory management and processing S S S S S
Locations and lot control, including lot inheritance P S S S S
Forecasting P S S S S
Reservations and allocations P S S S S
Purc
hasi
ng
Man
agem
ent
Supplier ratings and profiles P S S S S
Requisitions and quotations S S S S S
Purchase order management S S S S S
Vendor contracts and agreements P S S S S
Receipts for procurement P S S S S
Qua
lity
and
Regu
lato
ry
Com
plia
nce
Quality management A S S S S
Regulatory compliance (e.g., FDA, EU, etc.) P S S S S
Sale
s M
anag
emen
t Sales order management, pricing S S S S S
Available-to-promise (ATP) P S S S S
Customer service and returned goods handling S S S S S
Customer relationship management (CRM) S S S S S
Busin
ess P
latfo
rm C
apab
ilitie
s
Document management S P S S S
Workflow, alerts, and notifications S A S S S
Business process management (BPM) P A S S S
Reporting and analysis S S S S S
Business intelligence (BI) and analytics S S S S S
Barcoding and RFID S P S S S
Mobile devices support S P S A S
Company-wide social collaboration tool M NS NS A NS
Audit history and trails M S S S S
Glo
baliz
atio
n an
d Lo
caliz
atio
n Multicurrency capabilities P S S S S
Multicompany support M S S S S
Multilanguage support M S S S S
Del
iver
y M
ode On premise S S S S S
Hosted S S S S S
Cloud based NS NS NS S S
Subscription-based licensing NS NS NS S S
S Supported | P Partially supported “out of the box” | A Supported via partner’s add-on or solution | M Supported via modification or customization | NS Not supported
AP: accounts payable; AR: accounts receivable; EhP: enhancement package; EU: European Union; FDA: Food and Drug Administration; GL: general ledger; RFID: radio frequency identification.
Global Shop Solutions 2013.2
Glovia International GLOVIA G2 v2
IFS Applications 8
IQMS EnterpriseIQ
2013
Kenandy Cloud ERPFunctionality
Fina
ncia
ls
Accounting—GL, AP, AR, cash management S S S S S
Fixed assets S S S S S
Cost accounting S S S S S
Budgeting S S S S P
Project accounting S S S S NS
Hum
an
Reso
urce
s
Personnel management, employee self-service S A S S NS
Payroll/Benefits S A P S NS
Health and safety S A S S NS
Training management S A S S NS
Dis
cret
e M
anuf
actu
ring
Man
agem
ent
Production planning and scheduling S S S S S
Product costing S S S S S
Shop floor control S S S S P
Product data management (PDM) S S S S S
Product/Item configurator S S S S P
Proc
ess
Man
ufac
turin
g M
anag
emen
t
Formulas, recipes, and routings P M S S P
Process batch control and tracking S M S S NS
Process manufacturing costing P M S S NS
Material management S P S S S
Conformance reporting P P S S NS
Inve
ntor
y M
anag
emen
t Inventory management and processing S S S S S
Locations and lot control, including lot inheritance S S S S S
Forecasting S S S S S
Reservations and allocations S S S S S
Purc
hasi
ng
Man
agem
ent
Supplier ratings and profiles S S S S S
Requisitions and quotations S S S S S
Purchase order management S S S S S
Vendor contracts and agreements S S S S S
Receipts for procurement S S S S S
Qua
lity
and
Regu
lato
ry
Com
plia
nce
Quality management S S S S NS
Regulatory compliance (e.g., FDA, EU, etc.) P S S S NS
Sale
s M
anag
emen
t Sales order management, pricing S S S S S
Available-to-promise (ATP) S S S S P
Customer service and returned goods handling S S S S S
Customer relationship management (CRM) S S S S NS
Busin
ess P
latfo
rm C
apab
ilitie
s
Document management S S S S NS
Workflow, alerts, and notifications S S S S S
Business process management (BPM) S S S S S
Reporting and analysis S S S S S
Business intelligence (BI) and analytics S S S S P
Barcoding and RFID S S S S P
Mobile devices support S S S S S
Company-wide social collaboration tool S S S P S
Audit history and trails S S S S S
Glo
baliz
atio
n an
d Lo
caliz
atio
n Multicurrency capabilities S S S S P
Multicompany support S S S S S
Multilanguage support S S S S S
Del
iver
y M
ode On premise S S S S NS
Hosted A S S S NS
Cloud based A S S A S
Subscription-based licensing NS S S NS S
S Supported | P Partially supported “out of the box” | A Supported via partner’s add-on or solution | M Supported via modification or customization | NS Not supported
AP: accounts payable; AR: accounts receivable; EhP: enhancement package; EU: European Union; FDA: Food and Drug Administration; GL: general ledger; RFID: radio frequency identification.
KeyedIn™ Solutions KeyedIn
Manufacturing 3.0/3.1
Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R3
NetSuite 2014.1Oracle E-Business
SuiteFunctionality
Fina
ncia
ls
Accounting—GL, AP, AR, cash management A S S S
Fixed assets NS S S S
Cost accounting NS S S S
Budgeting NS S S S
Project accounting NS S S S
Hum
an
Reso
urce
s
Personnel management, employee self-service P S S S
Payroll/Benefits P S (US only) S S
Health and safety NS A A S
Training management NS S A S
Dis
cret
e M
anuf
actu
ring
Man
agem
ent
Production planning and scheduling S S S S
Product costing S S S S
Shop floor control S S S S
Product data management (PDM) M S A S
Product/Item configurator M S A S
Proc
ess
Man
ufac
turin
g M
anag
emen
t
Formulas, recipes, and routings NS S P S
Process batch control and tracking NS S P S
Process manufacturing costing NS S P S
Material management NS S S S
Conformance reporting NS P S S
Inve
ntor
y M
anag
emen
t Inventory management and processing S S S S
Locations and lot control, including lot inheritance S S S S
Forecasting M S S S
Reservations and allocations S S S S
Purc
hasi
ng
Man
agem
ent
Supplier ratings and profiles M S S S
Requisitions and quotations S S S S
Purchase order management S S S S
Vendor contracts and agreements M S S S
Receipts for procurement S S S S
Qua
lity
and
Regu
lato
ry
Com
plia
nce
Quality management NS S S S
Regulatory compliance (e.g., FDA, EU, etc.) NS P S S
Sale
s M
anag
emen
t Sales order management, pricing S S S S
Available-to-promise (ATP) M S S S
Customer service and returned goods handling S S S S
Customer relationship management (CRM) S S S S
Busin
ess P
latfo
rm C
apab
ilitie
s
Document management NS S S S
Workflow, alerts, and notifications S S S S
Business process management (BPM) S P S S
Reporting and analysis S S S S
Business intelligence (BI) and analytics NS S S S
Barcoding and RFID NS S A S
Mobile devices support S S S S
Company-wide social collaboration tool NS S S M
Audit history and trails S S S S
Glo
baliz
atio
n an
d Lo
caliz
atio
n Multicurrency capabilities P S S S
Multicompany support NS S S S
Multilanguage support NS S S S
Del
iver
y M
ode On premise NS S NS S
Hosted NS S NS S
Cloud based S P S NS
Subscription-based licensing S S S NS
S Supported | P Partially supported “out of the box” | A Supported via partner’s add-on or solution | M Supported via modification or customization | NS Not supported
AP: accounts payable; AR: accounts receivable; EhP: enhancement package; EU: European Union; FDA: Food and Drug Administration; GL: general ledger; RFID: radio frequency identification.
Oracle JD Edwards EnterpriseOne 9.1
Plex Manufacturing
Cloud
Ramco ERP on Cloud – Magna 5.x
Rootstock Cloud ERPFunctionality
Fina
ncia
ls
Accounting—GL, AP, AR, cash management S S S A
Fixed assets S S S A
Cost accounting S S S S
Budgeting S A S A
Project accounting S S S S
Hum
an
Reso
urce
s
Personnel management, employee self-service S S S A
Payroll/Benefits S NS S NS
Health and safety S S A NS
Training management S S A NS
Dis
cret
e M
anuf
actu
ring
Man
agem
ent
Production planning and scheduling S S S S
Product costing S S S S
Shop floor control S S S S
Product data management (PDM) S S S A
Product/Item configurator S S S S
Proc
ess
Man
ufac
turin
g M
anag
emen
t
Formulas, recipes, and routings S S S S
Process batch control and tracking S S S S
Process manufacturing costing S S S S
Material management S S S S
Conformance reporting S P S S
Inve
ntor
y M
anag
emen
t Inventory management and processing S S S S
Locations and lot control, including lot inheritance S S S S
Forecasting S P S S
Reservations and allocations S P S S
Purc
hasi
ng
Man
agem
ent
Supplier ratings and profiles S S S M
Requisitions and quotations S S S S
Purchase order management S S S S
Vendor contracts and agreements S P S S
Receipts for procurement S S S S
Qua
lity
and
Regu
lato
ry
Com
plia
nce
Quality management S S S A
Regulatory compliance (e.g., FDA, EU, etc.) S P P NS
Sale
s M
anag
emen
t Sales order management, pricing S S S S
Available-to-promise (ATP) S NS S S
Customer service and returned goods handling S S S S
Customer relationship management (CRM) S S S A
Busin
ess P
latfo
rm C
apab
ilitie
s
Document management S S S A
Workflow, alerts, and notifications S S S S
Business process management (BPM) S S S S
Reporting and analysis S S S S
Business intelligence (BI) and analytics S S S M
Barcoding and RFID S S P S
Mobile devices support S S S S
Company-wide social collaboration tool S S S S
Audit history and trails S S S S
Glo
baliz
atio
n an
d Lo
caliz
atio
n Multicurrency capabilities S P S S
Multicompany support S P S S
Multilanguage support S S S M
Del
iver
y M
ode On premise S NS S NS
Hosted S NS S NS
Cloud based S S S S
Subscription-based licensing S S S S
S Supported | P Partially supported “out of the box” | A Supported via partner’s add-on or solution | M Supported via modification or customization | NS Not supported
AP: accounts payable; AR: accounts receivable; EhP: enhancement package; EU: European Union; FDA: Food and Drug Administration; GL: general ledger; RFID: radio frequency identification.
SAP ERP 6.0 (EhP 7) SYSPRO 7TGI Enterprise 21
ERP 8.2VAI S2K Enterprise
5.4Functionality
Fina
ncia
ls
Accounting—GL, AP, AR, cash management S S S S
Fixed assets S S NS S
Cost accounting S S S S
Budgeting S S S S
Project accounting S S S M
Hum
an
Reso
urce
s
Personnel management, employee self-service S A A A
Payroll/Benefits S A A A
Health and safety S A A A
Training management S A S A
Dis
cret
e M
anuf
actu
ring
Man
agem
ent
Production planning and scheduling S S S S
Product costing S S S S
Shop floor control A S S S
Product data management (PDM) S S S P
Product/Item configurator S S S S
Proc
ess
Man
ufac
turin
g M
anag
emen
t
Formulas, recipes, and routings S S S S
Process batch control and tracking S S S S
Process manufacturing costing S S S S
Material management S S S S
Conformance reporting S S S P
Inve
ntor
y M
anag
emen
t Inventory management and processing S S S S
Locations and lot control, including lot inheritance S S S S
Forecasting S S S S
Reservations and allocations S S S S
Purc
hasi
ng
Man
agem
ent
Supplier ratings and profiles S S S P
Requisitions and quotations S S S P
Purchase order management S S S S
Vendor contracts and agreements S S S P
Receipts for procurement S S S S
Qua
lity
and
Regu
lato
ry
Com
plia
nce
Quality management S S S S
Regulatory compliance (e.g., FDA, EU, etc.) S S S P
Sale
s M
anag
emen
t Sales order management, pricing S S S S
Available-to-promise (ATP) S S S P
Customer service and returned goods handling S S S S
Customer relationship management (CRM) P S S S
Busin
ess P
latfo
rm C
apab
ilitie
s
Document management S S S A
Workflow, alerts, and notifications S S S A
Business process management (BPM) S S S A
Reporting and analysis S S S A
Business intelligence (BI) and analytics P S S S
Barcoding and RFID S S S A
Mobile devices support P S S P
Company-wide social collaboration tool P S NS A
Audit history and trails S S S P
Glo
baliz
atio
n an
d Lo
caliz
atio
n Multicurrency capabilities S S S S
Multicompany support S S S S
Multilanguage support S S S P
Del
iver
y M
ode On premise S S S S
Hosted S S S S
Cloud based S S NS S
Subscription-based licensing P S NS S
S Supported | P Partially supported “out of the box” | A Supported via partner’s add-on or solution | M Supported via modification or customization | NS Not supported
AP: accounts payable; AR: accounts receivable; EhP: enhancement package; EU: European Union; FDA: Food and Drug Administration; GL: general ledger; RFID: radio frequency identification.
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The expansion of software-as-a-service (SaaS), or cloud-based, ERP software—and user
acceptance of it—is probably the most debated topic in the business IT segment in
recent years. Despite evident broadening of cloud embracement, corporate IT-related
resources are still full of cloud versus non-cloud discussion and analysis. And there is no
shortage of cloud-only ERP future predictions. However, the adoption of cloud-based
ERP by manufacturing businesses is still far from that originally expected. Moreover,
recent surveys provide controversial information, but they suggest a slowdown of
cloud ERP adoption by manufacturers. Certainly, it is not a confirmed fact yet, but it
definitely provides a good reason for every midsize manufacturing company looking
for new ERP software to revisit its own arguments with regard to SaaS ERP, to formulate
its own perception of cloud ERP software, and to evaluate its acceptance level for
cloud-based services.
In general, businesses today are looking for a new generation of solutions that won’t
be as burdensome and self-centric as traditional heavyweight ERP software systems.
Manufacturing businesses would prefer not to be distracted by IT issues and ERP
software challenges. By its nature, cloud-based business software allows companies to
concentrate on their core business rather than on maintaining their own complex and
expensive IT structure. But the truth is that cloud ERP is not a panacea for manufacturers.
Below is a discussion of the main talking points of the cloud ERP versus on-premise ERP
dispute as they relate to midsize manufacturers:
Cost of Ownership
Cost of ownership is perhaps still the strongest argument for and major driver of cloud-
based ERP vendors in their fight to win customer contracts. A common perception is that
cloud-based software is significantly less expensive in comparison with its traditional
Special Report:
The Pros and Cons of Cloud-based
Manufacturing ERP Software
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on-premise counterpart. And this is true up to certain degree, but, as usual, there are cost
nuances, reflected in the following questions:
• What are the overall charges and payments?
• What are the specific payment schedules and exit values?
• How willing is the vendor to negotiate flexible service and payment terms?
• What service and software availability has the vendor promised the client?
In harsh reality, some cloud ERP vendors have inflexible payment schedules and hidden
fees, which may negate most of the benefits of cloud delivery. For example, these vendors
may require customers to pay large sums upfront; they may even charge additional fees
on top of regular payments, penalize user errors or data-related occasional incidents, or
invent other revenue maximization measures. Although both cloud and on-premise ERP
software vendors sometimes tend to undertake such disappointing practices, giant cloud
vendors—which have higher numbers of customers with less average contract sales values
and, subsequently, less revenue share per customer—tend to demonstrate more rigidness
with regard to unique or customized contract terms and conditions.
What public cloud ERP software really does well is that it allows diversion from capital
investments to operational expenses. For some companies, this factor is the only winning
argument. Fixed subscription fees (sometimes applicable to on-premise apps as well)
and savings on ongoing upgrades and licensing costs allow companies to bypass long
investment approval processes, have little or no upfront major capital investments, and
therefore have more predictable overall spending. And with cloud ERP deployment,
fewer IT professionals are needed compared with the number needed for deploying and
maintaining on-premise solutions.
However, while cloud ERP is generally less expensive than on-premise ERP software,
it may not be significantly less expensive in the end. The time frame matters to a great
extent. Compared with on-premise ERP, cloud ERP software can be less expensive over the
short term, but more expensive over the long term. And as manufacturing companies are
traditionally more asset-intensive and well experienced in managing those assets than
non–asset-intensive companies, they may be less afraid of making capital investments
than, say, service organizations.
Regardless, with both cloud and on-premise ERP solutions, overall expenses and operating
costs may be higher than expected and depend greatly on the particular vendor’s practices
and appetites. It is indeed good practice to investigate the total cost of ownership (TCO)
and any possible hidden costs or uncovered future expenses before making a final decision
on ERP software.
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Data Ownership and Security
To what extent is your company willing to go to outsource its business? Nearly every
corporate business these days is outsourcing some of its business practices. But how
willing is your company to entrust the execution of your key business processes or all
your sensitive financial and commercial information to a third party, and to transfer other
backbone functions for the sake of reducing ERP TCO? This is a fundamental question to
answer when considering on-premise versus public cloud-based ERP software.
As companies have different outsourcing strategies and varying cloud ERP acceptance
levels, those that are not concerned with data ownership transfer will more readily accept
SaaS and the cloud software model. And vice versa, companies that tend to keep all
sensitive information within the organization and are wary about any potential leakages
will typically choose on-premise ERP software.
Certainly, the introduction of a third-party entity between a business and its data may be
associated with issues specific to the cloud deployment model. That intermediate player
mostly likely has a business agenda that is not in sync with your business objectives.
Despite written guarantees to keep your data safe and restrict access to various third
parties, still more people have access to your data. Though cloud software vendors may
have the best intentions, no one can exclude the possibility of fraud or bankruptcy of the
critical software provider, or other disastrous events that may cause service termination.
On the other hand, on-premise ERP vendors can close shop as well, but in this case, your
data remains within your company servers. At the same time, this should not deter on-
premise ERP customers from embracing responsible data-handling measures to prevent
external parties from accessing their data.
While the security concerns of SaaS ERP customers are probably technically unfounded—
as cloud vendors typically guarantee even greater security protection levels than an
average company can afford on its own—companies’ security anxieties are due to the
psychological discomfort created by the perception that an unknown circle of people has
access to potentially vulnerable company data. Yet there is a similar level of risk in the case
of internal IT structure; however, business owners and managers generally presume that
they have sufficient control over their employees to be able to prevent fraudulent actions
or quickly counterbalance them if, despite all efforts, they occur.
In addition, as data transfers and datacenters are usually well secured by cloud software
providers, concerns with security persist on the end user side. This is exacerbated by
the fact that users—in accordance with the growing bring-your-own-device (BYOD) and
mobility trends—are generally allowed to use their own mobile devices at work, which
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may contain phishing and other types of malware, or be somehow tracked differently.
Therefore, companies are forced to create and manage appropriate and typically complex
protection measures on their own (which they should be doing regardless of the selected
ERP software deployment option). This need contradicts cloud ERP marketing hype that
cloud software can be easily used with no IT staff on-site—i.e., depending on the business
scale, some technical assistance would still be required.
There are few points related to having your data hosted by your cloud software provider
that many potential ERP buyers aren’t aware of. With public cloud software, cost and time
are often prohibitive for the customer to allow for fixing of data errors or inevitable human
mistakes. And there might be a cost and associated time for getting your own data back
from the vendor in the case of contract termination. Furthermore, there may also be a cost
for data archiving, storage, and access to the archives after a certain period of time. Such
expenses should also be examined and shouldn’t be excluded from the software selection
equation, as they may be quite substantial.
An additional important argument in favor of cloud ERP software delivery appeals to
those companies operating in politically and economically unstable regions and countries.
Cloud-based software provides more security for the company’s data. This is particularly
true if servers are physically located in another region or even abroad. So the risks of losing
business data due to raiding or other acts of aggression are significantly lower in the case
of cloud software delivery.
Another positive aspect of SaaS ERP software is its higher resistance to piracy. This problem
is particularly serious in developing countries. As clients have no software installed on
premises, they have no or very limited access to the source code. This argument applies to
cloud software vendors more so than users, but obviously this issue affects users too and
should not be ignored.
Adaptability and Configurability
Although all midsize manufacturers may have a similar structure, there are plenty of
differences among manufacturing companies. In fact, no two manufacturing companies
are alike, though they may operate in exactly the same market segment and be direct
competitors. Even different facilities of the same manufacturer often conduct their internal
processes in different ways.
The dissimilarity among manufacturers is a major reason that multitenant cloud ERP
software isn’t gaining popularity with the speed that, say, multitenant cloud customer
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relationship management (CRM) or human resources (HR) solutions are. “One-software-fits-
all” ERP software can’t be easily applied to manufacturing companies without significant
changes to current business processes. Public cloud ERP software would be more viable
if businesses were simple, without significant variations in their business processes. Also,
it is better suited to solutions that are vertically focused and for a specific manufacturing
area. An example of this would be an ERP system specifically designed for the food and
beverage industry.
As vendors nowadays are developing cloud ERP software with more configuration
capabilities, the software has become way more flexible than it was a few years back.
However, the main idea of providing the same source code application to all their
customers obviously has logical and technical limitations. It fits some businesses, but not
all, especially those that have unique or complex business processes that require unique
or customized software.
At the same time, on-premise ERP solutions typically provide more flexibility, as they
are more easily modifiable and customizable to the customer’s uniqueness and to those
practices the customer is not willing to amend. On the flip side, there is a potentially high
cost for modifications and subsequent system maintenance for both the vendor and its
customers.
Available Functionality
On-premise ERP software has a strong competitive advantage of greater overall depth
and breadth of available functionality. Larger and more complex businesses demand
more complicated software requirements and, therefore, more sophisticated ERP systems.
Vendors of traditional on-premise solutions, which have been on the corporate software
market for decades, have gathered a unique amount of knowledge of their customers’
businesses and have therefore managed to transform their offerings into the ERP solutions
of today. Cloud-based ERP vendors are relatively new players in the ERP space, with many
in the relatively early stages of functionality development.
However, the situation is rapidly changing. Some vendors, particularly large cloud-only
ERP software vendors, are agressively pursuing product development, and are rapidly
supplementing their products with new functions and recently acquired solutions. So,
excluding tier-one company requirements, there are decent public cloud-based applications
that provide a good level of core ERP functionality, such as financial management and
inventory management, and that are suitable for more-than-the-average manufacturing
complexity.
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A good proportion of traditional on-premise ERP vendors also provide cloud deployment
options for their ERP products, or at least solution hosting services. These options may
accommodate the needs of complex businesses, which can tolerate fewer hardware and
ERP software issues. A number of typically smaller vendors also offer on-premise software
combined with the advantages of regular service-like payments and license leasing
plans. So, the options are richer than they initially appear—it’s often a matter of mutual
agreement between a vendor and its client.
Compliance
There are certain manufacturing business verticals that fall under strict compliance rules
of specific countries or regions. For example, in the Unites States, there are the Health
Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the Payment Card Industry Data
Security Standard (PCI DSS), the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), and other privacy and data
security rules that require that software providers meet certain standards, rules, and
practices. Another exemplary standard is found in the US defense industry, which has strict
rules with regard to the citizenship of everyone involved in accessing the data, and, for
instance, exerts tight control over all data, documents, materials, and equipment on-site.
Although there are cloud-based ERP solutions that comply with certain standards,
additional attention is required when moving ERP and its data to cloud-based vendors.
Rigorous research of potential compliance risks and challenges must be performed prior to
making such a decision. The price for a mistake is high—the company may face significant
penalties or even lose part of its business.
In fact, the same in-depth preliminary research practice should be applied to on-premise,
hybrid, and other variants of ERP software deployment.
Integration with Other Applications
Integration of sophisticated software solutions, such as ERP software for manufacturing
and CRM software, has always been one of the major pain points for manufacturing
businesses that have to use two or more different systems in parallel. Integration and
interfacing errors and data transfer issues are the most common and critical issues for help
desks to resolve. These issues became more complex when public cloud ERP first appeared
on the market. The market’s general understanding of how to integrate software that your
company does not control and the data your company does not handle was fairly poor at
that time.
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The situation today is much better, as the ERP industry and cloud vendors have gained
experience and the necessary know-how on how to perform integration. In parallel, the
entire business software industry has developed many practices on better and easier
product integration. As a result, integration with cloud ERP software is no longer an
unresolvable challenge; however, it still is one of the most important considerations when
selecting an ERP solution. The ideal package should provide seamless integration with all
the company’s existing applications, whether those be installed on premises or located
in the cloud. As there is virtually unlimited variability in the combination of software
solutions companies have in place, the ERP software decision should be made based on
the individual company’s needs, and the integration capabilities of all theoretically suitable
solutions should be examined.
Implementation and Maintenance Simplicity
The simplicity of cloud ERP implementation and maintenance is an advantage and a strong
selling point for cloud ERP vendors. Though there do not appear to be any pitfalls with this
approach, a few considerations are worthy of mention. First, the lion’s share of preparation
and implementation work in typical ERP deployment at a medium-sized manufacturing
company consists of manufacturing technology and master data preparation and
validation. Bills of materials, engineering processes, materials lists, current inventories for
all the items, and all the remaining important data entered, migrated, and converted into
the system must be correct, valid, and current. Challenges with servers, internal networks,
and other hardware arrangements are also important, and are time and effort intensive—
but those don’t constitute the majority of the project work. Regardless of the software
deployment option chosen, ERP implementation projects should be managed similarly.
So any promises of effortless, simplified, and unbelievably quick implementation of public
cloud ERP software for a complex manufacturing business should not be perceived as an
absolute and unconditional truth. Master data preparation and migration challenges are
inevitable, unless those aren’t included in the implementation project or are already in
excellent shape and ready to be imported.
As for ongoing maintenance of the ERP system, cloud software definitely requires less
effort from the customer. There is no need for ERP software and server upgrades and for
applying fixes, which are complex and expensive processes. This is the responsibility of the
ERP software vendor or its authorized partner; the customer shouldn’t even be aware of any
applied software upgrades, unless a significant functionality chunk has been added. At the
same time, it would be incorrect to assume that a cloud ERP system doesn’t require any ERP
or IT staff from the customer. A manufacturing ERP system for midsize companies is already
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an extremely sophisticated tool that requires some of the customer’s employees to take
care of the data and changing report requirements, to track current transactions, to analyze
inventory data quality, and to execute other business analysis and data analysis functions.
Finally, the corporate network and Internet connections required to access cloud-based
ERP should be in working order at all times. All this upkeep requires a qualified technical
and ERP staff in place at the customer site.
Flexibility and Scalability
The features of scalability and flexibility are an often-seen marketing weapon of cloud-
based ERP vendors. Scalability obviously provides a strong argument in favor of SaaS ERP
software. Indeed, a medium-sized company can have a potentially unlimited number of
user workplaces with a cloud ERP system. Theoretically, this number is limited only by
technical restrictions of the vendor’s datacenters, but these restrictions typically surpass
the requirements of a medium or even large customer.
Another benefit of SaaS software is that the number of users can be increased exponentially
within a very short timeframe. As you don’t need to address your own server capacity, to
increase the number of users you simply need to provide them with access devices and
reach an agreement with the software provider about the new number of users. Because of
licensing complexity, hardware locations, and physical computing limitations, the situation
may be far more complicated for an on-premise ERP system. With cloud ERP there is also
the ability to decrease the number of users on demand. In the on-premise variant, the
customer typically has to carry all the licenses even if it no longer needs to use them all.
Flexibility requires deeper investigation. The first question to ask a vendor is what exactly
does it mean by the term “flexibility.” If it refers to the ability of the software to adapt to
potential future changes in internal business processes, business environment as a whole,
or other types of changes, then flexibility reflects the ease with which the customer can
make the necessary changes within the software. The product deployment method
doesn’t appear to have much to do with these processes. In this case, software adaptability
mainly touches the system’s internal logic, code structure, and other software architecture
specifics. But if “flexibility” is used to describe the ease with which the customer can
increase or decrease the number of users, or obtain access in other countries and regions,
then cloud-based software has an obvious advantage over an on-premise solution.
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Web-based and Location Agnostic
Web-based manufacturing ERP software isn’t new—the vast majority of vendors have been
successfully developing and offering it for many years, regardless of whether the solution
is on premise or in the cloud. However, delivery via a Web browser is the only option that
is technically available for cloud ERP. For an end user, it does not make a big difference
whether it’s a Web-based system or one that is installed locally; it mainly depends on
the customer’s preferences. But generally speaking, Web-based ERP is more recent and
modern, has a smaller footprint, requires lower technical parameters for end users’ access
devices, organically permits mobile device usage, and allows for access from any place.
On-premise ERP software, even though it is Web based, does not provide the same level of
freedom as cloud-based ERP software, and assumes certain connection limitations due to
its technical nature. If required, the on-premise software can also be accessed remotely by
its users, but such a process is typically more complicated and therefore more expensive.
Infrastructure Issues and Outages
Availability of cloud-based ERP software is fully dependent on the existence of a 100%
reliable Internet connection channel that has sufficient bandwidth to provide the necessary
ERP data transfer speed. As no single provider can guarantee a 100% reliable Internet
connection, a good practice for companies that want to fully exploit the benefits of cloud-
based ERP software is to obtain a redundant Internet connection (or multiple connections)
that uses an alternative communication channel, to use it in parallel, and to keep it as a
mandatory backup measure—and thereby ensure access to vital ERP information at all
times and without any interruptions.
The channel’s required bandwidth is also a critical characteristic in the performance of
the cloud ERP system. The channel’s capacity should be high enough to accommodate
the constantly increasing needs of the system. As the volume of data generated by an ERP
system is ever increasing, a company that uses cloud ERP should be ready to constantly
improve the characteristics of its Internet access channels. Although on-premise ERP
solutions may also be highly reliant on the quality of the Internet connection, this
dependency never reaches 100%.
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Conclusion
In conclusion, both traditional on-premise ERP software and newer cloud-based ERP
software have benefits and pitfalls. Despite the extensive and aggressive marketing
efforts of cloud ERP vendors, cloud ERP software is not a panacea for manufacturers. And
manufacturing companies are not at the forefront of cloud-based ERP software adoption
for multiple reasons, many of which are related to the nature of the manufacturing business
and how cloud ERP addresses the challenges and concerns of manufacturers. Overall, the
idea of cloud computing is very attractive to business managers, who tend to have an
easier time with the decision to outsource in general.
A combination of the two, or a hybrid approach, is often an option worth considering. It
allows for embracing the benefits of the cloud for non-critical or non-transactional areas
of business software. Another option for those companies that prefer to keep their data
within their organizations’ servers could be private cloud deployment, which combines
the scalability and flexibility of cloud ERP with the security and data ownership benefits of
on-premise ERP software. But the final software selection decision should always be based
on the specific real-life business requirements and plans for future growth.
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TEC Selection Project
TEC Helps K-Tron Select New ERP Solution
Company
K-Tron is a leading global supplier of feeders, pneumatic conveying components, and bulk
material handling systems. Founded in 1949, the company has nearly 700 employees in five
locations worldwide, and annual revenues topping $100 million (USD).
Challenge
In 2011, K-Tron began looking for a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution to
replace its outdated legacy system—a combination of MAPICS, Cameleon Configurator,
and what K-Tron’s quality director, Jirina Ramescu, calls a “spaghetti bowl of home-grown
applications.”
But the project hit a roadblock shortly after kickoff as representatives from the company’s
five sites proved unable to agree on a single set of requirements.
Ramescu attributes the impasse to a lack of knowledge. After years spent using an older
system, many of the stakeholders didn’t have a clear idea of a modern ERP system’s
capabilities. And even those who were more up-to-date on ERP features were convinced
that K-Tron’s requirements were too specific for an off-the-shelf solution to support.
Without an agreement, the team couldn’t secure approval for the project. So to break
the deadlock and get expert help with their ERP selection, K-Tron turned to Technology
Evaluation Centers (TEC).
TEC Advisor showed us exactly how different solutions addressed K-Tron’s requirements. That made it quick and easy to get a short list that everyone could agree on. ”Jirina Ramescu,
Quality Director, K-Tron
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Requirements
K-Tron’s new ERP solution needed to meet the following criteria:
• support for a low-volume/high mix engineer to order (ETO) manufacturing environment;
• support for the languages, currencies, and other specific requirements in the five
regions where the company operates; and
• integration with K-Tron’s in-house portal—a home-grown sales quote application
developed specifically for the company’s products.
K-Tron estimated that the system would need to support around 500 users.
Project
K-Tron’s selection team had first encountered TEC at an ERP Vendor Shootout event in
Baltimore, Maryland. Impressed with TEC’s rigorous methodology and impartial approach,
K-Tron hired the Montreal-based advisory firm to develop a single set of functional and
technical requirements that software vendors would be able to understand—and respond
to accurately.
So TEC built a custom requirement set that included functionality for ERP, product lifecycle
management (PLM), customer relationship management (CRM), and enterprise asset
management (EAM). Based on that requirement set, TEC helped the company complete its
long list of prospective solutions and compare vendor responses to requests for information
(RFI) using the TEC Advisor software evaluation and selection system.
But after quickly identifying a short list of solutions to consider, the project hit another
roadblock. K-Tron was acquired by Batesville, Indiana (U.S.)-based Hillenbrand Inc., and
naturally, Hillenbrand wanted all of its subsidiaries operating on the same platform. It
seemed that the selection process would continue only if Hillenbrand’s own software system
couldn’t meet K-Tron’s requirements.
TEC’s project managers were instrumental toour success. The TEC team were great peopleto discuss strategies with. ” Jirina Ramescu,
Quality Director, K-Tron
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Fortunately, TEC was able to leverage the months of work that had already gone into the
selection project, performing a full software capabilities assessment project to determine
whether Hillenbrand’s system was indeed a good fit for K-Tron. And while K-Tron did end
up selecting the system proposed by Hillenbrand, TEC’s methodology ensured that the
company got a clear picture of what the vendor could deliver before making a final decision.
According to Ramescu, comparing solutions with TEC Advisor allowed K-Tron to identify
important functional gaps in the proposed solution, and negotiate for the extra module
required to close those gaps.
Result
Despite a few unexpected setbacks, K-Tron was able to select the winning solution in
under a year with help from TEC. Happy with the results of the project, Ramescu cites TEC’s
methodology and project-management expertise as the key to aligning K-Tron’s stakeholders
and keeping the selection project running smoothly.
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Technology Evaluation Centers (TEC) is the impartial advocate for the enterprise software purchaser. TEC helps companies like yours choose the enterprise software solutions that best meet their unique business requirements. Our selection services can help ensure the success of your next software selection project—quickly, impartially, and cost-effectively.
TEC’s approach combines comprehensive research, industry-leading decision support technology, a proven selection methodology, and the expertise of our analysts. We can help you
M
etho
dolog
ies Expertise
Research
Technolog
y
“While every technology deployment comes with its own unique set of challenges, the TEC process was more efficient from the perspective of both cost and time. ”—Bob Lloyd, Manager, Business and Logistics
Solutions, Flakeboard Ltd.
www.technologyevaluation.com
TEC’s Enterprise Software Selection Services
• bring objectivity and transparency to the selection process,• choose the solution that best satisfies your specific business requirements,• reduce the cost, risk, and duration of your selection project, and• offer rational financial justifications, and provide a clear audit trail.
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TEC Resources
Special ReportsHow Mobile ERP Is Changing the Way Manufacturers Do Business
Why Manufacturers and Distributors (Still) Need Different ERP Systems
TEC 2013 ERP Market Survey Report: What Organizations Want in Enterprise Resource Planning Software
Articles Cloud ERP for Manufacturing: 6 Considerations
Cloud ERP Users Are Happier, Study Purports
How Do You Choose between SAP and Oracle? Run Them Side by Side
Is a Two-tier ERP Strategy Right for You?
To ERP or Not to ERP, That Is the C-level Question
Vendor NotesApollo: Local Cloud ERP for Balkan Mining Operations
Deltek: Social ERP Emerges—A Deep Dive into Deltek Kona
FinancialForce.com: FinancialForce ERP—New Player in Cloud ERP Market
Infor: Infor Delivers SyteLine 9.0 (Six Years in the Making)
Oracle: Social ERP Emerges—A Deep Dive into Oracle Social Network
ProfitKey: ProfitKey in 2014—the Manufacturing ERP Solution’s New Look and Status
QAD: QAD Explore 2013: Veteran Vendor Ready to Tackle the Future
SAP: SAP Broadens Range of Solutions for SMEs
SAP Business Suite on HANA: See What You’re Missing
Social ERP Emerges—A Deep Dive into SAP Jam
UNIT4: UNIT4 Agresso Cloud Platform Spotlight
TEC Certified ProductsAptean Made2Manage
Fullscope EDGE Process Industries Solutions (PI) for Microsoft Dynamics AX
IFS Applications 8.0
NetSuite ERP
Rootstock ERP for SMB
SYSPRO 7
See all TEC Certifications.
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ERP Request for Proposal (RFP) TemplatesGet a detailed, customizable enterprise software feature list for your ERP
software evaluation.
Discrete Manufacturing
Process Manufacturing
Mixed-Mode Manufacturing
Manufacturing for SMBs
Software Evaluation ReportsGet a side-by-side comparison of ERP software solutions for manufacturing.
Discrete Manufacturing
Process Manufacturing
Mixed-Mode Manufacturing
Manufacturing for SMBs
In-depth Software Evaluation Use TEC’s online software evaluation system, TEC Advisor, to see how ERP software
solutions for manufacturing address your company’s unique business requirements. Visit
TEC’s Manufacturing Evaluation Center to start your evaluation today.
White Paper Library The Case for Cloud ERP in Manufacturing: Alleviating Outdated Concerns
How to Choose a Manufacturing System
Lean Manufacturing
Manufacturing in the Cloud
8 Must-have Mobile Application Qualities to Increase Operational Efficiency
Casebook
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Aptean Customer Success Story
Made2Manage ERP Software from
Aptean Helps Press-Seal Gasket Navigate the
Construction Industry Environment
Case Study
CustomerPress-Seal Gasket
IndustryRubber Products
SolutionMade2Manage
Challenges• Existing business system resided
on obsolete computer hardware
• Little data to support pricing
and estimating decisions
• System did not provide the level
of support and analysis that the
company needed
Press-Seal Gasket has manufactured and designed rubber pipe gaskets since 1954. With
4 high-capacity precision extrusion lines and 10 injection molding presses, Press-Seal
supplies gaskets and flexible connectors for pipe, manholes, and storm water drainage and
sanitary sewer systems. In recent years, the company has expanded to produce rubber-
based products for rail, automotive, aerospace, and industrial customers, in addition to
its traditional underground construction markets. The company’s in-house laboratory and
Benefits• Detailed costs that provide greater
analysis and more accurate future
quotes and estimates
• Enhanced shop floor visibility,
enabling process improvements
and cost reductions
• Improved accuracy of shop floor
reporting, which grants real-time
progress tracking and better cost
estimating
• Contract pricing and tracking that
provides labor savings and ensures
accuracy
Casebook
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engineering department combined with the Top-Notch Tool division, offers customers
economical, single-source access to the products and services they need to get the job
done.
Construction Industry Challenges
In 2000, Press-Seal Gasket found themselves in a growing, but rapidly changing, market
with increasing competition. Their existing business system resided on obsolete computer
hardware. The applications no longer provided the level of support and analysis that the
company needed to stay strong and manage an increasingly complex business. The biggest
need was in the area of costing. Press-Seal Gasket had little data to support pricing and
estimating decisions and therefore showed wide variances between what they thought
they would earn on each job and the actual results. Bidding on new opportunities was,
therefore, a particularly trying and risky proposition.
As Press-Seal Gasket started their search for a new system, one of the primary criteria
was that the system had to be built on a SQL Server database. “The company understood
the importance of the database,” Press-Seal Gasket information technology (IT) Manager
Chris Slater recalled. “It’s at the heart of the system. In order to get full value from the
information, you have to be able to access it with standard, easy- to-use tools and be able
to pull information into spreadsheets and ad-hoc reports easily and quickly. We felt that
SQL Server was our best bet for being able to do that.”
That one early decision greatly simplified the selection process. With a more limited range
of products to consider, the Press-Seal team focused on functionality to support their
business needs, particularly the ability to define and track costs at the product, customer,
and order levels. Additional consideration was given to ease of use. From a list of four
finalists, the choice was pared down to two and finally to the one solution that best fit their
criteria: Made2Manage ERP from Aptean.
After a six-month preparation process—consisting of planning the conversion, training
future system users, and testing the system’s capabilities and configuration—Press-Seal
Gasket completed the conversion over one weekend, keying in beginning balances and
open orders to start business anew on Monday morning. After running parallel for just a
month or two, the old system was retired permanently, but retained on-site in case there
was ever a need to retrieve historical information from old files.
Made2Manage is at the core of everything we do. It tracks every part of our business and gives us the information we need to make decisions and resolve the challenges the market throws at us. ” Chris Slater,
IT Manager, Press-Seal Gasket
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Moving Forward with Eyes Wide Open
The company spent two years analyzing and adjusting standard costs to try to get better
estimates. While the result was “tolerable,” according to Slater, there was not a lot of
confidence in the data and “tolerable” was not what they really needed. With Made2Manage
in place, Press-Seal Gasket has been able to refine those costs and now has a good handle
on production rates and unit costs, and can bid with a lot more confidence.
Since the start of the business downturn in 2007, Press-Seal Gasket has had to make some
changes in their organization to lower costs and remain profitable. “Made2Manage has
been very important to us,” Slater says. “We know our true costs now. When we make a
change and find new efficiencies, we know the full impact on our costs and we know how
much we can lower prices and still remain profitable. Also, when a material cost increases,
we can make an informed decision on whether we need to pass that higher cost on to the
customer or whether we can afford to absorb it. This is all very important to the survival of
our business. We could not have done it without Made2Manage.”
Slater also credits Made2Manage for contributing to the aforementioned cost
improvements. The clear view of production processes and how they perform on a daily
basis has helped identify ways to speed up production and to simplify processes.
Press-Seal Gasket uses the Made2Manage Shop Floor Manager (with terminals on the
production floor) in place of the outmoded bar-code system they had before. “Shop Floor
Manager provides direct and immediate feedback to the workers as they report their
activities. It’s easier for the workers to report and they’ve been able to eliminate reporting
errors,” Slater says.
Continuous Business Improvement
Press-Seal Gasket is so enthusiastic about Made2Manage that they routinely volunteer
to be a beta test site for new releases. “We have been amazed by the improvements in
the new releases,” Slater says. “The new capabilities and the quality of the programs have
been simply outstanding.” In the last release, for example, new contract pricing features
have been a big help to the sales department. “We can set up custom pricing by item and
customer and, as the orders come in, the system automatically prices them, accurately,
without the user having to look up the contract, override the catalog price, etc. There’s
huge labor savings there and we know the order is priced right, every time.”
Shop Floor Manager provides direct and immediate feedback to the workers as they report their activities. It’s easier for the workers to report and they’ve been able to eliminate reporting errors. ” Chris Slater,
IT Manager, Press-Seal Gasket
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Another big help is the customer relationship management (CRM) activity tracking feature.
The system keeps track of every customer contact and action, including any calls, inquiries,
site visit notes, collection activities, and more. The user has a full view of all customer
contacts and notes on one screen. It’s easy for the user and helps provide great customer
service. “Made2Manage is at the core of everything we do,” Slater says. “It tracks every
part of our business and gives us the information we need to make decisions and resolve
the challenges the market throws at us.” Slater is particularly pleased with the cost-of-
ownership of the system, too. “The ongoing costs for running Made2Manage are really very
minor compared to the value we’re getting from the system.”
About Aptean More than 9,000 customers around the world rely on Aptean to give them a competitive edge. By
providing innovative, industry-driven enterprise application software, Aptean helps businesses to
satisfy their customers, operate most efficiently, and stay at the forefront of their industry.
For more information, visit: www.aptean.com.
We know our true costs now. When we make a change and find new efficiencies, we know the full impact on our costs and we know how much we can lower prices and still remain profitable. ”Chris Slater,
IT Manager, Press-Seal Gasket
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Deacom Customer Success Story
Kelley Technical Coatings—Achieving Rapid
Return on Investment
Case Study
Situation
Utilizing an antiquated, unsupported system that required numerous modules and
heavy customization in order to meet their industry-specific needs as a batch process
manufacturer, Kelley Technical Coatings could no longer ignore the challenges putting a
strain on its business, as well as its employees.
Extensive manual work was hindering Kelley Tech’s productivity. Employees were spending
hours sorting through data, trying to determine what should be entered into the system.
Once they were ready to input the data, they would spend hours, sometimes days working
through a seemingly endless number of data entry screens. The company’s reporting
functionality was inadequate and could not extract the data into formal reports, so more
hours were spent manually compiling necessary reports in Excel.
Kelley Tech relied heavily on these manual system work-arounds to manage many of
its processes. The disparate modules were creating silos of information that did not
communicate with each other. This presented the most significant issue with how inventory
was affecting the general leger (GL). The company’s visibility into the full impact that
inventory was having on the GL was severely limited until it reached its year-end physical
inventory count. Because Kelley Tech was forced to expense packaging at 100% due to the
lack of communication between production and inventory, this year-end count left the
company with a huge adjustment that negatively impacted the bottom line.
Kelley Technical Coatings manufactures swimming pool and deck coatings, non-slip and
non-skid coatings, architectural and precision original equipment manufacturer (OEM)
coatings, as well as outdoor coatings for tennis and basketball court surfaces. Since 1949,
the company has earned its customers’ loyalty with its total commitment to satisfaction. As
Kelley Technical Coatings has said for generations, “We Stand for the Finish!”
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Kelley Tech’s productivity was also affected by a lack of formulation capability in its lab
operations. This was creating a bottleneck and forcing the research and development
group to use Access reports to manage calculations for weights per pound and gallon, as
well as for volatile organic compound (VOC) and hazardous air pollutant (HAP) measures,
and other regulatory compliance measures.
These challenges provided strong motivation to find a comprehensive enterprise resource
planning (ERP) system that offered enterprise-wide visibility and enabled communication
between every aspect of its operations.
Selection
Led by the director of finance and information systems, Doris Devers, Kelley Technical
Coatings began the evaluation process to find a best-fit ERP system. It was important to
Kelley Tech that the new system be capable of handling all of the complex requirements of a
batch process manufacturer, including a working environment for its lab that could handle
formulation, costing, environmental reports, and calculations on weight measurements,
etc. The system also needed strict lot tracking with automated documentation to ensure
consistent and accurate inventory control.
In addition to DEACOM, Kelley Technical Coatings was evaluating Sage and BatchMaster,
but found that the DEACOM single system most effectively met all of their critical
requirements. Kelley Tech considered DEACOM’s model to be the “all-inclusive” solution
it was looking for, and was encouraged by Deacom’s willingness and ability to quickly
develop and deploy system enhancements to address requirements not already being
addressed, and at no additional cost.
Implementation
As with any major information technology (IT) implementation, the collective Kelley Tech/
Deacom team faced a few challenges that caused the implementation to run slightly
longer than anticipated. Because of Deacom’s guaranteed fixed price, not only were all of
Kelley Tech’s functionality needs addressed at no additional cost, the company was also
able to draw on the expertise of the Deacom implementation team for as long as it needed,
without budget overrun concerns.
The extra time for implementation was primarily related to Kelley Tech’s lab requirements.
With no lab environment in place, Deacom needed to build it from scratch. The Deacom
implementation team and Kelley Tech’s lab personnel had a highly collaborative relationship,
working together to fully appreciate what the other was looking to accomplish. The lab
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DEACOM has simplified a lot of our processes and dramatically improved our productivity. ”Doris Devers, Director of Finance
and Information Systems,
Kelley Technical Coatings
“personnel were diligent in learning how to set up the system, and the Deacom team was
thoughtful about understanding all of Kelley Tech’s specific needs. Additionally, Kelley
Tech’s lab personnel wanted to see what the new system’s lab environment would look like,
which presented a new challenge since it was still in development. Deacom proactively
set weekly meetings to ensure the lab team was kept up-to-date with the progress of the
system. Ultimately, Kelley Tech found Deacom to be very helpful and attentive throughout
this lengthy process.
When Kelley Tech provided constructive feedback to the Deacom team regarding how
the system handled the release of batch tickets, the team worked diligently with the
appropriate Kelley Tech resource to improve the capability and ensure that its resource
was thoroughly trained and could easily manage the process independently. Once the
combined team worked through the initial issue, Kelley Tech found the functionality to be
user friendly and extremely helpful.
“Implementing an entirely new system was a huge step for us, so we expected that it would
be a bit bumpy,” said director of finance and information systems (IS), and ERP project
manager, Doris Devers. “But the Deacom implementation team was on-site for the entire
first week, holding our hands, and ready to assist any department that needed it. And even
though they weren’t physically with us past the first week, their responsiveness never
suffered. We have always felt well supported.”
Customer Satisfaction
“DEACOM has simplified a lot of our processes and dramatically improved our productivity,”
said Devers. “What used to take eight to twelve steps, DEACOM streamlined into one or
two, in some cases eliminating steps altogether.”
Deacom has impacted many of Kelley Tech’s internal processes, including:
• Full visibility into transaction history
• A fully automated electronic data interchange (EDI) system that has reduced time
spent on importing customer invoices and cut back on keying errors
• Ability to release shipments the day they go out, ensuring the right batch numbers
and products are adjusted in the system
• Ability to handle receiving on the dock, eliminating paperwork delays by having to
send through intercompany mail
• Simplified order tracking and invoicing
• Increased efficiency with batch ticket releasing and fill reporting
• Improved accounting processes with real-time transactions
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These and other improvements resulting from the implementation of DEACOM have
delivered considerable financial benefit, leaving Kelley Tech feeling confident when it
came time to present the impact of DEACOM to its board of directors.
“The implementation of DEACOM delivered significant change and equally significant
benefits. Now that inventory actually communicates with the general ledger, we don’t
need to expense 100% of packaging and sundries, but rather apply it to inventory to be
included as an asset on the balance sheet, and expensed through the income statement as
true COGS [cost of goods sold]. This led to substantial savings in packaging and sundries
expenses, which went straight to the bottom line. This was huge! From this, we achieved a
return on investment within the first 6 months of going live! And our annual audit went
more smoothly and quickly than in past years.”
DEACOM has improved our company’s processes in all areas. We are very pleased with our decision and are looking forward to taking advantage of the warehouse management tools in the near future. DEACOM is truly a system that takes complexity and makes it simple. ” Doris Devers, Director of Finance and Information Systems, Kelley Technical Coatings
“
About Deacom, Inc. Deacom, Inc. is the producer of DEACOM, a complete ERP software solution for process manufacturing
companies with difficult-to-handle requirements. DEACOM ERP software is built specifically for
companies who manufacture adhesives, sealants, chemicals, lubricants, cosmetics, food, beverage,
pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, paints and coatings. DEACOM exists to provide a single, scalable
solution that seamlessly links all departments within a manufacturing company, providing a
comprehensive view of the entire operation. By making complex issues simple, Deacom helps
streamline manufacturing business process to maximize productivity and profitability. For more
information, please visit www.deacom.com or e-mail [email protected].
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Epicor Customer Success Story
Chirch Global Looks to Cloud ERP to
Support Its Worldwide Operations
Case Study
Company Facts • Company: Chirch Global Manufacturing
• Location: McHenry, Illinois
• Industry: Metal fabrication and stamping
• Number of locations: One manufacturing facility in
the U.S., supported by China resources
• Web site: www.chirchmfg.com
Challenges and Opportunities• Leverage an on-demand software-as-a-service
(SaaS) model to deliver all the benefits of a
common enterprise resource planning (ERP)
backbone to coordinate operations around the
globe and facilitate information sharing, ensure
compliance with quality standards and best
practices, and support cost savings, operational
efficiencies and future growth, with minimal
information technology (IT) overhead.
Epicor Solution and Services• Epicor Express
Why Epicor?• A complete end-to-end ERP solution provided
in the SaaS model, Epicor Express delivers broad
functionality, particularly for the specific needs of
contract manufacturers, job shops, and small-to-
midsize businesses.
Benefits• Better competitive advantage via strategic use
of offshore manufacturing managed under a
coordinated, quality umbrella
• Improved operational visibility, agility, and
responsiveness to more effectively navigate the
changing landscape of manufacturing operations
• Improved supplier and subcontractor management,
supporting global lean manufacturing and just-in-
time inventory management initiatives, and more
strategic preventative maintenance and scheduling,
contributing to greater uptime
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Since the mid-1990s, manufacturing has become exceedingly globally competitive. Many
U.S.-based manufacturers have looked to outsource work to China, achieving a lower cost
basis but often with a loss in overall quality. The residual effect of this trend has been a loss
of jobs and an erosion of America’s manufacturing base.
But Chirch Global Manufacturing is an example of a manufacturer applying ingenuity
and technology to support a new hybrid onshore/offshore manufacturing model that is
fundamentally changing the game for the advantage of its customers/business partners,
while keeping its U.S. manufacturing base intact.
A family-owned business, Chirch Global was started by Anthony L. Chirchirillo in 2002.
The company offers cost-effective precision metal fabrication, stamping, progressive die
tooling, and sub-assemblies manufactured in Northern Illinois and China. The company is
ISO/TS 16949 certified. Chirch stamps precision parts for all industries using materials from
.004-inch to .375-inch thick. Services include: rapid prototyping, fabrications, stampings,
assemblies, machining, tool design and build, specialty packaging, and global sourcing.
Industries served include: appliance, automotive, cellular, communications, consumer,
computer, electrical, electronic, environmental, medical, shelving, and military.
Staring Down Global Competition
A few years ago, Chirch was looking at a very dire scenario—how to compete with offshore
job shops whose landed price was often less than the company’s cost. The company
knew it needed to adopt a global perspective to be able to compete globally, but wasn’t
prepared to give up on its U.S. manufacturing operations. By embracing the lower labor
costs of a Chinese workforce for progressive die tooling, Chirch knew it could establish a
more competitive cost structure that would help keep work—and production jobs—in its
U.S. manufacturing facility.
In 2008, Chirch acquired a precision metal stamping company based in McHenry, Illinois.
However, it also acquired antiquated information systems lacking both documentation
and user manuals. Chirch knew technology was key to making its hybrid onshore/offshore
business model fly and provide the agility and responsiveness needed, but it couldn’t
afford expensive technology deployments or costly in-house IT resources.
At a time when many manufacturers were timid regarding adoption of cloud-based,
virtualized solutions, Chirch adopted a first-mover visionary position, leveraging an on-
demand cloud-based ERP solution to support the ability to access information anywhere to
support seamless global 24/7 operations. Seeking to standardize on the most current and
future-looking technology platform, it moved to the Epicor Manufacturing Express Edition
(Epicor Express) platform in late 2009.
We wanted the most current and future-looking technology, and Epicor, with its roots in contract manufacturing applications, as well as its strong software-as-a-service ERP solution, was a great fit. ”Anthony L. Chirchirillo,
CEO, Chirch Global
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A complete end-to-end ERP solution provided in the SaaS model, Epicor Express delivers
broad functionality, particularly for the specific needs of contract manufacturers, job
shops, and small-to-midsize businesses. It is priced affordably with a deployment model
that minimizes complexity. In order to maximize the benefits of the cloud, Epicor Express
runs on a multitenant, shared database environment via a single application instance.
“We wanted the most current and future-looking technology,” said Anthony L. Chirchirillo,
chief executive officer (CEO) of Chirch Global, “and Epicor, with its roots in contract
manufacturing applications, as well as its strong software-as-a-service ERP solution, was
a great fit.”
Orchestrating Global Operations with Epicor Express
The Epicor Express solution has enabled Chirch to coordinate and orchestrate its global
supply chain and operations, and ensure quality and compliance in accordance with ISO/
TS 16949 quality standards. It also supports operational visibility and transparency so that
Chirch can effectively navigate the “changing landscape” of manufacturing operations to
prevent line shutdowns.
The company has also been able to implement more strategic preventative maintenance
and scheduling, which has contributed to greater uptime. In the past, scheduling at Chirch
was extremely labor intensive and required a lot of upkeep. Upon the beginning of a
job, a job router would often place a die in a press, only to realize that the tool needed
sharpening. They would then have to break down the setup for the requisite maintenance
before starting the job. With the new system, the job router now queries the system, which
automatically splits the job into two separate (but vital) schedules: a production and die
maintenance schedule. For example, a tool that is to be used in production will not be
set up in the press until its production status has been reviewed and verified by Chirch’s
team of tool and die professionals to prevent foreseeable quality issues or manufacturing
inefficiencies. The result of this improves productivity through more strategic maintenance
scheduling. All maintenance activities are now logged and managed in the system. Chirch
can see exactly what maintenance has been done on a tool and even be proactive in telling
customers when it’s time for maintenance or how many hits are left on a machine before
service.
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The Epicor Express deployment has given Chirch the ability to better manage and monitor
its supplier and subcontractor efforts and support its lean manufacturing and just-in-time
inventory management initiatives. Once the system was in place, Chirch realized that many
of its suppliers were over-shipping product, and as a result, Chirch was sitting on too much
inventory—in stark contrast to its lean just-in-time manufacturing system goals. A policy of
only being able to accept less than 10 percent overage helped curb bloated shipments, and
electronic purchase orders helped ensure no paperwork fell through the cracks.
What’s more, improved information access has empowered Chirch’s employees, giving
them more confidence in their decision making. From monitors across the shop floor, they
can view all the following: open sales orders, due dates, quantities, finished and on-hand
inventory, and ship location. They can also view material purchase orders, so if the required
material is not on hand, they can see when it is due to arrive. If the material for a specific
job is not arriving for another day or two, the shop can move to the next job in line so a
machine doesn’t stand idle for days.
Realizing Rapid ROI
As a result of the company’s new global business model and its investment in Epicor
Express, Chirchirillo says the company has made a quantum leap—and cites several
metrics that underscore this statement.
Return on equity (EBITDA/Equity) exceeded 50% in 2010. With regard to top-line growth,
sales revenues increased by 17% from 2009 to 2010, and Chirch saw the addition of new
customers in new industries, diversifying the company’s customer base. The company
also saw gains in employee productivity; the number of full-time employees (FTEs) was
reduced by 31% from 2009 to 2010, while concurrently driving top-line revenue growth
and throughput.
These outstanding results demonstrate how Chirch is succeeding in its goal of helping
its customers “compete with anyone… anywhere in the world,” in bringing customers
a winning combination of globally competitive prices; access to Chinese resources to
support U.S. manufacturing expansion; local customer service, distribution and just-in-
time delivery, with adherence to the highest quality standards.
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About Epicor Software CorporationEpicor Software Corporation is a global leader delivering inspired business software solutions to the
manufacturing, distribution, retail and services industries. With over 40 years of experience serving small,
midmarket and larger enterprises, Epicor has more than 20,000 customers in over 150 countries. Epicor
enterprise resource planning (ERP), retail management software, supply chain management (SCM),
and human capital management (HCM) enable companies to drive increased efficiency and improve
profitability. With a history of innovation, industry expertise and passion for excellence, Epicor provides
the single point of accountability that local, regional and global businesses demand. The Company’s
headquarters are located in Austin, Texas, with offices and affiliates worldwide. For more information,
visit www.epicor.com. Follow Epicor on Twitter @Epicor, @EpicorUK, @EpicorEMEA, @EpicorAPAC,
@EpicorLAC, @Epicor_Retail, @Epicor_DIST, @Epicor_MFG and Facebook.
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Epicor Customer Success Story
ARPAC
Case Study
Company Facts • Location: Schiller Park, Illinois
• Industry: Packaging machinery manufacturing
and service organization
• Web site: www.arpac.com
Challenges• Previously, ARPAC had an archaic system that
“tested the limits,” which was enough for the
company to seek a modern enterprise software
solution.
• Employees were spending too much time on
manually transcribing data on disconnected
databases, which required double entry and
allowed for mistakes. This was ineffective and
frustrating, especially when it came to customer
orders.
Solution• Epicor ERP
Benefits• Improved efficiencies, boosted productivity, and cut
costs by implementing lean strategies across the
entire company, from accounting to the shop floor
• Kanban techniques available in Epicor have saved
the company 15 hours a week in terms of work hours
on the shop floor, which amounts to a savings of
approximately $225 (USD) per week ($11,700 [USD]
per year)
• Improved buyer-seller relations by automating
interactions with its suppliers
• Saves approximately $14,600 (USD) a year on credit
card transactions by setting up electronic processes
for handling credit card payments
Located in Schiller Park, Illinois, ARPAC is a packaging machinery manufacturing and service organization. ARPAC has more
than 100 years of combined manufacturing experience, and is recognized around the world for being the first to invent the
shrink bundler and spiral stretch wrappers. Expertise runs deep with ARPAC’s 220-plus tenured staff who have installed close
to 30,000 machines worldwide. Serving a broad range of industries, ARPAC’s packaging machines can wrap everything from
toothpaste to tool sheds. To provide ARPAC’s unmatched team of experts with automated support and free them from their
daily data entry tasks, the company implemented a next-generation enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution from Epicor.
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Ryan King, director of information technology (IT) for ARPAC, explains how the company
“tested the limits” with its old systems. The age of the equipment alone, 12 years and
counting, was enough for the company to seek a modern enterprise software solution.
Employees were spending too much time on manually transcribing data on disconnected
databases which required double entry and allowed for mistakes. This was ineffective and
frustrating, especially when it came to customer orders. “We started to realize how long it
really took to complete a task; it was amazing. People were either getting really used to
workarounds, or getting very good at the current process,” says King. The limitation of the
systems was ARPAC’s breaking point.
In 2007, ARPAC implemented Epicor ERP. Epicor provides a single-source system that
contains an extensive array of integrated business applications to help automate and
streamline company processes.
This enables ARPAC to minimize human intervention in routine practices so ARPAC
resources can focus on value-added business activities instead, helping ARPAC increase
efficiencies and productivity. King and his team were on a mission to outsource manual
labor to its new ERP solution.
King didn’t want to work in the typical IT department. Instead, he wanted the IT department
to become a revenue source for the company. To do so, the IT department needed to
challenge the status quo. First, they needed to determine where the company’s biggest
waste was in terms of time and resources, and identify what employees should not be
doing that the ERP system can be doing. These initial questions are what started ARPAC’s
“lean” journey. King and his team led a company-wide initiative to leverage its ERP solution
to help adopt what ARPAC calls lean automated processes (LAP). The objectives for LAP are
simple: utilize information technology to maximize the ease of doing business, while also
decreasing the cost of doing business. In other words, saving money and still getting the
job done.
ARPAC has one of the fastest order-to-shipment delivery times in the packaging industry.
The company’s continuing investment in a vertically integrated production facility, using
solid lean manufacturing principles, creates a competitive production advantage over the
long term. ARPAC maintains stock of many standard packaging machines at competitive
prices for quick delivery. Epicor has helped ARPAC continue to reach new levels of lean
strategies through better inventory management and accuracy.
Epicor provides ARPAC with best practices for lean methodologies on the shop floor. ARPAC
estimates that the kanban techniques available in Epicor have saved the company 15 hours
a week in terms of work hours, which amounts to a savings of approximately $225 (USD) per
Epicor has been instrumental in supporting our lean principles by providing us with the tools we need to automate processes across the entire organization to further improve our business practices and cut costs. ”Ryan King, Director of IT, ARPAC
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week ($11,700 [USD] per year). Take barcode scanning, for example. With barcode scanning,
jobs are created and manufactured faster and easier, and without paperwork. Electronic
purchase orders are automatically created on the shop floor by simply scanning the part
barcode. The system can also trigger a late email notification that is automatically sent to
suppliers if an order is behind schedule.
“It used to take more time to do the paperwork then to create the part. Now it is instant,”
says King. ARPAC quickly learned that eliminating “go-between” processes was critical to
reducing waste across all aspects of the company’s daily operations.
Adopting lean principles has made a tremendous impact on ARPAC’s sales department. A
program that was designed using the LAP concept is the “ARPAC Vendor Inventory System”
(AVIS). ARPAC was spending large amounts of time and resources tracking and re-ordering
stocked parts. This involved a great amount of administrative time, and it required a full-
time position to manage. AVIS is an online portal that was created for ARPAC’s suppliers
to monitor and replenish their stock. With AVIS, as soon as ARPAC’s inventory levels drop,
an email alert is automatically sent to its suppliers who can log onto the AVIS site to see
what part needs to be re-ordered. The online workbench provides the purchase order
number indicating the part type, quantity, and agreed price for the product or service.
Once the order is submitted, a packing slip with a barcode is automatically generated so
when ARPAC receives the shipment the paperwork is already done. ARPAC simply scans
the barcode upon receiving the package and avoids manually entering the purchase order
information into the system.
AVIS has greatly improved ARPAC’s buyer-seller relations. The online system helps ARPAC
keep products close at hand without the heavy corresponding costs. With the self-service
online tool, ARPAC can communicate with its suppliers easier and faster without having
to waste valuable staff time interacting with a purchasing agent, and parts and services
are provided in a timelier manner. AVIS ensures ARPAC never runs out of spare parts, and
always has good inventory on its shelves, which is a huge customer service advantage.
Today, 30 suppliers use AVIS. They like the user-friendly and “up-front, simple” interface.
ARPAC also created an online program for “purchase order confirmations” (POC). Previously,
ARPAC experienced huge accounts payable problems matching purchase order prices to
invoices, and faced price list issues. On average, ARPAC spent three hours a day on each
buyer chasing down suppliers to confirm purchase orders. ARPAC created the POC program,
another online portal for suppliers to access, for confirming purchase orders, printing
packing slips, processing back orders, and submitting invoices. Since this is all done online,
ARPAC was able to reduce its purchasing head count by one. Furthermore, through Epicor’s
credit card transaction module, ARPAC set up electronic processes for handling credit card
payments. ARPAC realized a return on investment within the first six months. By eliminating
the need to process credit cards by hand, ARPAC saves approximately $14,600 (USD) a year.
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Epicor ERP and the programs ARPAC designed using LAP concepts have made a significant
fiscal impact on the company. ARPAC was able to cut costs, improve efficiencies, and
boost productivity all by leveraging technology to automate routine tasks. Through its
implementation of lean principles, ARPAC stays committed to quality, competitive prices,
and quick delivery times.
About Epicor Software CorporationEpicor Software Corporation is a global leader delivering inspired business software solutions to the
manufacturing, distribution, retail and services industries. With over 40 years of experience serving small,
midmarket and larger enterprises, Epicor has more than 20,000 customers in over 150 countries. Epicor
enterprise resource planning (ERP), retail management software, supply chain management (SCM),
and human capital management (HCM) enable companies to drive increased efficiency and improve
profitability. With a history of innovation, industry expertise and passion for excellence, Epicor provides
the single point of accountability that local, regional and global businesses demand. The Company’s
headquarters are located in Austin, Texas, with offices and affiliates worldwide. For more information,
visit www.epicor.com. Follow Epicor on Twitter @Epicor, @EpicorUK, @EpicorEMEA, @EpicorAPAC,
@EpicorLAC, @Epicor_Retail, @Epicor_DIST, @Epicor_MFG and Facebook.
The purpose was to make the system work for us, instead of us working for the system. ”Ryan King, Director of IT, ARPAC
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Technology for Small and Midsize Manufacturers In Review
The last two decades have seen a dramatic shift in the use of technology to drive
improvements in manufacturing operations. Just twenty years ago, many small and midsize
manufacturers relied on paper-based systems to run their businesses. These systems offered
little business-wide visibility to aid customer support and required duplication of manual
effort many times over.
With the wide adoption of Windows® technology in the 1990s, we started to see many
applications developed to improve manufacturers’ operations through the use of computers
to specifically help them more accurately track costs, improve on-time delivery with
online scheduling, and improve business visibility. You might know these systems as shop
management systems, manufacturing and financial systems, enterprise resource planning
(ERP), and more. The end goal was to integrate the functions required to estimate, procure,
produce, ship, and service customers better for improved profit.
And then came the Internet and around the year 2000 we had the dot-com bust. The
technology of these systems just wasn’t ready for Internet availability at that time. We have a
very different story today. Today applications are built using a service-oriented architecture
(SOA) which feeds off the power of the Internet to deliver applications that can run either at
your shop or over the Internet. We call the latter cloud-based solutions and many times they
are available in a new model which is subscription based, called software as a service (SaaS).
The business benefits in choosing cloud-based solutions include the ability to reduce the
noise of deployment of new technology, as the information technology (IT) component of
installation and ongoing management of the systems is done for you. Your time can truly be
spent doing what you do best, which is focusing on your customers. In addition, the pricing
model for these systems is very attractive to small and start-up businesses that are cash
Top 6 Technologies Small and Midsize
Manufacturers Can’t Afford to Ignore
Epicor White Paper
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conscious. An ongoing predictable monthly fee for use of the system with a small start-up
covers not only the cost of licensing the software, but also the application server needed
to run the application, the ongoing maintenance and support of the systems needed, and
access to phone and online support teams that are available to help.
Whether your business chooses to leverage the technology of Epicor ERP on premise at your
business site or to use Epicor Express, a cloud-based solution (based on Epicor ERP) designed
for job shops and small manufacturers, the technology and purpose of this document is to
discuss leading technologies that today’s manufacturers can’t afford to ignore.
Top 6 Technologies
Epicor has experience in working with over 4,000 manufacturers around the world. These
technologies are what we see as real game changers for our customers’ ability to stay agile in
the face of change while executing on their business strategies.
Respond Faster, Go PaperlessUser-based Dashboards
Everyone in the business has them. Those watchdog reports that you run every night or
morning, and sometimes throughout the day, that offer the status of production on the
floor, purchases expected for delivery, quality events, and more. Without them, we are lost.
What if there was a better way? What if we could have this information available to us online
and have it live—with the latest information at all times. User-based exception dashboards
enable us to do just that. It’s a slice of your data with your applied filters that remove the
“data noise” and focus on the problems so that you can focus on them too. It might be the
“late jobs” or “purchases received today” or “quality incidents today, this week, this month.”
It’s really up to you, as you can easily configure the dashboards one time, using your data,
and continue to use them on a daily basis.
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Instantly see the costs posted to date for any job with the Cost Exceptions Dashboard.
Tailored Business Processes That Execute Your Value StreamEmbedded Customization and Personalization
Each manufacturer has developed their own set of personalized business processes that
make them unique, and in fact provide a competitive edge in their business. Some of these
processes may be industry driven, customer driven, or driven from within the business
based on the goals and strategies of your management team. For example, you might
need to track on the order “new information” your customer needs and be able to include
it in documentation that goes with the shipment of the order. This new information can be
tracked in the system alongside the other data and used in printing, lookups, and anywhere
your data is accessed. In using embedded customization to tailor the system to meet your
customer’s requirements, not only are you able to easily fulfill their requirements for data,
you can also respond quickly when their needs change. Perhaps they want more data?
Another example of customization and personalization includes being able to tailor the
environment your employees use on a daily basis. With so many manufacturers looking
for ways to improve employee productivity and satisfaction at the same time, this is a win-
win. To do this, we recognize that not every employee uses the system in the same way.
Many times we see casual users, “those that access and review information periodically,” and
power users, “those that are heads down in data entry.” In general, it’s impossible to develop
an interface that pleases everyone, so some have to compromise. The compromise can be
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either one type of user giving up functionality to “keep things simple” or another user living
with complexity they don’t need. Customization and personalization provides a technology
solution that can bridge the gap here by delivering a tailored interface that optimizes the
time a user spends on the system. The user can tailor the tab stops (where the system stops
as you tab through the application), make a field invisible, modify the colors and fonts of
fields, even the positioning of windows so that you can maximize use of the interface to
quickly see what’s needed and to get the job done.
Users can modify any form to make it their own and optimize their day-to-day working in the
software.
Highly Productive, Satisfied EmployeesGrid Access
There really was only one thing we gave up in the move away from “the green screen” and
that was speed in entering and making changes to information. Back in the day, you could
bring up a list of line items, make necessary changes to each line in a single grid, and process
it. You didn’t need to bring up each line individually to make the change, it just worked that
way.
With accessibility back in grid entry, systems give productivity power to users by enabling
them to make sweeping changes across multiple records more easily. We have furthermore
enabled integration with Microsoft Excel® to enable bringing in multiple rows of data from
Excel spreadsheets by pasting them into the grid—yes, no retyping. Some great uses of this
might include bringing in a materials list or a schedule of shipments.
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Access and update multiple ship dates with options to paste directly from Microsoft Excel.
Worker on the Go, Data on the GoAccess to Your Data from Anywhere
Access to your business data when you need it, where you need it, is a critical business
advantage. It can help you respond quickly to business events and be able to communicate
with a higher level of knowledge in front of customers, suppliers, and on the shop floor in
contrast to “I’ll get back to you on that.”
In addition, the young workforce coming into the business world today is tuned for mobility
and expects that instant access to information is available. If creating an environment
that is welcoming to these energetic and skilled employees is desired, anywhere access to
your data can help. Below are just some of the scenarios where anywhere access can drive
business value.
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• Delivering a secure login for your accountant to review and report off hours, right from
their office, when it is convenient
• Checking on a critical job while on vacation or before you go into work for the day—did
the 2nd shift complete what we needed?
• Using your business data to strengthen your knowledge of up-to-date business
operations and be able to accurately communicate with customers while you are onsite
• Check the status of production flow and what’s expected while out on the shop floor,
wondering why a machine isn’t running
• Being able to respond and have the information to execute plan B quickly when needed
or to queue purchasing for a hot buy
• Check inventory status, perform cycle counts, use mobile workers to deliver what’s
needed to production, rather than have operators looking for material, etc.
• Perhaps you need to just keep a keen eye on cash and want to know what cash was
received for the day—to the minute, hour, day
Epicor delivers on access anywhere through its cloud-based solution, Epicor Express. In
addition to this, for our on-premise customers, you can use an HTML-based interface called
Anywhere Access or use Epicor Mobile Access with updatable dashboard capabilities. We
aren’t always in the office when we need access to our business data; with Anywhere Access
you can take it with you.
Bowling with the Bumpers UpBusiness Process Management
You don’t have to leave it to chance. Your sales order person has for the fifth time now
accidently chosen the wrong year for a release date, making you late once again. These are
the types of things we can’t predict, but perhaps we can control them in the future. Business
process management (BPM) allows you to put in a rule that can do one of the following
things:
• Flash a warning message and ask if the operator really wants to do this
• Prevent the entry of an order release far into the future
• Send an email to a manager to confirm the order release date
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Match your business processes with a rules-based design tool for business process management
(BPM).
This is one example of the use of a BPM to control your business processes. Anywhere within
the system, when an event occurs, you can put rules around the event that do a check and
have an action. Other examples of BPM include:
• Once a shipment is “shipped,” the customer and salesperson are automatically sent an
• Orders over a certain dollar amount or at a high discount percentage are put on hold,
pending management approval
• Jobs in production are automatically released to the floor once the material is received
• Quality non-conformance event triggers an email to the production manager or quality
manager
There are so many uses of BPM; this is a key feature that Epicor customers have deployed
in their business and that is helping to drive out wasted processes and improve accuracy in
the business.
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Opportunities Drive Business Growth—Be ReadyPlatform to Support Business Growth
As your business grows, it’s important that the technology you deploy is agile and scalable to
move to what you need. With today’s latest technology, editions of functionality provide easy
transitions from one level of functionality to the next and provide a seamless experience for
end users; same interface, same terminology. Epicor accomplishes this by not only having
three editions of its award-winning Epicor ERP: Epicor Express (Epicor cloud-based solution
for small manufacturers and job shops), Epicor Standard (Epicor solution for single-site
manufacturers), and Epicor Enterprise (Epicor solution for enterprise-based manufacturers).
Within each of the offerings is a highly configurable module set so that you can not only
scale your investment in licenses, but also scale the implementation effort as well.
In addition, many manufacturers today are looking outside the box to markets and
geographies that offer enhanced profitability. Whether your business is interested in doing
business in medical device, aerospace and defense, automotive, industrial machinery,
fabricated metals, electronics, and many more manufacturing industries, knowing the
technology you deploy can help you meet the needs of the new industry is critical, and can
reduce risk and profitability in a new venture.
Alongside this, many manufacturers are looking to geographically place themselves closer
to their customers; to do this may take locating a plant in a new geography. This could be a
scary initiative and perhaps cause anxiety over questions such as will my technology work
in this geography, will I have support for my employees there, and will the software be
in their native language? Will I lose visibility of my operations in an extended enterprise?
Furthermore, will the software comply with the local requirements for taxation and
reporting? Epicor supports multiple deployment methodologies
from an IT perspective and can manage the processes needed
to build in one plant and sell in another, and perform interplant
transfers and manage inventories in multiple locations. These
robust multi-plant and multi-company operational features
mean that whether it is more cost effective to add on to your
current operations, purchase a competitive shop in another
location, or simply build across the street, Epicor can support
your operational needs for information. In addition, Epicor has
localized and translated its award-winning technologies in
over 150 countries with over 30 different languages and has
development and support offices around the world.
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About Epicor Software CorporationEpicor Software Corporation is a global leader delivering inspired business software solutions to the
manufacturing, distribution, retail and services industries. With over 40 years of experience serving small,
midmarket and larger enterprises, Epicor has more than 20,000 customers in over 150 countries. Epicor
enterprise resource planning (ERP), retail management software, supply chain management (SCM),
and human capital management (HCM) enable companies to drive increased efficiency and improve
profitability. With a history of innovation, industry expertise and passion for excellence, Epicor provides
the single point of accountability that local, regional and global businesses demand. The Company’s
headquarters are located in Austin, Texas, with offices and affiliates worldwide. For more information,
visit www.epicor.com. Follow Epicor on Twitter @Epicor, @EpicorUK, @EpicorEMEA, @EpicorAPAC,
@EpicorLAC, @Epicor_Retail, @Epicor_DIST, @Epicor_MFG and Facebook.
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Insights
Platform
Productivity
Social
The cloud that helps win the race.
The winning edge can boil down to nanoseconds. Data can be as
important as the driver. Powered by Microsoft Dynamics, Azure and
Office 365, Lotus F1 Team analyzes and shares data from over two
hundred sensors that measure everything from engine fatigue to
torque and vibration. Working in sync with the right information,
the team from the factory to the garage to the track can make the
calls that make the difference between winning and losing.
This cloud gives teams an edge. This is the Microsoft Cloud.
learn more at microsoftcloud.com
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IFS Customer Success Story
Miller-St. Nazianz Achieves Full Product Lifecycle
Management (PLM) with IFS Applications
Case Study
Managing, manufacturing, and supporting a broad portfolio of agricultural
equipment products for maximum profit are a challenge. But Miller-St. Nazianz is
running its product development, manufacturing, and parts and aftermarket service
in a single instance of IFS Applications, delivering total product lifecycle management
(PLM) benefits.
An IFS customer since 2001, Miller-St. Nazianz upgraded its instance of IFS Applications
several times. IFS Applications also helped the company through, and to adapt to, a
refocusing of the business on agricultural sprayer product lines in 2008. Miller-St. Nazianz
has achieved a single version of the truth for product development and manufacturing
across all of these product lines.
“One of the biggest goals at Miller is creating a closed loop system environment starting
from the engineering drawings,” Miller St. Nazianz Director of Information Technology
(IT), Michael Krahn, said. “We are developing the system processes and disciplines to get
the critical data components that drive the business up front and reduce much of the
non-value-added work of chasing data downstream. Without the interface tools of IFS
Applications, we would not have been able to achieve that closed loop environment.”
High Complexity, Simple Integrations
Miller-St. Nazianz operates in a highly complex, multi-mode manufacturing environment,
which means that IFS Applications is one of the few enterprise software environments that
can truly meet their needs.
“We operate in both make-to-stock and make-to-order environments,” Miller-St. Nazianz
IT Manager, T.J. Hendrikse, said. “Our big sprayers have a lot of options. However, the base
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We are developing the system processes and disciplines to get the critical data components that drive the business up front and reduce much of the non-value-added work of chasing data downstream. Without the interface tools of IFS Applications, we would not have been able to achieve that closed loop environment. ”Michael Krahn,
Director of IT, Miller St. Nazianz
“machine is forecasted in IFS. We lay out a schedule for 18 months as lead times are quite
long on some of the items. We fill up our schedule, but don’t release it to production until
we have an order for each machine.”
Miller-St. Nazianz has more than 132,000 inventory parts, a single manufacturing facility,
and multiple sites set up in IFS to manage repair parts, including a warehouse in Canada.
Warranties are handled in a best-of-breed system from TDS Software, integrated with
application programming interfaces (APIs) in IFS Applications.
“We have 38,000 repair parts in our system,” Krahn said. “Not all of them are in stock. At
some point we may sell any one of those parts, resulting in a shop order and manufacturing
process if necessary. We are very much like the auto industry where we sell to the dealer
network and the dealer sells to the customer. When the equipment needs warranty repair,
the dealer fixes it. The dealer turns in a claim to us and we have to replenish parts, account
for and cost, and so on. IFS Applications makes it possible for us to do something like
this very easily. It is a very functional, bidirectional interface. We also have an online parts
catalog and order-taking system that interfaces directly with IFS. The dealers can get
online in an electronic catalog, order parts into a cart, and that shopping cart feeds into
business APIs in IFS so they get their dealership’s negotiated parts pricing reflected in their
portal within ARI PartSmart.”
“SolidEdge, our CAD software, leverages the use of Microsoft SharePoint,” Hendrikse said.
“We can pull the bills of materials into IFS right from the drawing so we don’t have to
manually enter that data, eliminating data entry errors.”
CRM Delivers Customer Lifecycle Management
Using IFS Applications, Miller-St. Nazianz is managing more than the product lifecycle.
Through the IFS CRM module, it is taking advantage of the deep integration with back-
office enterprise resource planning (ERP) functionality to master customer interactions.
“We can now organize our information to our territory managers by dealer and customer—
and all this critical data is in one spot,” Krahn said. “We are keeping data on dealers
and equipment end users and are now in a position to leverage this data in marketing
campaigns. We can communicate to people with machines older than a certain number of
years or with specific models of equipment. When new owners register for the warranty,
that data is captured in the CRM. We can follow the owners and the associated warranty
claims that come in from dealers.”
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If we had a standalone CRM package, it would be one more thing to maintain. Here, you put it in one spot and you can access that data in other places throughout the company, including in the CRM. ”T.J. Hendrikse,
IT Manager, Miller-St. Nazianz
““If we had a standalone CRM package, it would be one more thing to maintain,” Hendrikse
said. “Here, you put it in one spot and you can access that data in other places throughout
the company, including in the CRM. Within the CRM, we can see open invoices, open
accounts receivable, warranty claims, dealer inventory, collection reports, contacts, all of
the past warranty registrations, and owners for all of the machines in the past.”
Adapting To Change
While IFS Applications has delivered the flexibility to allow Miller-St. Nazianz to adapt
to future change, it has already brought about substantial changes in the company, as
management refocused the product line and made key acquisitions.
“The Millers are visionary and could see the trends affecting today’s farm,” Krahn said.
“More and more corporate farms and coops use our machinery. One of the top tools on
today’s farm is a sprayer because it adds value not only by fertilizing but by eliminating
bugs and weeds. It is one of the main machines that actually add value to your crop and
your bottom line.”
Benefits• Complete product lifecycle management
• Fully integrated CRM functionality
• Ease of integration with CAD software
• Closed-loop system that reduces non-value-added work
• All critical business data in one location
• Easier warranty management
• Greater visibility and transparency
• Integrated online part catalog and order taking for more accurate pricing
About Miller-St. NazianzFounded in 1899 in St. Nazianz, Wisconsin, Miller has been providing a wide range of agricultural
machinery to farmers for five generations. Today, all its equipment is built on a 111-year tradition of
quality, integrity, and innovation. Its product line includes the Nitro high clearance front mount boom
sprayers, the Condor mechanical drive sprayers, the Atlas floater chassis, and Ag-Bag hay and forage
baggers.
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IQMS Customer Success Story
Network Polymers and IQMS:
A Mixture for Success
Case Study
Network Polymers, Inc. is a leading provider of thermoplastic resins and alloys such as ABS,
ASA, and polycarbonates. Together with its Diamond Polymer brand of resins and alloys
that boast enduring performance properties, Network Polymers offers a solution to nearly
every plastic processor’s need. From impact-, weather-, and age-resistant resins to medical-
grade products, such as non-halogen flame retardant, antimicrobial, and sterilizable grade,
Network Polymers supplies its customers with some of the best materials on the market
today. This dedication to quality and service has grown Network Polymers into the fourth-
largest producer of ABS and ASA in North America, but this growth did not come without
its fair share of growing pains.
A Compound Problem
Before investing in IQMS’ manufacturing enterprise resource planning (ERP) software,
EnterpriseIQ, Network Polymers was struggling to run its business through five different
programs: Microsoft Dynamics SL, Vicinity Manufacturing, FRx, Microsoft Forecaster, and
Excel. Noticeably problematic was the customization necessary to interface these five
disparate systems, causing procedural issues and preventing system updates. Digging
deeper, Network Polymers realized it lacked the critical tools necessary for future success,
particularly in the areas of enterprise-wide data transparency and accurate inventory
tracking:
• The combination of Network Polymers’ multiple business systems had created a one-
way data exchange scenario, so daily manual interactions (complete with natural
human entry error) were inevitable. Reporting was difficult due to data segregation
and critical information regarding quality control holds was not clearly visible,
resulting in bad production runs and costly shipping errors. Any accurate figures
Network Polymers was able to obtain were dated. Without real-time information,
employees felt uninformed and decision making was inefficient and untimely.
The WMS module, along with barcoding and scanners, has increased our efficiency in the plant beyond our expectations. ” Scott Arnopolin,
Director of Supply Chain and
Technology, Network Polymers
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• One of Network Polymers’ most fundamental challenges lay in the lack of integration
between its inventory program and its manufacturing module that handled bills of
materials (BOMs) and formulations. Without that integration, Network Polymers
had few material requirements planning (MRP) capabilities and no cost accounting.
Additionally, physical inventory at Network Polymers was a laborious process, taking
5 to 7 days to count, double check counts, manually enter data, analyze variances, and
create adjustment batches. Production reporting was only allowed at the end of the
run, and coupled with the delayed delivery of data, meant good product did not often
appear in the system, limiting the shipping department with poor visibility into the
status of finished goods.
Finding a New Formula for the Future
When the decision was made to start searching for a new ERP vendor, Network Polymers
knew what it wanted. The ideal ERP software solution would be one total system—a
combined ERP and manufacturing execution system (MES) solution—with no third-party
add-ons or bolted-together programs. This comprehensive system would streamline
processes from order entry through shipping and would offer a complete financial package
with cost accounting.
Network Polymers hoped that a comprehensive system with an integrated, real-time
database would increase company-wide communication and provide all users with the
same information. Ideally, Network Polymers hoped to eliminate debates about what the
“real” data was, make decisions more rapidly and confidently, and eliminate the majority of
time-consuming meetings.
To begin the new ERP partner process, Network Polymers formed an ERP implementation
team consisting of specific department leaders, each held accountable for selecting the
solution that they felt was the best fit. Together, the team reviewed online demonstrations
of more than a dozen ERP solutions. Everyone was allowed a say, and the vote narrowed it
down to two or three viable solutions.
After the ERP finalists conducted on-site visits, the choice was clear: EnterpriseIQ from
IQMS had all the elements that Network Polymers desired, plus more! EnterpriseIQ was
a complete, integrated system with no third-party add-on solutions, it offered features
specific to the compounding industry, and it was affordable. As an unforeseen bonus,
EnterpriseIQ allowed Network Polymers to develop improved procedures to work with the
system, rather than customizing a system to work with its outdated processes.
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Blending EnterpriseIQ and Network Polymers Together
Network Polymers began implementation of IQMS in September of 2010. In addition
to scrubbing five systems and learning a new one, Network Polymers was revising its
operations and procedures to become a more efficient company. On January 3, 2011, only
four short months after installation, Network Polymers went live with EnterpriseIQ.
“Immediately after implementation, it was chaos,” said Scott Arnopolin, director of supply
chain and technology at Network Polymers. “Like many other companies experience,
change is difficult at Network Polymers.”
But despite some initial stumbles as the company experienced a learning curve, overall
results were positive. Inventory location visibility and up-to-the-minute on-hand accuracy
immediately increased, as well as the ability to track box-by-box production as it was
occurring. Network Polymers began tweaking and optimizing its new procedures, while
enjoying the benefits of a transparent production schedule.
Three months later delivered a much brighter prognosis for Network Polymers, with
better data, better decision-making capabilities, and improved inventory management.
At the six-month mark, Network Polymers’ entire production staff agreed to embrace the
use of scanners. This new technology allowed employees to allocate materials to jobs for
less downtime and increased material control, as well as delivered Network Polymers’ first
successful physical inventory as daily procedures became more routine.
For greater shop floor control, Network Polymers invested in IQMS’ RealTime™ Production
Monitoring module. Completely integrated with EnterpriseIQ, RealTime Production
Monitoring tracks all aspects of production (total parts created, production time, downtime,
rejects, and parts remaining) immediately as goods are being made. Through this enhanced
shop floor monitoring, Network Polymers began experiencing increased inventory turns,
more proactive decision making, and more accurate inventory levels due to transparent,
up-to-the-minute material movements and disposition.
As procedures became more routine, Network Polymers’ employees discovered a new
level of efficiency by following EnterpriseIQ’s natural system flow, rather than attempting
to customize the software to fit their old ways. The customer service department began
moving toward a paperless environment, eliminating folders and storing all information
in the system. Additionally, the company saw an increase in reporting requests from
employees who desired more data analysis to become better at their jobs.
Shipping and receiving materials is a breeze. . . We have not missed a shipment, nor have we mis-shipped a product, since going live with EnterpriseIQ! ”Scott Arnopolin,
Director of Supply Chain and
Technology, Network Polymers
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What a Difference a Year Makes
Improvements at Network Polymers continued over the course of the remaining year. When
the company looked back in review, the benefits gained from day one were clear: Every
problem challenging Network Polymers in the past was solved. With its new integrated,
real-time solution, Network Polymers’ time is now spent analyzing data, rather than wasted
double checking that the data is accurate before it can be evaluated. This increase in better
and more timely decision making has resulted in improved productivity of its employees
with fewer meetings, more individual analysis, and greater accountability.
In fact, employees are 50 percent more productive and efficient in their day-to-day
responsibilities than before because they no longer need to track down information
through individuals or paperwork—all the information they need is in one central place,
right at their fingertips. Network Polymers has also reduced its paper usage and retention
by more than 50 percent across the board and continues to move toward becoming a
completely paperless operation.
Network Polymers is experiencing the joy of a complete financial package with better cost
accounting and more efficient invoicing and purchasing order options. The company has
decreased the time it takes to create purchase order (PO) requisitions and enjoys how the
system tracks its PO requests versus its old, file-based paper system.
A night and day change in the visibility and traceability of flagged, non-confirming materials
also occurred at Network Polymers. Across the shop floor, Network Polymers significantly
reduced the risk of using non-conforming raw materials in production and non-allocatable
inventory locations have prevented its shipping department from accidentally sending a
potentially flawed finished good out the door.
Second only to more timely and improved decision making, Network Polymers’ other top
improvement was seen in the area of inventory management. As a result of increased
visibility into inventory locations and transactions, EnterpriseIQ virtually eliminated
Network Polymers’ overstock of raw materials, reduced on-hand inventory, and provided
better control over just-in-time deliveries. More importantly, inventory turns have increased
by at least 25 percent in three major feedstocks: SAN increased from 6 turns per year to
more than 12, ABS rubber from about 10 turns per year to almost 12, and ASA Rubber went
from 6.4 to 6.7 turns.
Network Polymers decided to invest in IQMS’ Warehouse Management System (WMS) and
through the use of barcodes and handheld scanners, physical inventory time decreased
from 5–7 days to just 1.5 days (a 75 percent savings of time), with the greatest inventory
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accuracy results ever. Network Polymers can also now completely cycle count its entire
plant in 2 to 3 days, rather than 2 to 3 weeks. In addition to assisting with physical inventory,
the WMS module has increased manufacturing production run efficiency due to increased
inventory location accuracy, resulting in less time spent running around looking for raw
materials.
“The WMS module, along with barcoding and scanners, has increased our efficiency in the
plant beyond our expectations. Materials are where the inventory module shows that they
are, which allows us to spend less time scurrying around our plant looking for materials
moved outside of the system,” said Arnopolin. “Shipping and receiving materials is a breeze
as well utilizing the barcodes and scanners. We have not missed a shipment, nor have we
mis-shipped a product, since going live with EnterpriseIQ!”
Finally, Network Polymers has become increasingly more proactive in material ordering
because greater visibility into inventory levels allows for better control of raw material
flow. Network Polymers now has a superior ability to increase, expedite, decrease, and
de-expedite raw materials than ever before. Inventory levels are much more manageable,
as they have been reduced from more than 11 million pounds to an average of 6 million
pounds due to MRP and accuracy of the data.
“We are still finding new ways to benefit from the system as well as ways the system can be
improved for us,” said Arnopolin. “The system has eliminated most of the manual processes
and calculations we deal with, saving us time and allowing us to spend that time addressing
more critical issues.”
Looking Forward
Network Polymers was already on the path to becoming a more integrated team, rather than
a company of individual contributors, before they implemented EnterpriseIQ. But Network
Polymers does attribute advancement in company culture, in the areas of continuous
improvement, accountability, and workplace pride, to EnterpriseIQ. The company can now
focus on being more proactive and accountable, rather than primarily reactive. Personal
satisfaction in working for Network Polymers has also increased since partnering with IQMS.
“We are a customer service–oriented company and always willing to do whatever it takes to
attain 100 percent customer satisfaction,” said Arnopolin. “With this philosophy comes great
challenges to get the job done right the first time. EnterpriseIQ allows us to proactively
satisfy the customers’ requirements while giving us the flexibility to break our ‘norm’ in
order to exceed expedited requests.”
EnterpriseIQ allows us to proactively satisfy the customers’ requirements while giving us the flexibility to break our ‘norm’ in order to exceed expedited requests.”Scott Arnopolin,
Director of Supply Chain and
Technology, Network Polymers
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“We are happy about our successes over the past three to four years, but we are very excited
about the future improvements and successes we will conquer over the next three years,”
continued Arnopolin. “If you are a manufacturer of products using bills of materials or
formulas and are looking for a complete A-Z ERP solution, IQMS’ EnterpriseIQ is your answer.”
Return on Investment
• Employees are 50 percent more productive due to more accurate, easy-to-access data
• Have not missed a shipment, or mis-shipped a product, since going live with EnterpriseIQ
• Eliminated overstock of raw materials
• Reduced inventory levels from 11 million pounds to an average of 6 million
• Increased inventory turns by 25 percent for 3 major feedstocks
• Decreased yearly physical inventory from 5–7 days to only 1.5 days (a 75 percent time savings)
• Can completely cycle count the entire plant in 2 to 3 days, rather than 2 to 3 weeks
• Reduced paper 50 percent across the organization
About Network PolymersFormed in 1986, Network Polymers is a leading single source provider of thermoplastics resins and
alloys such as ABS, ASA, and polycarbonates. It offers a broad spectrum of custom resins and alloys to
meet the specific product designs and requirements of its clients.
Network Polymers is also the exclusive producer of the Diamond Polymer brand of resins and alloys
with enduring performance properties. Today, Network Polymers is proud to connect its customers to
a consistent supply channel, offer competitive pricing, deliver custom formulations and support its
customers through a broad spectrum of technical support capabilities.
About IQMSFor the past 25 years, IQMS has been designing and developing manufacturing ERP software for the
repetitive, process, and discrete industries. Today, IQMS provides a comprehensive real-time ERP software
and MES solution to the automotive, medical, packaging, consumer goods, and other manufacturing
markets. The innovative, extended single-database enterprise software solution, EnterpriseIQ, offers a
scalable system designed to adeptly grow with the client and complete business functionality, including
accounting, quality control, supply chain, CRM, and eBusiness. With offices across North America,
Europe, and Asia, IQMS serves manufacturers around the world.
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Kenandy Customer Success Story
Merrow Sewing Machine and Kenandy:
Stitching Together Success Seamlessly
Case Study
When a small, family-owned business in Fall River, Massachusetts, makes a big impact on
the literal fabric of people’s lives around the world, people pay attention.
Such has been the case for the Merrow Sewing Machine Company, in one incarnation after
another, ever since the company began as Merrow Mills back in 1838—the country’s first
manufacturer of knitted cotton goods—some 175 years ago. A few years later, the company
invented the overlock stitch—and the sewing machines to mass produce it—which is what
still holds together most of the garments we wear in the 21st century.
Changing the Game in the World of Textiles. . . and ERP
Now, by teaming with Kenandy for all its enterprise resource planning (ERP) needs, Merrow
has been able to continue to innovate in amazing new ways, most recently by inventing the
world’s first branded stitch—the ActiveSeam—that is revolutionizing the manufacture of
textiles and clothing of all shapes and sizes, including in the multi-billion-dollar activewear
industry.
ActiveSeam is not only a brand new stitch, it’s also an entirely new business model for
the textile world, requiring customers to license its use. Well-known customers are signing
up in droves, customizing the stitch to suit their own brands, requiring Merrow to have
better-than-ever ERP functionality—seamless order tracking, robust reporting, and tight
inventory control, for example.
“As an innovative company itself, Kenandy has been a great part of our successful
innovations with ActiveSeam and other exciting business opportunities,” says Merrow chief
executive officer (CEO) Charlie Merrow, who, with brother Owen, is the sixth generation of
Merrows to run the pioneering company.
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For a small business, Merrow is a complicated one. In addition to manufacturing thousands
of different sewing machine parts that are distributed in 65 countries, it also is continually
building custom sewing machines for a variety of customers and applications. The high
levels of complexity and costs of customization were becoming economically challenging.
“Kenandy has made it possible for us to deal with all the challenges of a major, multinational
company but with the structure of a small business,” says Charlie Merrow. “It’s been an
unbelievable change for us—a game changer. We’ve been able to improve performance
with a small staff, which simply wasn’t possible with our prior ERP systems.”
No Programmers Necessary
With Kenandy, programmers also aren’t necessary. Says Merrow, “With Kenandy, I don’t
need a C+ or a PHP guy—I just need someone smart. Kenandy not only lets us see our data
more clearly, it lets us quickly react to things and customize the system ourselves. That’s
real value.”
So much focus on innovation and customization means continual problem solving and
iterating new ideas. Failure is an inevitable part of the process that leads to success.
“We get things wrong all the time, and that’s just fine,” says Merrow. “The amazing change
with Kenandy is that it lets us iterate through the failure points.” As an example, Merrow
mentions a repair program the company recently built on the Salesforce Platform and
integrated with Kenandy. “It was a disaster in the beginning, but one of our smart guys,
who doesn’t have a programming bone in his body, easily made adjustments and it’s now
turned into an enormous asset for the company.”
Seizing New Opportunities Requires First Being Able to See Them
And, preferably, being able to see them first—before competitors.
Kenandy has given Merrow unprecedented visibility across its business, enabling enhanced
efficiency, increased productivity, and better decision making about current operations as
well as future opportunities.
“One of the most remarkable things about Kenandy is that it lets us really see what’s going
on in our business,” says Merrow. “We have Kenandy running on three 50-inch flat screens
in our big lobby space. Plus, in each department, there’s a giant flat screen with dashboards
Kenandy has made it possible for us to deal with all the challenges of a major, multinational company but with the structure of a small business. ”Charlie Merrow, CEO,
Merrow Sewing Machine Company
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showing what’s going on in that particular area—how many invoices need to go out, for
example, or what packages are shipping. We’ve never had access to information of this
breadth and depth before. It’s really extraordinary, and it’s making an enormous difference.”
A Single System for Running—and Growing—Multiple Businesses
Merrow’s success with Kenandy has been a significant factor in the decision to invest in
other business opportunities under the Merrow Global banner—companies such as
HydeStore.com, Boston Thread, and Patch Light, for example.
“The Merrow Global investments in these businesses are driven in large part by our
confidence in Kenandy,” says Merrow. “Because Kenandy is so easily extensible, we can
build out the backend support for these new businesses quickly at a relatively low cost.
This is, in fact, why these businesses are launching.”
Rather than being constricted by the limitations and unwieldy requirements of its prior
on-premise ERP systems, Merrow can use Kenandy to seamlessly leverage information and
resources that enable the company to grow and prosper.
“Kenandy enables us to focus on the business challenges that allow us to grow and make
money rather than on the problems of dealing with software,” says Merrow. “For eight years
after Owen and I took over running the company, it was hard to focus on anything other
than what we had to do. Now, since we’ve implemented Kenandy, we’ve spent the last
year focused on growth. It’s a very different use—a far better use—of our resources, of our
people.”
Kenandy is the perfect fit for Merrow—with plenty of room to grow.
About KenandyKenandy is the cloud ERP platform for the modern enterprise. Kenandy Empowers Real People to work
the way they want to work on any device anywhere in the world—it’s easy to use, implement and
change. Kenandy automates all of your core business processes including order-to-cash, procure-to-
pay, planning and production, and global financials. For more information, visit www.kenandy.com.
Connect with us: Facebook LinkedIn Twitter YouTube
Kenandy not only lets us see our data more clearly, it lets us quickly react to things and customize the system ourselves. That’s real value. ”Charlie Merrow, CEO,
Merrow Sewing Machine Company
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Microsoft Customer Success Story
Chobani Increases Its Appetite for Business
Growth with Microsoft Technologies
Case Study
Maker of America’s No. 1-selling yogurt brand uses Microsoft Dynamics as business grows.
When Chobani’s operations began in a shuttered factory in 2005, its founder, Hamdi
Ulukaya, had no idea the company would rapidly become the No. 1-selling yogurt brand
in the United States. He simply wanted to create a delicious, high-quality product for
consumers. At the time, Chobani’s original five employees used just one truckload of milk
each day to make their tasty product. Today, the company needs enough trucks to ship
more than 2 million cases of yogurt each week between its two production facilities in New
York and Idaho.
Rapid business growth can be too much of a good thing unless you have the proper
technology to keep up with the high-speed pace of sales.
As a start-up, Chobani had limited information technology (IT) resources in place, and
employees did most of the production and customer tracking work in Microsoft Excel. This
approach was fine when the company was small; however, it quickly became insufficient as
the staff size skyrocketed to more than 2,200 employees who process more than 2 million
pounds of yogurt daily and contribute to roughly $1 billion (USD) in annual sales in the
United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom.
To sustain—and ideally even surpass—this rate of growth, executives knew they needed to
implement a robust business solution to provide inventory control as well as supply chain
and warehouse management. They went looking for a system that was easy to use and
could scale with the pace of their business. Most importantly, the system needed to allow
the staff to remain focused on ensuring the production of high-quality, authentic, strained
Greek yogurt.
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“At Chobani, we’re focused on making one cup of quality yogurt at a time,” said Maureen
A. Hurley, vice president (VP) of IT at Chobani. “We guide all of our decision-making
processes—from milk selection to IT solutions—on the desire to lead and grow while
keeping things simple, efficient, and focused on producing the perfect cup each and every
time.”
After researching a range of options, Chobani selected Microsoft technologies, including
Microsoft Dynamics AX and Microsoft Dynamics CRM, to meet the needs of its people and
keep pace with its aggressive plans for future growth.
The Chobani team especially liked the flexibility Microsoft business solutions enable, as
workers can roll out new modules swiftly and add functionality over time as needed. The
system is used throughout the company to review production numbers and distribution
levels to more deeply understand and analyze the company’s performance and current
business challenges.
“Microsoft Dynamics AX lets us track the entire process of transforming milk and cultures
into fresh yogurt—from the processing facility to distribution channels and, finally, right to
grocery store shelves,” Hurley said.
As a result of implementing Microsoft Dynamics AX, Chobani experienced lower production
costs, inventory control, and reduced employee workloads. The company had its state-of-
the-art processing plant in Idaho, the largest of its kind at 1 million square feet, up and
running on Microsoft Dynamics AX in just 27 days, which helped increase shipment speed
to various distribution locations.
Another large portion of Chobani’s success stems from its interaction with consumers,
which Microsoft Dynamics helped enhance.
“As our company grew, so did the volume of messages from consumers across the world.
We receive hundreds of contact messages and phone calls daily,” Hurley said. “Microsoft
Dynamics CRM has enabled us to make that feedback actionable, to better track and
understand what our customers want, and to continue to provide best-in-class service.
This has helped us build deeper, more immediate connections with our fans and continue
our growth.”
Furthermore, the business suite has helped the company get beyond the online space and
connect with customers face to face. Chobani SoHo, a one-of-a-kind Mediterranean yogurt
bar in New York, invites customers to experience an artisanal menu starring fresh Chobani.
In 2010, Chobani launched the CHOmobile, a truck that samples the company’s products
at various events across the United States.
Microsoft Dynamics AX lets us track the entire process of transforming milk and cultures into fresh yogurt —from the processing facility to distribution channels and, finally, right to grocery store shelves. ”Maureen A. Hurley,
VP of IT, Chobani
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“Our CHOmobile travels to festivals and events, delivering hundreds of thousands of
cups of our freshest yogurt directly to customers,” Hurley said. “We can then track these
interactions in Microsoft Dynamics CRM to see a complete picture of our customers’
preferences and habits.”
Chobani’s customer loyalty team works directly with customers, using Microsoft Dynamics
CRM to track nutritional inquiries, complaints, coupon requests, product donation requests,
recipe submissions, and more. The Microsoft Dynamics solution gives Chobani employees
crucial feedback, helping them understand what customers want and better connect with
them to continue providing exceptional service.
“We are very passionate about our commitment to deliver beyond what we produce.
Our philosophy is ‘nothing but good.’ And we live those words every day,” Hurley said.
“Nothing but good is what we say; that’s what we deliver. It guides who we are as people,
as employees, and as a corporation.”
The “nothing but good” philosophy also drives Chobani’s employees to give back to local
communities whenever they can. Despite its rapid growth, Chobani has stayed true to its
roots, giving 10 percent of its profits to individuals working toward positive, long-lasting
change through its Shepherd’s Gift Foundation.
At the Microsoft Dynamics Convergence 2013 conference in New Orleans, Chobani discussed
the ways in which its technology suite has helped the company grow while maintaining its
commitment to quality, customer satisfaction, and community involvement.
“Microsoft Dynamics has contributed to our success and consistent growth,” Hurley said.
“We can’t wait to see how it keeps us one step ahead as our business continues to flourish.”
About MicrosoftFounded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services, and solutions
that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
At the heart of every successful business are the people who make things happen. Microsoft Dynamics
designs modern business solutions that empower individuals with intuitive tools that allow them to do
their best work. Our proactive, easy-to-use business applications adapt to the way people and systems
work, enabling businesses to rapidly deploy and be forward-looking in an ever-changing world.
Microsoft Dynamics has contributed to our success and consistent growth. ”Maureen A. Hurley,
VP of IT, Chobani
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Microsoft Customer Success Story
Manufacturer Partners with Microsoft
Consulting Services for Global ERP Overhaul
Case Study
Customer: Lifetime Products
Web site: www.lifetime.com
Customer Size: 1,500 employees
Country or Region: Global
Industry: Process, lean, and discrete manufacturing
Software and Services• Microsoft Consulting Services
• Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012
Customer ProfileFounded in 1986, Lifetime Products is the world’s leading
manufacturer of blow-molded polyethylene folding
chairs and tables, picnic tables, and home basketball
equipment. The company also applies cutting-edge
technology in plastics and metals to develop home
storage solutions, chairs and benches, outdoor furniture,
playground equipment, and more. Lifetime’s products
are sold in Walmart stores as well as Sam’s Club, Costco,
and other large retail chains. The company’s more than
1,500 employees work in the Clearfield, Utah corporate
headquarters and additional sites in China, Mexico, and
other locations around the globe.
Business Needs
Working with large retailers such as Walmart and Costco demands lean, smart processes, especially in areas governed by
enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, including global manufacturing, inventory management, and shipping. As
Lifetime Products’ 20-year-old ERP system was showing its limitations and reaching end-of-life, the company embarked on a
5-year plan to replace its ERP platform and products with a more robust, flexible, and efficient system.
Having worked with Microsoft products and Microsoft Consulting Services since 1999, Lifetime leaned toward Microsoft
products, solutions, and support for this engagement. However, the company also investigated other options. “We looked
at four different systems,” said John Bowden, Lifetime Products chief information officer (CIO). “One was a progress-based
system that was kind of just like our previous ERP system. The others were SAP and Oracle. Then Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012.”
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We wanted to have that really tight partnership between Microsoft Consulting Services and the product group itself. I think we were able to accomplish that, versus having a value-added reseller in between. That gives you one throat to choke or one hand to shake. You’re not making this too complex by having multiple layers of people involved. ”John Bowden, CIO,
Lifetime Products
“Lifetime found the SAP and Oracle system to be, according to Bowden, “pretty strict and
hardened” platforms that didn’t work well inside a standardized Microsoft environment.
The company chose Dynamics AX for its flexibility and configurability, its ability to integrate
seamlessly into Lifetime’s Windows environment, and the desire to continue the long-
standing relationship with Microsoft Consulting Services. “We wanted to have that really
tight partnership between Microsoft Consulting Services and the product group itself. I
think we were able to accomplish that, versus having a value-added reseller in between,”
Bowden explained. “That gives you one throat to choke or one hand to shake. You’re not
making this so complex by having all of these layers of people involved.”
The scope of the ERP replacement program made Lifetime especially wary of unnecessary
complexities. The company planned not only to replace the entire ERP system, but
to integrate data from multiple lines of business, including customer relationship
management (CRM), product lifecycle management (PLM), and accounting—from all over
the globe. Lifetime also had to ensure ISO 9001 compliance for manufacturing and payment
card industry (PCI) compliance for merchants that accept credit cards. It was an exhaustive,
5-year replacement plan that impacted the entire business, demanding in-depth planning,
clear communication across multiple stakeholders, seamless implementation, and ongoing
support.
Solution
“We have just finished a 2.5-year implementation of Microsoft Dynamics AX with very in-
depth help from Microsoft Consulting Services,” said CIO Bowden. The implementation
process began with Lifetime creating a team to identify business needs and challenges.
“We took the positions of nine people in the organization and turned them into what we call
‘core team members,’ ” Bowden explained. “That meant that they became full-time business
analysts for Dynamics AX during a particular planning phase. Then we complemented
them with Microsoft Consulting Services technical and functional consultants to help get
through the implementation.”
These Microsoft consultants went well beyond the usual planning functions. They came on-
site 6 months prior to the project kickoff to learn about the company and its culture. “Those
consultants lived with us for two-and-a-half years,” said Bowden. “They took us through a
process Microsoft calls Microsoft Sure Step, which is functional design documentation and
technical design documentation, overseen by a full blown project manager, who is still on-site.”
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The Microsoft consultants even joined the internal core team members on a trip to
China to better understand Lifetime’s global needs and operations. In addition, they
oversaw additional consultants from buyers important to Lifetime who functioned as
subject matter experts. Lifetime chose to keep the external consultants under Microsoft
supervision because it furthered the company’s goal of single source accountability. “In the
end,” Bowden said, “there is only one person responsible for the results.”
While both internal staff and external customers use Lifetime’s ERP system, the primary
focus was on internal users. To minimize risk, nothing was left to chance in ensuring that
the system would work for them.
“Microsoft Consulting led internal users through the process called Test Scripts, which
means that they prove they can do their jobs in the system,” Bowden said. “Users spent
very many late nights to make sure that could happen. It took months. Everyone really
pulled together. We even created an AX Go-Live Banner. Everybody signed that banner at
the beginning of the project and everybody signed it at the end. We wouldn’t go live until
everybody decided that we were ready.”
Microsoft Consulting Services implemented the Lifetime Products Dynamics AX solution on
time, on budget, and, per Bowden, “on quality.” For all of that, Bowden credits exceptional
teamwork among Microsoft consultants, external consultants managed by Microsoft, and
his internal team members. “I guess it goes without saying that the better the teamwork,
the easier the information flows. Working together more efficiently was the end result.”
Benefits
In reviewing the engagement with Microsoft Consulting Services, Bowden cites
accountability, subject matter expertise, and teamwork as principal benefits. In those
attributes he finds the roots of all the specific benefits the company has reaped from the
engagement and the resulting Dynamics AX implementation.
Single point of contact and accountabilityMicrosoft Consulting Services oversaw the architecture review, design review, and
performance review for Lifetime’s Dynamics AX implementation, as well as the internal
corporate teams. Microsoft even assumed full responsibility for the performance of third-
party contractors. “You put them under Microsoft Consulting Services’ umbrella,” Bowden
explained, “and it allows Microsoft to be responsible for the results of that particular
resource and the things that he or she gives us.”
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This centralized system enabled seamless transitions from one stage of development to
the next, and facilitated clear, simplified communications among internal and external
stakeholders and teams.
Maximizing cross-company consistency in behavior and use modelsThe age and inflexibility of the previous ERP system led some company offices to develop
independent solutions and processes. “At the beginning of this project, China was
somewhat separate from the U.S. in terms of how they ran their business,” Bowden said.
“Microsoft consulting helped us use Dynamics AX as an element of discipline to make sure
that China, Mexico, and the U.S. all ran very smoothly on one instance of AX.”
This new cohesion, structure, and discipline have resulted in reduced time to market,
increased transaction speed, and a greater level of flexibility across the entire organization.
Better inventory management and lean processes to lower production costs Microsoft Consulting Services deployed Dynamics AX modules to help Lifetime control
inventory and maximize efficiency. Lifetime now tracks inventory in real time, limiting
excess and cutting production costs. “It lets us keep inventory levels efficient,” said Bowden.
Automated workflow and streamlined business processes leading to improved customer service Lifetime is using Dynamics AX to improve the workflow in its customer service department,
which takes calls for things like assembly issues or defective or broken parts. “For example,”
Bowden explained, “with a basketball system, Lifetime manufacturers get a bill of materials
for all of the parts of the system. From that bill of material, there are many workflow steps
that have to be completed before those materials can go into production and make a
system. Dynamics AX is helping facilitate the whole thing, including the approval process,
the workflow, and the steps between one department and the next.”
Microsoft Consulting Services Dynamics AX implementation lets Lifetime monitor a bill
of materials’ progress throughout the manufacturing process and then through sales. If
customer service hears consistent feedback about the product, it can track back through
the entire chain and make adjustments to improve the product, and therefore the customer
experience.
Bowden says that Lifetime now has an ERP system it can trust, implemented and supported
by trusted partners in Microsoft Consulting Services. “The more trust in resources that our
company has, the better results you are going to get,” he concluded.
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Microsoft Consulting ServicesMicrosoft Consulting Services is a global team of professionals who are dedicated to helping customers
maximize the value of their investment in Microsoft software. Microsoft Services touches customers
more than 715 million times a year, helping them plan, deploy, support, and optimize our technologies.
They also work closely with Microsoft partners by sharing their technological expertise and product
knowledge on a regular basis.
For more information about Microsoft Services, go to: www.microsoft.com/services.
About MicrosoftFounded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services, and solutions
that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
At the heart of every successful business are the people who make things happen. Microsoft Dynamics
designs modern business solutions that empower individuals with intuitive tools that allow them to do
their best work. Our proactive, easy-to-use business applications adapt to the way people and systems
work, enabling businesses to rapidly deploy and be forward-looking in an ever-changing world.
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SAP & Navigator Customer Success Story
Kalmar RT Center: Moving Forward in
a Rough Terrain Environment
Case Study
In 1995, Kalmar started a project called Rough Terrain Container Handler, or RTCH
(pronounced “retch”) for short. The objective was to develop and produce machines for
the U.S. Army Tank–Automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM). In April 2000, Kalmar
received a contract with TACOM for the supply of RTCH, and as a result, was awarded
three additional contracts for vehicle maintenance, field service support, and aftermarket
parts sales. And, in 2009, Kalmar was awarded a second 5-year contract with the United
States Department of Defense for manufacturing the RTCH. By 2012, Kalmar had built and
delivered its 500th RTCH.
Situation
Kalmar RT Center, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cargotec, a Finnish-based container
manufacturing, shipping, and logistics company, moved its manufacturing and operations
to San Antonio, Texas, about 4 years ago to be close to the U.S. defense market. With a
proven product and as a new company in the United States, Kalmar was fully expecting
rapid growth. With plans to expand from its current military market into the commercial
market, Kalmar knew that it needed a much more robust, yet flexible and scalable enterprise
resource planning (ERP) system. It further wanted a solution that ran in the cloud, such that
Kalmar RT Center, based in San Antonio, Texas, is a specialized manufacturer of rough terrain
material handling equipment. Kalmar RT Center supplies its RT240 Rough Terrain Reach
Stacker and RT022 Rough Terrain Telehandler to governments and military installments
globally, as well as companies operating in oil and gas, construction, remote logistics,
intermodal logistics, mining, and forestry. Its products perform in the most challenging
ground conditions where other equipment cannot hold up and perform. Kalmar RT Center
employs approximately 160 employees and is a subsidiary of Cargotec, a recognized leader
in cargo and load handling solutions around the world.
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the company’s complete attention and valuable resources could be focused on product
development and innovation rather than information technology (IT) infrastructure
management.
“SAP helps us be more efficient,” said Tim Crossno, chief financial officer (CFO) of Kalmar. “It
further allows us to streamline manufacturing, optimize our inventory, and more effectively
execute more government contracts. Our previous system, QAD, was very limited and much
less flexible, and did not allow us to understand manufacturing costs, purchase appropriate
inventories, or execute the types of contracts that we need to. Recently, the Department
of Defense requested a cost-plus-fixed-fee contract, and our previous system could not do
that. So, naturally as our business expands, so do our systems’ need to expand, hence our
decision to implement SAP Business ByDesign.”
Implementation
“Because we moved to a much more robust ERP solution, we knew we needed to get full
team involvement,” said Crossno. “Right from the get-go, we formulated the TIGER team.
That team, comprising experts from every functional department, signed on to the project.
Because of their extensive knowledge of their specific processes, they had a crystal clear
understanding of what was needed to enhance the business, function by function, and
department by department.”
At the head of the TIGER team, Kalmar appointed both a member of the chief experience
officer (CXO) team and a project manager. The CXO, who served as the executive sponsor,
oversaw the overall implementation project and made sure that the team had the resources
it needed. The project manager also oversaw the entire implementation project, but did so
at a much more granular level, holding all team members responsible to stay on task, thus
ensuring that all goals and objectives were met on-time. This organization proved to be
very beneficial in successfully reaching Kalmar’s original, yet very aggressive go-live date.
In an effort to ensure a successful “go-live,” Kalmar needed to make sure the system would
truly work better than QAD. “So that we could be better off from day 1,” said Crossno, “we
tested, tested, and tested some more. We examined every functional process of the system
to ensure that things worked according to plan. And they did.”
Implementation Partner
“While we believe in our people, our products, and our mission, we wanted to make sure we
partnered with the right company when it came to assisting in the implementation,” said
Crossno. “Because of their extensive experience in both manufacturing and distribution,
SAP Business ByDesignfurther allows us to streamline manufacturing, optimize our inventory, and more effectively execute more government contracts. ”Tim Crossno, CFO, Kalmar
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as well their proven implementation methodology, and their full staff of SAP-certified
consultants, we felt most comfortable moving forward with Navigator. Throughout the
implementation, Navigator held our hands to make sure that our plans would work, and
do so without a hitch. Even when potential functional roadblocks appeared, Navigator
worked tirelessly to provide best-practice processes in our organization and the software
to ultimately create workarounds that proved to be more effective in the long run.”
Results
As a supplier of rough terrain container management machines, Kalmar has a very complex
manufacturing process. “With hundreds of production orders issued each week, and with
thousands of SKUs [stock keeping units] needed to fulfill said orders, we found a better way
to manage this process in SAP ByDesign,” Crossno said. “In addition, as a result of running
SAP, we are able to actually track the true costs of production. This combined with real-
time inventory control, better purchasing and forecasting, as well as enhanced contract
execution capabilities makes SAP Business ByDesign the right choice for Kalmar RT Center.”
About SAP Business ByDesignSAP Business ByDesign is a single, integrated and completely Cloud or SaaS solution. Ideal for midmarket
companies ranging from 15–5000 employees, SAP’s flexible, scalable and real-time solution helps
organizations increase efficiencies across the business, gain timely insights through integrated analytics,
and access business functionality, analytics, and reports anytime & anywhere from a broad range of
fully supported wireless/smart devices. SAP Business ByDesign features best-in-class protection of data
through highly secure data centers that are managed, monitored, and maintained by SAP experts.
About Navigator Business SolutionsNavigator Business Solutions is a leading provider of enterprise (ERP) business management software
solutions for companies in North America. Navigator sells, implements, supports and develops for SAP
ByDesign and SAP Business One, and provides Project Management and Technical Consulting services.
Navigator is a performance-driven, performance-motivated, performance-rewarding company.
Navigator has 600+ direct customers and 15+ sales and support offices nationwide.
Navigator’s vision is to be a trusted partner, making every customer a best-run business. Navigator is the
#1 partner for SAP Business ByDesign globally and a top SAP Business One partner in North America.
Navigator worked tirelessly to provide best-practice processes in our organization and the software to ultimately create workarounds that proved to be more effective in the long run. ”Tim Crossno, CFO, Kalmar
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NetSuite Customer Success Story
Anisa International Streamlines Chinese
Manufacturing Operations with NetSuite OneWorld
Case Study
CompanyAnisa International
Company FocusDesigner and manufacturer of high-
quality cosmetic brushes
LocationAtlanta, Georgia, USA
IndustryManufacturing / Distribution
Applications ReplacedMYOB, Microsoft Excel
Other Applications ConsideredMicrosoft Dynamics GP (Great Plains),
SAP, Oracle
Solutions NetSuite, NetSuite Manufacturing,
NetSuite OneWorld
Customer Successes
• Designer and manufacturer of high-quality cosmetic brushes has improved
operational efficiency 25% since upgrading from MYOB to NetSuite.
• Since going live in June 2012, NetSuite has supported 19% revenue growth for Anisa,
named to the Inc. Top 5,000 Fastest Growing Companies in America list.
• NetSuite manufacturing capabilities, introduced in December 2013 at Anisa’s wholly-
owned 600-person factory in Tianjin, China, help streamline production of 22 million
cosmetic brushes a year.
• NetSuite manufacturing enables Anisa to reduce waste and inefficiency at the China
plant with capabilities for bills of materials, work orders, assembly and bin-level
management, routings, and requirements planning.
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• Creation of purchase orders and bills of materials from sales orders for China
production are automated through workflow, saving significant time over previous
manual processes.
• Using NetSuite, Anisa is rolling out new metrics-based monitoring of on-time delivery,
volume and quality, and other measures at the China plant, with performance bonuses
for personnel based on quantified data.
• OneWorld multilingual capabilities support Mandarin language for NetSuite usage by
Anisa personnel at the China manufacturing subsidiary.
• NetSuite enabled Anisa to bring new physical controls to inventory management at
the China plant, accounting for raw materials, work in progress, and finished goods.
• NetSuite enables greater efficiency to help Anisa expand its business of producing
cosmetic brushes and kits for 75 brands including Sephora, Target, L’Oréal, and Estée
Lauder.
• Breakthrough visibility into sales, inventory, and profitability enabled through NetSuite
are helping guide strategic decisions for Anisa’s growth.
• Anisa has accelerated its invoicing processes and cash flow by up to three weeks since
going live on NetSuite.
• Monthly financial close time has been reduced from two weeks to one week.
Challenges
• Limitations in MYOB data capacity, reporting capabilities, and inventory management
resulted in daily challenges and time-consuming manual work.
• Absence of sophisticated information technology (IT) software and infrastructure at
the China manufacturing plant created manual workflows, unnecessary waste, and
undermined corporate visibility.
• Performance management was limited by Excel-based reporting on China operations.
• Lack of multilingual support in MYOB prevented rollout to China personnel.
Solution
• Cloud ERP and manufacturing capabilities met Anisa’s desire to avoid in-house
software, servers, and a costly IT department.
• NetSuite OneWorld and manufacturing capabilities supplied an ideal combination for
brush production in China with on-demand control and visibility from the U.S.
• Services by NetSuite Solution Provider partner Trigger Networks, based in Beijing,
helped ensure a quality implementation, meeting Anisa’s unique business demands
in China.
As a manufacturer, we needed a solution that could handle the full cycle covering manufacturing, inventory, and financials. NetSuite is extremely robust and gives us scalability to grow. ”Anisa International
“NetSuite Customer Success Story
Anisa International Streamlines Chinese
Manufacturing Operations with NetSuite OneWorld
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About NetSuite Today, more than 20,000 companies and subsidiaries depend on NetSuite to run complex, mission-
critical business processes globally in the cloud. Since its inception in 1998, NetSuite has established
itself as the leading provider of enterprise-class cloud financials/ERP suites for divisions of large
enterprises and mid-sized organizations seeking to upgrade their antiquated client/server ERP systems.
NetSuite excels at streamlining business operations as demonstrated in a recent Gartner study naming
NetSuite as the fastest growing top 10 financial management systems vendor in the world. NetSuite
continues its success in delivering the best cloud ERP/financials suites to businesses around the world,
enabling them to lower IT costs significantly while increasing productivity, as the global adoption of the
cloud is accelerating.
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Oracle Cloud Customer Success Stories
Oracle Cloud Applications—Empowering
the Modern Business in the Cloud
Case Studies
Accelerating Innovation with Oracle Cloud Applications
The cloud has been hyped as “the next big thing,” “a disruptive force,” and even “a shot in
the arm for our economy.” In simple terms, cloud enables users to purchase software and
information technology (IT) resources as a service, shifting the burden of capital expenses
to a flexible, pay-as-you-go model. Cloud computing resembles a utility that supplies water
or electrical power—users are able to access their business applications at any time and
from multiple locations, track their usage levels, and scale capacity as needed without large
up-front costs.
But if you think cloud computing benefits only IT organizations, you may be surprised.
Increasingly, business leaders are finding that today’s clouds give them more control over
their information systems than ever before. In fact, in the past year IT budgets have dropped
by 5 percent while line of business (LOB) technology spending has grown approximately
20 percent.1
When viewed industry wide, cloud adoption is still in its early phases. But the momentum is
growing. Pioneering business leaders have escalated their migration to cloud solutions and
software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications over the past three years, leveraging cloud-based
systems to build better products, launch more innovative services, deliver better customer
service, and create new engagement models. Companies are attracted to the cloud’s
lower up-front costs when compared to traditional IT-centric approaches to application
deployment.
1 Wang, R. Ray, “A Software Insider’s Point of View,” Constellation Research, April 30, 2012.
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76% of business managers surveyed around the globe said their top motivation for adopting cloud or SaaS applications was to have a quick way to get the software they wanted. ”Dynamic Markets Cloud Report
May 2013
“Within the Oracle user community we are seeing this shift toward cloud adoption on the
business side. In a survey of 364 Oracle Application User Group (OAUG) members, a sizable
portion of them reported that LOB deployments of cloud technology are on the upswing.
More than 25 percent of cloud projects were initiated from the top executive suite—at the
behest of chief executive officers (CEOs), chief financial officers (CFOs), and chief marketing
officers (CMOs). An additional 25 percent of respondents said that LOB managers initiated
cloud engagements, and 8 percent of respondents said cloud engagements were initiated
by LOB employees.
This paper examines several real-world implementations to reveal the benefits our
customers are realizing with Oracle cloud solutions. Specifically, as a result of Oracle’s
uniquely comprehensive, modern approach to cloud applications and services, these
customers can:
• Quickly execute complete and integrated business processes—access market-leading
capabilities at their fingertips to solve an end-to-end business problem, coupled with
unified execution, visibility, and control
• Innovate faster with less risk—roll out solutions faster with less burden on IT and in
incremental steps, accelerating time to value and flexibly responding to changing
market conditions
• Transform user experiences and insight—deliver greater value to their teams and their
own customers with advanced, embedded reporting, and social capabilities accessible
anywhere, on any device
• Choose, as needed, from a complete portfolio of modern business solutions that
provide continuous innovation from a stable and proven global technology provider
Forward-looking executives at organizations are accelerating innovation with Oracle cloud
applications, a complete suite of modern business applications in the cloud that let people
access the latest software functionality quickly and with lower risk and cost.
Complete and Integrated Business Processes
The comprehensive nature of Oracle Cloud is a key selection consideration for customers.
Oracle has the broadest cloud portfolio in the industry, delivering a complete range of
production-level, cross-functional business applications for each part of your organization
with information and data shared seamlessly across Oracle cloud applications and your
other systems. Business users have the latest innovations at their fingertips across sales and
marketing, customer service, finance and accounting, supply chain management, human
capital and talent management—all enriched with social engagement and collaboration
tools and an intuitive user interface that works on any mobile device. These applications
have been architected on a modern and open service-oriented platform and infrastructure
to simplify integration needs and lower an organization’s total cost of ownership.
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With such extensive functionality across business processes, customers can solve their
business problems with complete solutions that give them end-to-end execution and
complete visibility. There are no information silos, and no need to coordinate software
upgrades between vendors, integrate data, or manage disparate security policies.
Such was the motivation for one of the nation’s premier retailers, operating hundreds
of stores across North America. The retailer wanted to deploy a cloud-based talent
management system that would readily integrate with its on-premise Oracle’s PeopleSoft
Human Capital Management applications and other business systems. Decision makers
selected Oracle’s Talent Management Cloud as the SaaS solution that would work with
other in-house systems to manage talent end to end.
A key objective for the retailer was a seamless experience for human capital management
(HCM) users, from recruiting through hiring, performance review, and other aspects of the
employment cycle. The retailer’s human resources (HR) executives have been impressed
so far with how the solution “improved our employees’ experiences from a couple of
perspectives. The experience for end users will be consistent all the way from application
through their talent processes, performance review, and leadership. The other point is that
the product is easy to use. So we knew there would be high user adoption.”
For another company, Herbalife, the ability to provide complete processes and integrate
with other in-house systems was also a key driver in its selection of Oracle Human Capital
Management Cloud.
Herbalife is a global nutrition company that helps millions of people pursue healthy, active
lives. Its nutrition, weight-management, and personal-care products are available in more
than 75 countries around the world. Five years ago, Herbalife began a global rollout of
Oracle’s enterprise resource planning (ERP) suite, starting with on-premise solutions for
order entry, supply chain, and financials. The company began to change its deployment
mix in the last several years to leverage the Oracle Cloud to bring new products to market
quickly and drive more innovation for the company.
Before selecting Oracle Human Capital Management Cloud as its global HCM platform,
Herbalife examined a number of application software products, both on premise and cloud
based. The company needed cloud solutions that could integrate easily with its other
business applications and processes. The people in the HCM system have to tie into all
the other business processes. “Having a vendor that can provide business solutions and
not just stovepipe solutions was important to us,” says Mark Schissel, senior vice president
(SVP) and chief information officer (CIO) at Herbalife.
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Herbalife also required the complete range of deployment flexibility that only Oracle
cloud solutions offer. “It was important for us to work with a vendor that offered multiple
deployment options,” says Schissel. “Whether it is on premise, or whether it is a managed
service, or whether it is software as a service, depending on our business circumstances,
that answer changes. And it might change over time, as well. It’s important to work with
a vendor that understands all of those deployment options and can maximize them and
make sure all of our systems are working together while they’re in different states.”
Having complete visibility and consistent execution across business processes was proven
critical for both of these highlighted Oracle Cloud customers, who gave strong weighting
to Oracle’s unique ability to accommodate these needs.
Innovation, Speed, and Flexibility
Getting started with cloud applications is generally a simple process, as there is little or
no capital expense involved. By taking control of departmental computing needs, LOB
managers can get to market quickly with new applications. Oracle Cloud applications
allow customers to access the latest features quickly without compromising visibility,
control, or security.
One of the advantages Oracle Talent Management Cloud offers the premier retailer
mentioned above is a scalable, flexible infrastructure that can expand and contract to
meet seasonal fluctuations in their head count, which grows approximately 20 percent
during the holiday season. The Oracle cloud solution has been able to keep up with these
continually changing business needs. “When we have to scale up, they do it for us because
we’re in the cloud, and when we come down, they can come down.”
Innovation speed and flexibility benefits have also been realized by iRobot Corporation,
a leader in delivering robotic technology-based solutions, including the award-winning
iRobot Roomba vacuum cleaning robots. Deploying Oracle Cloud applications has helped
iRobot bring new products to market more quickly and become a more nimble business,
while improving customer service levels.
iRobot utilizes on-premise applications for finance and other corporate functions, but
when it came time to deploy a new customer service system, the IT department was busy
expanding manufacturing facilities and warehouses. They didn’t have the capacity to help
roll out a global customer experience solution needed to scale the company’s call center
business to support iRobot’s products worldwide.
A SaaS solution was strategic for my organization, because I had limited resources and we weren’t technical. Our expertise is in customer service. We really didn’t have the expertise in the infrastructure —Oracle has that expertise. ”Maryellen Abreu, Director of Global
Customer Service, iRobot
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After investigating cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) solutions,
iRobot determined that Oracle had a highly functional and secure offering that was easy to
integrate with the rest of iRobot’s enterprise applications. The results have been extremely
positive.
“Our IT organization loves the fact that we’re in the cloud,” says Abreu. “This is a strategic
advantage to a company like iRobot that wants to build and design robots that make a
difference. We leverage the cloud in order to move rapidly, launch new products—while
someone else is worrying about the infrastructure. I can’t imagine why anyone wouldn’t
leverage cloud applications, because they are providing you that cutting-edge information
and being able to give you the flexibility that you need in order to run your business.”
Transform User Experience and Insight
A third key factor for modern cloud applications is the ability to transform user experience
and insight. With Oracle Cloud applications, social capabilities are embedded directly
into cloud-based business processes so it’s easier for people to share information.
This collaborative work environment seamlessly connects users and content within a
social network, no matter where people are located or which devices they prefer to use.
Social relationship management capabilities allow companies to build relationships by
engaging people even before they become customers, and to continuously improve those
relationships so they become brand advocates.
Moreover, for business users, Oracle offers the ability to directly access data in the cloud,
without needing to learn analytics software. For example, a set of tools allows end users
to analyze Facebook posts and Twitter feeds and respond. Business users are able to do
that directly, by themselves, in the Oracle Cloud. iRobot leverages the mobile and social
collaboration features in Oracle Customer Experience Cloud to improve customer service
and provide a better user experience. iRobot benefits from having continuous access to
cutting-edge technology with each upgrade. New technologies, such as the ever-changing
mobile and social landscape, are used by their customers and iRobot is able to keep up with
these changes.
With a feature in Oracle Customer Experience Cloud, customers are able to show iRobot’s
customer service agents the problem they are having. It was traditionally very hard and
frustrating for customers to communicate about their robot problems over the phone.
Now, they are able to seamlessly upload the actual content to YouTube or other sites so the
agent can watch the video and understand the problem more vividly. And as a result, the
agent can troubleshoot more efficiently and make sure that the robot is working correctly,
improving customer satisfaction.
Oracle’s cloud solution now provides a seamless way for us to communicate with the customer and also to communicate with our products out in the field… This provides information engineering needs in order to make new product decisions and be able to meet the customers’ expectations. ”Maryellen Abreu, Director of Global
Customer Service, iRobot
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75% of business managers say their ability to innovate using their cloud applications has been hindered and the main hindrance is a lack of integration. ”Dynamic Markets Cloud Report
May 2013
“In addition, Oracle cloud solutions break down information silos and provide transparency
for all organizations at iRobot. Engineering can log right into the system, and see the
conversation with the customer whether it’s a chat, an e-mail, on the user forum, on YouTube,
and so on. Engineering, quality assurance, and other departments have transparent access
to the customer conversation, which is available 24/7. This rapid feedback has improved
product quality and accelerated product launches.
The modern, embedded social and mobile capabilities of Oracle Cloud are also critical in
the world of retail, where companies must adopt new technologies rapidly to compete. In
the case of our premier retailer, they enjoyed the ability to deploy a mobile version of their
Oracle SaaS solution and also utilize social capabilities. Having an easy-to-use interface as
well as a mobile and social component has been important for getting thousands of users
to adopt the solution. Also, mobile capabilities have enabled the retailer to push recruiting
activities to mobile and social sites, where users can pick up applicants from their mobile
devices, thereby bringing innovation and new efficiencies to their recruiting processes.
Oracle Cloud: The Cloud Done Right
Committed to Cloud Nearly seven years ago, Oracle embarked on an effort to completely rewrite and modernize
all of our applications. Very few technology companies have the wherewithal to cross
the chasm from one generation of technology to the next. It is a huge undertaking and
requires a significant investment, vision, and commitment. Thousands of people, billions
of dollars, and key strategic acquisitions were required for Oracle to become both an on-
premise application provider as well as a leading cloud application provider. The result
is the most comprehensive cloud in the industry, with a complete suite of enterprise-
grade applications, on a common platform, all enhanced with modern, socially enabled
technologies and applications. Today, we have more than 10,000 customers and more than
25 million users that rely on Oracle Cloud every day.
Rich and Complete FunctionalityWhen we talk about having the most comprehensive set of enterprise-grade and
modern business applications in the cloud, we mean providing a complete suite of sales
and marketing applications; a complete suite for customer experience, including social
relationship management; and complete suites for ERP, HCM, and talent management. As
we have seen with the customers cited, this complete end-to-end and integrated process
capability has been an important differentiator in selecting Oracle Cloud applications.
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Importantly, customers want to be able to connect their existing on-premise applications
to new applications in the cloud. Oracle’s commitment to standards and service-based
integration makes it possible to connect application systems in the most durable and cost-
effective way. Standards help customers gain more value from their existing IT investments
that work with new, modern cloud applications.
Performance without Compromise Security and reliability cannot be forgotten in any discussion about cloud applications.
Customers need to be able to trust that their cloud solution protects private information
and controls access. Since 1998, Oracle has offered business applications as managed cloud
services to customers across the globe. We also provide the technology that powers ten
of the top ten public SaaS vendors today. And Oracle Cloud stands out when it comes to
security and performance. From the physical security in our global data centers, to the
logical security we’ve embedded at every layer of the technology stack that supports
the business applications, no other vendor makes the ongoing necessary investments to
ensure integrity and confidence in the cloud.
Oracle Cloud protects customers’ data and fine-tunes systems’ performance at every
technology layer, from applications to disk. Because Oracle manufactures and designs every
layer of the technology stack that our cloud applications run on, we are uniquely able to
optimize how all these systems work together. This in turn delivers extreme performance
and scalability that meet the requirements of even the largest and transaction-intensive
businesses.
Mark Schissel from Herbalife agrees that Oracle is the right vendor to help businesses meet
the challenges of integration and reliability in the cloud. “For us, it was pretty clear. If we’re
going to have someone outside of these walls manage our operations, then Oracle was
an easy solution. They own the hardware. They own the software. They own the database.
They own the services. From Oracle, I can buy a business solution and I’m not just buying
widgets that fit together. At the end of the day, choosing Oracle was a huge advantage for
us and an easy decision.”
From Oracle, I can buy a business solution and I’m not just buying widgets that fit together. At the end of the day, choosing Oracle was a huge advantage for us and an easy decision. ” Mark Schissel,
SVP and CIO, Herbalife
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About OracleOracle designs hardware and software to work simultaneously in the cloud and in the data centers.
The integrated solutions offered by Oracle are designed to address complex business processes for a
wide range of specific industries. Among them, Oracle Database is the worldwide #1 entrepreneurial
database that allows the information to be always available and safe. Oracle Cloud Solutions—Oracle
designed its solutions in the cloud at entrepreneurial level, including software as a service (SaaS),
platform as a service (PaaS), and infrastructure as a service (Iaas). With these solutions, Oracle helps its
customers manage their data so they can focus on their business growth. Oracle Fusion Middleware
is the business innovation leader platform for the company and the cloud. It helps the companies
create and operate flexible and smart applications and at the same time maximize IT efficiency. Oracle
Applications offers better results with a full range of implementations in the companies, for public
cloud, private or hybrid cloud, as well as a safe route, so that the customers take advantage of the latest
technological advances. Oracle Engineered System—Oracle designs previously integrated systems to
reduce the cost and complexity of IT infrastructure, and at the same time, it increases its productivity
and performance. Oracle Servers—Oracle servers offer a record-breaking performance, simplified
administration, high availability and efficiency that saves costs. Oracle Services Oracle helps companies
take full advantage of their technology investments and encompass the solutions’ complete life cycle.
Oracle is the only company with a complete Hardware and Software and service portfolio that lets its
customers—400,000 of them in more than 145 countries in the world—speed up innovation and create
added value for them. Oracle is the company of the “Hardware and Software, Engineered to Work
Together.”
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Plex Customer Success Story
Plex Manufacturing Cloud Trims Global Auto
Supplier’s IT Costs, Improves Quality and Productivity
Case Study
Automotive manufacturers are working vigorously to meet customer needs, squeeze out
costs, achieve the highest possible quality, and do all of this with fewer and fewer resources.
The pain of “doing more with less” is never more acute than when new suppliers are formed
from the divested divisions of others. They must immediately begin meeting ambitious
productivity and profitability expectations while integrating diverse operations—often
within extremely short timeframes.
When Inteva Products, LLC launched as an independent company, one of its first challenges
was figuring out how to structure its information systems and data management.
Formerly a division of Delphi Corp., Inteva is a global tier-one automotive supplier with
manufacturing locations covering three continents, six countries, and four U.S. states.
Inteva faced a complete overhaul of its information technology (IT) environment, which
comprises many different systems—including an SAP enterprise resource planning (ERP)
system that was operated from the Delphi offices. Inteva had only 12 months to migrate its
entire infrastructure and application environment. And, the company needed to reduce IT
costs dramatically—from 2 percent of revenue to less than 1 percent.
After an intensive global search, Inteva selected Plex as its new ERP solution. The company
replaced all of its systems with one, integrated solution that provides access to consistent,
accurate, real-time business information, “from the plant floor to the top floor,” for all
employees globally.
Today, all 1,200 of its system users around the globe can access the same information,
produce the same reports, and make critical business and operational decisions in real time.
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Speedy Implementation
Plex met Inteva’s requirements for implementation by migrating all sites from SAP to
Plex in less than 12 months. First to launch were the company’s European Headquarters
and Technical Center in Wuppertal, Germany, and its Matamoros Operations Plant 2 in
Matamoros, Mexico. This was followed by launches at its two manufacturing facilities in
Alabama 3 months later. The remaining launches were completed 3 months after that at all
of Inteva’s remaining locations in Mexico, Germany, Hungary, and the United States.
“Unlike most ERP launches I’ve seen, our migration to Plex was completed smoothly and
quickly,” said Dennis Hodges, Inteva chief information officer (CIO). “The speed of this
launch was especially remarkable given the complexity of integrating data from many
different locations.”
From start to finish, the implementation took approximately 1 year. Inteva utilizes all Plex
functions including production, financials, purchasing, and supply chain management.
Visibility and Quality
The Inteva supply network includes about 300 companies worldwide. Because of the size
and global reach of this supply chain, Plex’s supplier quality function was critical in helping
Inteva achieve success.
The system enables Inteva to communicate details behind any non-conformances, and to
document the associated sorting, scrap, freight, and downtime costs. Plex also includes
a supplier scorecard feature that Inteva uses to grade suppliers based on the number
of complaints they’ve received, the quantities of products rejected, major production
disruptions, repeat non-conformances, and controlled shipping statuses.
Plex has also brought Inteva visibility into its suppliers’ operations. When a problem
is identified anywhere within the Inteva supply chain, the supplier and an Inteva
representative receive an automatic notification that action is required. A “problem case”
is identified and automatically created, and supplier responses to problem cases and
associated cost recoveries can be reviewed and approved or rejected.
Unlike most ERP launches I’ve seen, our migration to Plex was completed smoothly and quickly. The speed of this launch was especially remarkable given the complexity of integrating data from many different locations. ”Dennis Hodges,
CIO, Inteva Products, LLC
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Cost Savings
“Inteva has exceeded our cost-savings goal,” said Hodges. “We have saved significant
maintenance and resource costs and trimmed one-third off of our monthly IT budget.
“The key is how Plex is supported,” said Hodges. “It is managed off premises, so we don’t
have to worry about the day-to-day challenges of keeping the system up and running.
“Plex has brought us more flexibility in staffing and allowed us to avoid the two-tier IT group
required by SAP—where most of the team was dedicated to managing the infrastructure
and only a small percentage were involved in business development.
“In contrast, about 80 percent of our IT team members today are business analysts. They
are able to focus on strategic support of our business units. This has improved the overall
alignment between the IT department and the rest of the business.”
All brand names are registered trademarks of their respective owners.
About Plex Plex is the Manufacturing Cloud, delivering industry-leading ERP and manufacturing automation to
more than 350 companies across industries including aerospace and defense, food and beverage and
motor vehicles. Plex pioneered cloud solutions for the plant floor, connecting suppliers, machines,
people, systems and customers with capabilities that are easy to configure, deliver continuous
innovation, and reduce IT costs. With insight that starts on the production line, Plex helps companies see
and understand every aspect of their business ecosystem, enabling them to lead in an ever-changing
market.
The key is how Plex is supported. It is managed off premises, so we don’t have to worry about the day-to-day challenges of keeping the system up and running. ”Dennis Hodges,
CIO, Inteva Products, LLC
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ProcessPro Customer Success Story
Primrose Candy Company
Case Study
Client Profile
Primrose Candy Company was founded by Frank and Mae Puch in 1928. Primrose
manufactures primarily hard candy, chewy candies such as caramel and salt water taffy,
and popcorn confections. In addition to candy, Primrose also produces private-label
nutraceuticals. With over 80% of the business being derived from private-label and contract
manufacturing, Primrose not only has to meet its own high standards but also the scrutiny
of those who put their name on the final products.
Challenge
Primrose was previously using antiquated methods of tracking business operations
in multiple sources and on various systems. Data management was entered manually,
requiring duplicate entry of data and increasing the opportunity for errors. Primrose desired
real-time financial and inventory control information that would alert them when inventory
was low and what items were needed to fulfill orders. The company was experiencing an
increasing need for quality control measures, a scheduling system that coincided within
one system, and a sound formula storage system.
Solution
Primrose implemented ProcessPro Premier 10.18 in late 2009, a fully integrated and
industry-specific ERP solution that afforded the company the ability to track real-
time inventory, create production schedules, and measure quality control. Since then,
Primrose has continued to meet its growing demands with adding additional features and
performing necessary upgrades. They have been an excellent partner for beta testing of
numerous future version releases.
Primrose’s hardship in being unable to effectively track inventory levels throughout the
production process without pulling manual paperwork created a necessity for a real-time
physical inventory solution. With the use of ProcessPro, they are able to maintain accurate,
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manageable inventory levels, reducing waste and lag time. They have experienced a great
improvement in operational efficiency through the use of AWS, which provides virtually
error-free inventory transactions via handheld scanners.
All-inclusive System
Primrose recognized the value in a fully integrated system that was all inclusive. They
previously utilized Microsoft® Excel for scheduling and storage of formulas and were utilizing
a third-party module for their accounting needs. ProcessPro offered them a complete
system, an accounting package, warehouse management, research and development
(R&D), material requirements planning (MRP), and more. ProcessPro provided a sound and
secure formula storage option aiding with consistency in quality.
Production Scheduling
With the dynamic of Primrose’s manufacturing process, they required a flexible scheduling
system that had the ability to handle different machines, shapes, and sizes of production.
ProcessPro Premier’s Advanced Scheduler feature has allotted for Primrose to schedule a
batch for multiple days and multiple routes. They have experienced a dramatic reduction
in workflow and shipping errors.
User Friendly
ProcessPro provided a system that Primrose could use out of the box without major
modifications, which was a major concern for them when in the initial sales cycle. They
were also concerned on the “user friendly” capabilities of ProcessPro, as they kept in mind
that their staff would need to adjust to the change. Primrose’s staff has been pleased with
the painless transition, accessibility of support staff, and the Doc’s on Disk series that allows
a user to view solutions while working in the system.
About ProcessProProcessPro is a leading mid-market ERP software solution for the process manufacturing industry.
Designed specifically for manufacturers that combine batches of mixtures, ProcessPro seamlessly
integrates all aspects of plant operation, from beginning order entry through manufacturing, packaging,
shipping, inventory, and accounting. ProcessPro has been serving the food, beverage, pharmaceutical,
nutritional supplement, cosmetic, and specialty chemical industries for more than 25 years. More
information about ProcessPro is available at www.ProcessProERP.com.
ProcessPro has been a great improvement for us. It was easy to implement and train! Most of the data could be imported, and our implementation team at ProcessPro was super helpful, guiding us step by step. Seeing how we do things now with ProcessPro, I can’t even imagine how we got by before we had it. ”Michelle Puch, Controller,
Primrose Candy Company
“
VAI’s award winning ERP software provides the power and unsurpassed value that companies need to address key industry requirements and deliver bottom-line results.
Escalating forces of domestic and international competition require companies to operate more efficiently and cost-effectively than ever before.
VAI understands the pressures manufacturers, wholesale distributors and retailersface, and more importantly, how to address them. By automating production, planning,
and quality process, they’ll have a competitive edge in lower costs, increased profits, and a higher level of customer satisfaction.
1.800.824.7776 • sales.vai.netVormittag Associates, Inc.A Leader in Enterprise Management Softwarewww.vai.net
The Next Generation in ERP Software
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SYSPRO Customer Success Story
von Drehle Outpaces the Competition
with SYSPRO Software
Case Study
Companyvon Drehle Corporation
IndustryIndustrial Products
The Challenge• Facilitate company growth
• Achieve green goals
• Manage costs
• Coordinate manufacturing and
warehousing sites
• Implement digital dashboards
• Gain in-depth visibility into
operations
SYSPRO ERP software provides richness and value to companies like ours. It enables us to see exactly where our business is, analyze and change business processes, and become more competitive. ”Phyllis Durmire, Director of IT, von Drehle Corporation
“
Solutions & Services• Management access to real-time
business data
• Visibility into inventory movements
• Superior site coordination
• Rapid order fulfillment
• Electronic data interchange (EDI)
order placement/fulfillment
• Bar coding traceability
VAI’s award winning ERP software provides the power and unsurpassed value that companies need to address key industry requirements and deliver bottom-line results.
Escalating forces of domestic and international competition require companies to operate more efficiently and cost-effectively than ever before.
VAI understands the pressures manufacturers, wholesale distributors and retailersface, and more importantly, how to address them. By automating production, planning,
and quality process, they’ll have a competitive edge in lower costs, increased profits, and a higher level of customer satisfaction.
1.800.824.7776 • sales.vai.netVormittag Associates, Inc.A Leader in Enterprise Management Softwarewww.vai.net
The Next Generation in ERP Software
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The Company
von Drehle Corporation manufactures and supplies towel and tissue products for the
“away-from-home” market, which includes hotels, restaurants, and a wide variety of
commercial establishments. In addition, the company manufactures and buys ready-made
paper dispensers, providing customers with the ability to order complete paper dispensing
systems.
Manufacturing locations and warehouses are located in Memphis, Tennessee, and Maiden,
North Carolina. The company also operates a paper mill in Rockingham, North Carolina,
and a “converting” facility in Las Vegas, Nevada.
von Drehle fills about 2,750 orders each month from a roster of about 400 customers.
The Challenge
The company initiated a search for enterprise resource planning (ERP) software in 1997
to facilitate growth, achieve green goals, manage costs, coordinate manufacturing and
warehousing sites, implement digital dashboards, and provide in-depth visibility into
operations. Though she was not employed at the company when the choice was made to
go with SYSPRO ERP software, Phyllis Durmire, director of information technology (IT) for
von Drehle, indicates that “. . . the selection was based on the broad functionality of SYSPRO
financial and manufacturing modules.”
A primary consideration of seeking new software was the ability to coordinate all company
locations under one “IT umbrella.” In this manner, updated data on inventory movements,
shipping processes and other transactions would be readily available to all system users.
By implementing a bar coding solution and tying it into the ERP software, the company
believed that not only could superior inventory tracking be achieved, but also more rapid
order turnaround. Toward this latter goal, the company also wanted the ability to pinpoint
finished goods inventories at the various company sites. Moreover, by providing the ability
for customers to place orders directly into SYSPRO software via EDI, the company felt it
could add to its reputation for superior customer service.
In my opinion, SYSPRO is the best operational software for small and mid-sized manufacturers that want to take their businesses forward with the ability to react quickly and effectively to market dynamics. ”Phyllis Durmire, Director of IT,
von Drehle Corporation
“
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The Solution
The following is a partial listing of SYSPRO ERP modules utilized by von Drehle and the
functions each enables the company to perform:
• SYSPRO Cash Book allows optimal and efficient cash management by providing
system-wide bank reconciliation information on cash inflows and outflows.
• SYSPRO General Ledger facilitates the management of corporate performance and
the monitoring of return on investment (ROI) by providing complete enterprise-wide
financial recording, analysis, and reporting from all aspects of the business. It
integrates seamlessly with all other modules in SYSPRO.
• SYSPRO Inventory Software enables effective customer servicing and improved
profits by providing superior inventory control that optimizes stocking levels.
• SYSPRO Purchase Orders is an integral part of the distribution and manufacturing
functions and enables the monitoring of the quality, accuracy, lead times, and costs of
purchases while providing comprehensive supplier performance analysis.
• SYSPRO Sales Analysis provides accurate management information relating to
sales activity in order to improve sales profitability and provide facilities for sales
forecasting and planning at customer and product class levels.
• SYSPRO Sales Orders enhances customer service through fast, efficient order
processing and accurate, timely order fulfillment, while maximizing sales through
instant access to information about stock availability, prices, and possible substitutions.
• SYSPRO Bill of Materials facilitates an accurate expected cost against which to track
actual production costs. The complete bill forms the basis for material and capacity
planning, shop floor control, and costing. You can create and maintain a model of your
manufactured or assembled products, as well as generate what-if costing scenarios.
• The EDI process speeds the turnaround of orders and enhances customer service.
The Results
von Drehle primarily markets its paper products in the United States via a sales force
consisting of only 15 persons. The company uses recycled waste paper for all its products,
earning it a green seal of approval. SYSPRO ERP software has greatly enhanced the
competitive stance of von Drehle. Because the software enables the company to streamline
production and reduce costs, von Drehle is in the enviable position of being able to
underprice the company’s competition.
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SYSPRO ERP software also gives management access to highly informative data. The
software produces a variety of reports that give management insight into financials,
inventory levels, and other operational statistics. In addition, the software has enhanced
worker productivity because each can easily customize the software to access only the
specific information required to best perform his or her job.
After working with SYSPRO ERP software for more than 10 years, Durmire notes, “In my
opinion, SYSPRO is the best operational software for small and mid-sized manufacturers
that want to take their businesses forward with the ability to react quickly and effectively
to market dynamics.” She adds: “There are larger ERP providers with huge customer bases—
but no one better understands the SMB [small/mid-sized business] space than SYSPRO.
SYSPRO ERP software provides richness and value to companies like ours. It enables us to
see exactly where our business is, analyze and change business processes, and become
more competitive. Beyond that, there is the ‘company intangible’ of always feeling like we
have a true partnership with SYSPRO.”
About SYSPROSYSPRO is an independent vendor of enterprise business software and services. The company is
operational in over 60 countries, across six continents, with over 1,500 channel partners. Backed by a
dedicated and professional team, SYSPRO provides world-class software solutions to customers across
a broad spectrum of industries.
Simplifying your Success
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Vendor Directory
Solution Web Site
3i Infotech Orion www.3i-infotech.com
abas Software abas Business Software www.abas-software.com
Abel Software Abel ERP www.abelsoftware.com
Ability LLC Ability 585 www.ability585.com
Access Group Access ERP www.theaccessgroup.com
Acumatica Acumatica Cloud ERP www.acumatica.com
Adaxa ADempiere www.adaxa.com
Adexa Enterprise Global Planning System (eGPS)
www.adexa.com
Advanta Sistemas de Información Advanta-TMB www.advanta-tmb.com
AIM Computer Solutions AIM Vision www.aimcom.com
ALCiE Integrated Solutions ALCiE Solutions www.alcie.com
Apprise Software Apprise ERP www.apprise.com
Aptean Compiere ERP www.aptean.com/en/Solutions/By-Product-Name-AZ/Compiere
Aptean Intuitive ERP www.aptean.com/en/Solutions/By-Product-Name-AZ/Intuitive
Aptean Made2Manage www.aptean.com/en/Solutions/By-Product-Name-AZ/Made2Manage-ERP
Aptean Relevant ERP www.aptean.com/en/Solutions/By-Product-Name-AZ/Relevant
Aptean Ross ERP www.aptean.com/en/Solutions/By-Product-Name-AZ/Ross-ERP
Aquilon Software Aquilon ERP www.aquilonsoftware.com
BatchMaster Software BatchMaster ERP www.batchmaster.com
Bluebee Software bluebee www.bluebeesoftware.com
BPSC SA Impuls 5 www.bpsc.com.pl/index.php?CIDA=5079
Carillon Financials Corp Carillon ERP www.carillon.us
Cincom Systems Cincom Control:2010 www.cincom.com
Commsoft Fidelio www.commsoft.ca/en
COSS Systems COSSERP www.coss-systems.com
CSB-System CSB businessware www.csb-system.com
Datacor ChemPax www.datacor.com/chempax.php
Deacom DEACOM ERP www.deacom.com
eCommerce Industries ECi M1 www.ecisolutions.com/products/systems/M1/default.htm
Elatos Web Ltd. Elatos Web www.elatosweb.co.uk
Epicor Epicor ERP www.epicor.com/Products/Pages/erp-software.aspx
Epicor Epicor Express for Manufacturing www.epicor.com/Cloud/Pages/Cloud-Manufacturing.aspx
Vendor Directory
Vendor
Solution Web Site
Epicor Epicor Tropos www.epicor.com/Products/Pages/Process-Manufacturing-System.aspx
Epicor iScala www.epicor.com/Products/Pages/iScala.aspx
ePROMIS Solutions ePROMIS Enterprise www.epromis.net
Eshbel Technologies Priority ERP www.eshbel.com
eSoftware Professionals Food ERP www.efooderp.com
Exact Macola www.exact.com
EXEControl Global Solutions EXEControl www.execontrol.com
Expandable Software Expandable ERP www.expandable.com
FactoryMaster FactoryMaster www.factorymasterinc.com
Focus Softnet Solutions Focus I www.focussoftnet.com/solutions-Focus-I.html
Fourth Generation Software Solutions
Fitrix ERP www.fitrix.com
Genius Solutions Genius Manufacturing www.geniuserp.com
Global Shop Solutions One-System ERP www.globalshopsolutions.com
Glovia GLOVIA G2 www.glovia.com
Grupo Calipso Calipso www.calipso.com
HansaWorld Enterprise www.hansaworld.com
HarrisData HarrisData www.harrisdata.com
IBS IBS Enterprise www.ibs.net
IFS IFS Applications www.ifsworld.com/en/solutions/ifs-applications/
Industrial Application Software CANIAS ERP www.canias.de
INDUSTRIOS Software INDUSTRIOS ERP www.industrios.com
Info-Power International Inc ABW www.abw.com
Infor Infor Adage www.infor.com/product_summary/erp/adage/
Infor Infor ERP XA www.infor.com/product_summary/erp/xa/
Infor Infor LN www.infor.com/product_summary/erp/ln/
Infor Infor M3 www.infor.com/product_summary/erp/m3/
Infor Infor Visual www.infor.com/product_summary/erp/visual/
Infor SyteLine ERP www.infor.com/product_summary/erp/sl/
IntegrateIT ERP123 www.erp123.biz
Intelisis Intelisis ERP www.intelisis.com
IQMS EnterpriseIQ www.iqms.com
Jeeves Information Systems Jeeves ERP www.jeeves.se/en
JustFoodERP JustFoodERP www.justfooderp.com
Kenandy Kenandy www.kenandy.com
Kepler Kepler www.kepler.com.mx
KeyedIn Solutions KeyedIn Manufacturing www.keyedin.com
Vendor Directory
Vendor
Solution Web Site
Kingdee K/3 ERP en.kingdee.com
Knovalent Knovalent Automotive (KA) www.knovalent.com
Knowledge Matrix EnterPursue www.enterpursue.com
LOGO Business Solutions LOGO j-guar en.logobs.com/solutions/products/java-solutions/j-guar
LOGO Business Solutions LOGO Tiger Enterprise en.logobs.com/solutions/products/products-erp/tiger-enterprise-coz
ManEx ManEx ERP www.manex.com
Manufacturing Information Systems MISys www.misysinc.com
Meritec Forward ERP www.meritec.co.za
Metasystems Accelerated ERP software www.metasystems.com
Microsoft Microsoft Dynamics AX www.microsoft.com/en-ca/dynamics/erp-ax-overview.aspx
Microsoft Microsoft Dynamix GP www.microsoft.com/en-ca/dynamics/erp-gp-overview.aspx
Microsoft Microsoft Dynamix NAV www.microsoft.com/en-ca/dynamics/erp-nav-overview.aspx
Navigator Business Solutions Navigator One for SAP Business One www.nb1s.com/sapsolutions/sap_business_one
NetSuite NetSuite www.netsuite.com
Northrop Grumman Information Systems
OpenTrac Enterprise www.opentrac.com
OmegaCube OmegaCube ERP www.omegacube.com
Open Source Strategies opentaps Open Source ERP www.opentaps.org
Open Systems Traverse ERP www.osas.com
Openbravo Openbravo ERP Platform www.openbravo.com
OpenERP OpenERP www.openerp.com
Oracle E-Business Suite www.oracle.com/us/products/applications/ebusiness
Oracle JD Edwards EnterpriseOne www.oracle.com/us/products/applications/jd-edwards-enterpriseone
Oracle PeopleSoft www.oracle.com/us/products/applications/peoplesoft-enterprise
Pegasus Software Opera 3 www.pegasus.co.uk
Pilot ERP Software LLC Pilot ERP www.piloterp.com
Plex Systems Plex Manufacturing Cloud www.plex.com/solutions/software
proALPHA Software proALPHA www.proalpha.com/en
ProcessPro Software ProcessPro Premier www.processproerp.com
ProfitKey International ProfitKey RRM www.profitkey.com/rapid-response-manufacturing-rrm-erp
Pronto Software Pronto Xi www.pronto-software.com
Vendor Directory
Vendor
Solution Web Site
QAD QAD Enterprise Applications www.qad.com
Ramco Systems Ramco ERP on Cloud www.ramco.com
Rootstock Software Rootstock Cloud ERP www.rootstock.com
Royal 4 Systems R4 www.royal4.com
Sage Sage 100 ERP Online http://na.sage.com/us/erp/sage-100-erp/online
Sage Sage 100 Standard ERP http://na.sage.com/us/erp/sage-100-erp
Sage Sage 300 ERP http://na.sage.com/us/erp/sage-300-erp
Sage Sage 500 ERP http://na.sage.com/us/erp/sage-500-erp
Sage Sage ERP X3 http://na.sage.com/us/erp/sage-erp-x3
SAP SAP Business All-in-One www.sap.com/solution/sme/software/erp/all-in-one
SAP SAP Business ByDesign www.sap.com/solution/sme/software/erp/business-bydesign
SAP SAP Business One www.sap.com/solution/sme/software/erp/small-business-management
Seradex Seradex ERP www.seradex.com
Shop Edge Software ShopEdge ERP www.shopedgesoftware.com
SMe Software SMARTer Manager www.smartermanager.com
Softland Softland ERP www.softland.cr/ERPsoftware
StarSoft StarSoft Application www.starsoft.com.br
Synergix Technologies TaskHub ERP System www.synergixtech.com
SYSPRO SYSPRO www.syspro.com
Technology Group International Enterprise 21 www.tgiltd.com
Tech-X Cetec ERP www.tech-x.com
TOTVS TOTVS Eficaz www.totvs.com
Trakware Systems TRAKware www.trakware.com
Visibility Corporation VISIBILITY.net ERP www.visibility.com
Vormittag Associates, Inc. S2K Enterprise www.vai.net
WinMan WinMan www.winman.com
WorkWise Role-Based ERP workwisellc.com
Xperia Solutions Apparel Software Xperia EXECUTIV ERP Solution Series
www.xperiasolutions.com
xTuple xTuple ERP www.xtuple.com
Solution Web Site
Kingdee K/3 ERP en.kingdee.com
Knovalent Knovalent Automotive (KA) www.knovalent.com
Knowledge Matrix EnterPursue www.enterpursue.com
LOGO Business Solutions LOGO j-guar en.logobs.com/solutions/products/java-solutions/j-guar
LOGO Business Solutions LOGO Tiger Enterprise en.logobs.com/solutions/products/products-erp/tiger-enterprise-coz
ManEx ManEx ERP www.manex.com
Manufacturing Information Systems MISys www.misysinc.com
Meritec Forward ERP www.meritec.co.za
Metasystems Accelerated ERP software www.metasystems.com
Microsoft Microsoft Dynamics AX www.microsoft.com/en-ca/dynamics/erp-ax-overview.aspx
Microsoft Microsoft Dynamix GP www.microsoft.com/en-ca/dynamics/erp-gp-overview.aspx
Microsoft Microsoft Dynamix NAV www.microsoft.com/en-ca/dynamics/erp-nav-overview.aspx
Navigator Business Solutions Navigator One for SAP Business One www.nb1s.com/sapsolutions/sap_business_one
NetSuite NetSuite www.netsuite.com
Northrop Grumman Information Systems
OpenTrac Enterprise www.opentrac.com
OmegaCube OmegaCube ERP www.omegacube.com
Open Source Strategies opentaps Open Source ERP www.opentaps.org
Open Systems Traverse ERP www.osas.com
Openbravo Openbravo ERP Platform www.openbravo.com
OpenERP OpenERP www.openerp.com
Oracle E-Business Suite www.oracle.com/us/products/applications/ebusiness
Oracle JD Edwards EnterpriseOne www.oracle.com/us/products/applications/jd-edwards-enterpriseone
Oracle PeopleSoft www.oracle.com/us/products/applications/peoplesoft-enterprise
Pegasus Software Opera 3 www.pegasus.co.uk
Pilot ERP Software LLC Pilot ERP www.piloterp.com
Plex Systems Plex Manufacturing Cloud www.plex.com/solutions/software
proALPHA Software proALPHA www.proalpha.com/en
ProcessPro Software ProcessPro Premier www.processproerp.com
ProfitKey International ProfitKey RRM www.profitkey.com/rapid-response-manufacturing-rrm-erp
Pronto Software Pronto Xi www.pronto-software.com
Vendor Directory
Vendor
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Aleksey Osintsev, as a research analyst at TEC, focuses
on the areas of ERP for manufacturing, accounting and
financial software, as well as retail solutions. He has more
than 18 years of experience in manufacturing and private
sector IT, from both the ERP application user and the
corporate software development sides.
Prior to joining TEC, Osintsev was a project manager and
chief information officer (CIO) at a smart instrumentation
engineering, manufacturing, and servicing company. He
led the IT department and was responsible for business
systems, including ERP selections, implementation projects, and business processes
change management. More recently, Osintsev went through a number of successful ERP
implementations, system upgrades, and business management projects as a project
coordinator and consultant in the food processing, electronic manufacturing, and apparel
industries.
Osintsev earned his master’s degree in industrial engineering and business administration.
About the Author
Technology Evaluation Centers (TEC) helps private-
and public-sector organizations choose the best
enterprise software solutions for their unique business
needs—quickly, impartially, and cost-effectively. TEC’s
online Evaluation Centers, containing IT research
and extensive knowledge bases that catalog vendors’
support for thousands of enterprise software
features and functions, are the leading resource for
IT decision makers around the world. By combining
that information with a proven methodology, unique
Web-based software selection platforms, and years
of software selection expertise, TEC delivers an
unmatched range of online software evaluation
and selection services that bridge the gap between
enterprise decision makers and the vendor/value-
added reseller (VAR) community.
Technology Evaluation Centers Inc.740 St. Maurice, 4th FloorMontreal, QC H3C 1L5Canada
Phone: +1 514-954-3665, ext. 404Toll-free: 1-800-496-1303Fax: +1 514-954-9739E-mail: [email protected] site: www.technologyevaluation.com
The information included herein reflects the latest research conducted by TEC’s analysts. Said information may have changed at the time of publication and does not constitute representations on behalf of present vendors for, without limitations, functionality, upgrades, delivery, or development. The reader should not rely solely on the information herein for software selection related decisions. TEC makes no guarantees with respect to the accuracy of said information.
TEC, TEC Advisor, and ERGO are trademarks of Technology Evaluation Centers Inc. All other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners. © Technology Evaluation Centers Inc. All rights reserved.
Technology Evaluation Centers
ERP for Midsize Manufacturers Buyer’s Guide
EDITORIAL AND DESIGNMANAGING EDITOR: Isabella KratynskiSENIOR EDITOR: Areti MalapetsasJUNIOR EDITOR: Catherine MuirCREATIVE DIRECTOR: Falasteen AlfranjiCONTRIBUTING AUTHOR: Kelly B. Keller
ANALYST GROUPDIRECTOR, ANALYST SERVICES: Sarah Gibson LEAD ANALYST: Aleksey Osintsev
SALES AND MARKETINGPRODUCT MANAGER: Rupa SehgalVENDOR RELATIONS: Seymour WaldenINTERNET MARKETING: Roy Semple SOFTWARE SELECTION SERVICES: Lorne Goloff
April 2014
