WindowXPRESS

THE NEW REALITIES

Change is relentless and resources are scarce. You have to do more with less and yourcompetition that used to be across town is now across the ocean. Many Windowcompanies will go out of business this year and thousands more will continue tostruggle. If you said productivity as the main explanation you would be on the righttrack. Productivity means automation and automation means technology.

The industry faces exciting new opportunities but also serious challenges. Decisionsdetermine your destiny and technology choices will shape the success of yourorganization.

However, there is an exploding array of software alternatives for the window industryand every vendor promises that their solution is the best one for you. The November2005 Toronto Windoor show had 15 software vendors. How do you decide which oneis best for you?

DOES THIS SOUND FAMILIAR?• Estimating jobs is error prone and time

consuming• Difficulty in coordinating frames, cut

glass,insulated units, screens and grills• After sales service is poorly managed•• Customer driven changes result in costly mistakes

and delays• Poor communication with dealers leads to errors, confusion and waste• Assimilating rapid product developments in glazing, framing, and assembly

is difficult• Complying with myriad Government Regulations is challenging

Successful glass organizations recognize that automation is necessary to survive and prosper. Your ability to flourish in the future requires an integrated business software system.

THE Glass INDUSTRY

Generating Production Batches is time consuming

Seradex -THE SMARTER WAY >>>

PROFIT FACTOR BEST IN CLASS WORST IN CLASSGross Profit Margin 50% 18%

Profit growth (2000 – 2002) 35% 5%

Sales growth (2000 – 2002) 20% 5%

Factory utilization 75% 55%

Materials Costs as % of sales 40% 60%

Sales per employee $170K $120K

PRODUCTIVITY DEMANDS AUTOMATION

The use of mechanization to improve productivity started theindustrial revolution. When it comes to automation the windowindustry lags behind other industry sectors in their desire forefficiency. However, new realities are starting to force theindustry to change.

GLASS SOFTWARE - THE ROADBLOCKS

Historically, window industry software has run into severalroadblocks. Typically there are islands of automationincluding – Design, Billing and Production only systems.None can talk to each other or work as a coherent unit. Apatchwork of Excel spreadsheets and paper documentsevolved to fill in the gaps.

This results in information “islands,” incapable of providingyour employees with the information they need. Advanced organizations are looking for ways to becomeradically more efficient.

No one will dispute that improved productivity will lead to improved profitability. Productivity is all about accomplishing more with less.

There are very wide swings of profitability within the glass industry. . The top performersconsistently show higher resource utilization, reduced waste and attractive profits. Areyou satisfied with your performance? We can show you how the proper software systemwill help your organization succeed. Which column is your business in?

ARE YOU ACHIEVING Breakthrough PRODUCTIVITY?

There arehundreds of feelgood technology

acronyms outthere – we thoughtwe’d master theone that matters

ROI

WindowXPRESS

Seradex – THE SMARTER WAY:

Whether you produce insulated units, curtain wall, new construction, custom windows or acombination of all three, the Seradex WindowXPRESS can help you. Seradex providesyour dealers and your customers with all the information they need to quickly andaccurately place orders ranging from a single window to a large project involvinghundreds of homes.

THE TRIPLE CROWNLINKED DESIGN, QUOTING AND PRODUCTION

WindowXPRESS ensures that all data in Design,Quoting, Production, Inventory and Billingsystems are synchronized. If a revision is madeby your customer the changes are enforced in theQuote, Work Order and Open Purchase Orders.Any change in one area automatically updatesthe others.

INTEGRATED GRAPHICAL DESIGNProper design software is the foundation of window automation. Impress customers by

easily creating and presenting realistic designs. With WindowXPRESS quickly modify thedesign to suit customer requirements and provide instant quotes for all windows.

• Simple to use Drag & Drop software

• Can handle Complex Geometry including trapezoid, octagon, half circle etc.

• Accurate, scaled drawings generated for production and sales document

• Automated grill design with manual over rides

• Automatically check size limits and glazing to ensure valid window design

• Join units vertically and horizontally with couplers or mullions

• Your choice of Imperial or Metric measurement

Seradex - CHANGING THE WORLD OF WINDOW FABRICATION >>>

WindowXPRESS- your secret QUOTING WEAPONYou will slash the time and effort toissue a Quote, revise the Quote,turn the Quote into a Order, IssueWork Orders, Ship and Invoice theJob.

WindowXPRESS gives you theflexibility to enter or change quoteson the fly and to accurately processand ship the order.

For each new Quote WindowXPRESS poses a series ofquestions about the size, glazing,grilles, color and hardware. Thequestions and choices are basedon your predefined rules.

You can calculate an accuratepromise date based on inventoryand shop loads and trackstatistics on Quotes Issued,Won/Lost trends and openQuotes.

PRICING CAPABILITIES

Some pricing options with Seradex include:

Unit inch, cost plus or your currentprice bookPrice Matrices by Width & HeightPrice by lineal, area or volumeDiscount by order, customer, customergroup or product seriesQuantity discountsSeparate option pricingContract PricingManual overrides

- Increase revenues - Increase throughput- Improve customer loyalty - Decrease costs- Shorten lead times- Decrease errors and

rework- Expand market share- Free up personnel

WindowXPRESS

the solution for PRODUCTION

WindowXPRESS can help you dramatically increase production efficiency. First of allyou can quickly transfer a quote to production with no re-keying of data. Secondly,shop floor efficiency is gained because you can rapidly generate production batchesby due date, spacer type, series, color, dimension, truck route and production line orother user selected criteria. In addition you can:

Create glass batch files for optimization and glass cut listsPrint frame, sash and glass labels with trolley numbersPrint Production Sheets for Grills, Screens, Brickmold, Mullions etcPrint truck delivery plan, packing slips and customs documentsCalculate detailed material and labor cost breakdowns

BAR & GLASS OPTIMIZATION – The DMI (Direct Machine Interface) module linksto most equipment on the market including automatic saws, welders, glass tables, andspacer bending machines.

Optimize glass and profile cutting to reduce scrap and get the most usablecomponents from every piece of raw stock. Link to XOPT, Trimloss, Optimax, PerfectlyEZ link or Berlyne.

Your employees perform best when they are well informed. WindowXPRESS providesinstant access to critical information so all employees can quickly make the rightdecisions. This applies to the entire supply chain, including glass grill and hardwaresuppliers, sub contractors, shipping and truck planning. This control is guaranteed toramp up quality and slash your operating costs.

SERADEX - Changing THE WORLD OF GLASS FABRICATING

- READ ON- THERE’S MORE>>>Seradex

STRONG MANAGEMENT INFORMATION – You will have easy access to accuratereal time information including Sales,variable costs, contribution margin, netprofit, utilization rate, and inventoryvaluations. Using Crystal Reports you candrill down into departments, cost centers,employees, and customers. You will have”information at your fingertips” and quicklysend information to Excel and other ”DataMining” tools for ad hoc analysis.

Everyone will have accurate real timeinformation so every employee can driveprofits, reduce costs and transform your business. The Balanced Scorecard andEvent Alert modules track key performance metrics and notify employees in real time –so they can make smart decisions. You will find our software flexible, powerful and easyto use.

PRODUCTION COSTING – WindowXPRESS offers a flexible model for fixed andvariable production costs. We incorporate the best practices of budgeted hourly rates(BHR) and activity based costing concepts. Identify, track and reduce the costs of waste,mistakes and communication errors.

If you prefer to use an Activity Based Costing (ABC) approach or a blend of ABC andBHR The Window XPRESS gives you the flexibility you need now and in the future. Youcan track direct, indirect, fixed, variable, general factory expenses, maintenance,supplies and overtime, so you know the true cost of every order.

PROMISE DATES AND RESOURCEUTILIZATION - To "deliver on time" and atthe lowest cost you need access to openorders and free capacity. At Estimating theWindow Xpress automatically calculatespromise dates including material and shopcapacity. You have real time information onjob status, utilization and late jobs to pro-actively drive your business. The Event Alerttechnology automatically notifies customers and employees of milestones and deadlines.If a press breaks down or an employee calls in sick, you can quickly recast yourschedule and make the required adjustments.

ProductionnPManager

Scheduling

InformationIIServices

SM

Screen Dept

CustomerService

Flow!Flow!MAKING YOUR BUSINESS

WindowWindowWindowWindow

President

Accounting

Controller

Sales &arketing

Window Fab

Profile Cutting

InsulatedGlass

WindowStorage

Purchasing

SeradexTHE

SOLUTION!

WindowXPRESS

DEVELOPING HIGH-VALUE CUSTOMERRELATIONSHIPS - When it comes toinformation accuracy, customers are moredemanding than ever. Every customer is unique

and their preferences need to be documentedand controlled. Shipping products that do not meet

the customers clearly identified specifications willdamage customer relationships.

With trends like increasing acquisitions, new legislation, fast product launches, moredemanding customers, escalating costs and increasing competition you can’t affordpreventable errors. With WindowXPRESS your front-office can respond with greaterspeed, accuracy and responsiveness. The improvement in your factory productivitymeans you can process more jobs with higher margins!

Seradex - READ ON- THERE’S MORE>>>

WEB ENABLED – WindowXPRESS

comes complete with Web basedEstimatingand On Line Job Status to bettercommunicate with your customers,dealers and field sales reps.

SERVICE AND COMPLAINTS –In spite of your best attempts humanerrors and machine breakdowns canjeopardize customer satisfaction. The Service Module provides the tool for you to quicklyand accurately track and resolve customer service issues. Your customer can log the issueover the Web. The log is assigned a tracking number and automatic workflow tracks theissue until resolution.

GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS – Trackingspecifications for requirements on glazing,thermal performance, heat gain, air leakageand transmittance and vendor certification isbecoming increasing complex. Customers arebecoming more demanding and commonlyproviding detailed specifications. Your softwaresystem must ensure that all requirements aredocumented and controlled.

International codes

Local codes

Statewide code

Own codes

WindowXPRESS

SERADEX TechnologyThe WindowXPRESS is developed with the latest Microsoft Technology – Microsoft.Net.This mainstream technology is responsible for 70% of Microsoft annual revenues so youknow it is not going away. This platform ensures you aren’t faced with an expensive ripand replace decision due to old technology. Make sure that the shock and awe resultsare due to skyrocketing profits and not the expense of replacing a botched hybridsolution!

YOUR GOALS- OUR TEAMCookie cutter solutions won’t address your unique requirements. You’ll have a dedicatedproject team to execute a plan tailored to your specific business goals. If we set clearfocused goals and work together with your team you’ll have a successful project.

ACTION CREATES VALUE – CONTACT USContact us to arrange a free no obligation review of your requirements and for ademonstration of our software. We can prepare an ROI analysis to show you the costeffectiveness of our solution. Talk to us about our technical platform, support, trainingand project control or any other issue that concerns you.

SAVE Time, Money, AND EffortThe WindowXPRESS Can:• Manage a job from estimating

through completion includingdetailed material and laborbreakdowns.

• Enable real time job tracking, tohelp you improve job quoting andmaterial usage.

• Help plant managers fine tune themanufacturing process, redirectworkflow and balance workloads toimprove resource allocation

WindowXPRESS Features:• Estimating/Quoting;• Fully Integrated Configurator; • Customer relations management; • Sales order management; • Materials management and forecasting; • Electronic job tickets; • Planning;• Shop floor management; • Job costing; • Multiple dispatch and invoicing; • E-Commerce module; • Management information reporting;

Seradex

DEALER MODULE

The Seradex Dealer module allows dealers, Sales Reps, Architects and Builders todesign windows and enter quotes and new orders. The orders can be transmitted to youover the Internet and automatically loaded into your system to save time andtranscription errors.

The dealers can automatically check order status, delivery dates and account status.

Window TECHNOLOGIES

There is a wide range of window production technology and more are on the way.WindowXPRESS has the flexibility to adapt to the unique requirements of each windowtechnology. If you are like most window makers you probably have a mix in your shopright now. You need one system that can easily handle vinyl, wood, aluminum andfiberglass.

INDUSTRY SEGMENTS

Insulated UnitsCustom WindowsCurtain WallNew ConstructionReplacement WindowsVinyl, Wood, Fiberglass andWood or Metal DoorsPatio DoorsSkylights

- READ ON- THERE’S MORE>>>

WindowXPRESS

THE BUSINESS CHALLENGEBrown Windows quoting and order entry process involved spreadsheets and intensivemanual paper driven systems. This lead to clerical overload that limited the company’sgrowth. Production relied on a different set of spreadsheets that operations struggledwith to manage production and purchasing. Pulling together sales and profit reports oncompletion of each subdivision was time consuming and error prone.

SOLUTIONAfter researching the software systems available Brown selected Seradex Xpress.Seradex software enables staff to setup quotations for all models in a subdivision at thestart of the project. As each house is sold there is a one click process to generate anorder and enter the lot number. Specific home owner changes can be quickly pricedand overwritten. Production Scheduling is updated in real time with the new order.Purchase Orders are created for insulated glass units and screens. Electronic links havebeen established with profile cutting equipment on the shop floor.

After sales service is also managed using Seradex.

RESULTSBrown Windows has doubled their business volumes without adding any front officestaff. They have decreased lead times, improved customer service and dramaticallyincreased the productivity of their employees. Project Reports with accurate Sales, costsand margins can be run in real time on every subdivision. The time required to createnew orders has been reduced by 85% freeing up sales personnel to work on developingnew business. Production planning and delivery date accuracy have improved andcustomers get the windows they ordered when they need them.

CASE STUDY BROWN WINDOWS

Brown Windows Cuts Costs and improves Service Levels – with Seradex XpressBrown Windows, headquartered in Woodbridge, Ontario, is one of the largestwindows manufacturers in Canada. They offer a diverse line of vinyl and woodwindows for the new construction market. Brown’s business has grown dramatically inrecent years. They offer all their products in different frame finishes and colors, withnumerous optional features, and a wide range of sizes.

Seradex

WHY BROWN WINDOWS CHOSE SERADEXBrown developed their requirements document, the basis for an evaluation of potentialsoftware packages. Brown reviewed numerous vendors and narrowed the field. UsingBrown’s specific Window series and bill of materials, Seradex demonstrated how itssoftware completed a quote and moved the quote through to the production processes.Brown’s management team was impressed by the simple and intuitive Seradex ERP programthat was designed specifically for the Door and Window industry.

A key consideration was the technology platform. Brown wanted a product based onindustry standards and wereimpressed that Seradex wasdeveloped on Microsoft.NET.Brown selected Seradex basedon the flexibility of itsconfigurator technology, its totalintegration includingscheduling, purchasing,inventory control and accuratecosting capabilities. Brownappreciatd that Seradex couldutilize their existing ACCPACaccounting system which theywould be reluctant to changeas they felt was it was the bestaccounting software on themarket.

Problems Solved – Another productive Seradex client

The successful implementation of Seradex’s software has givenBrown an opportunity to outpace the competition and successfullygrow their business.

"We are very impressed withthe Seradex software. It hashelped us improve customer

service and increase ourcompetitive lead in the

market"

Marco JaneiroBrown Windows

Seradex 905•332•5051 i n f o @ s e r a d e x . c o m

by

Seradex