Bangkok--Apr 3--QAD
QAD Inc has released MFG/PRO Version 8.6 a new version of its flagship ERP product that provides extended supply chain functionality for geographically dispersed operations.
The new version includes significant capabilities in all three of QAD's core product areas: supply chain-enabling distributed operations, industry-specific capabilities for select vertical markets, and features for quick implementation results and optimised manufacturing operations execution.
"Our manufacturing customers say the need for speed is critical. Almost without exception, they're being pushed to achieve greater efficiencies — in operations, in software implementation, in linking up the supply chain," said Pamela Lopker, President of QAD.
"Every company — large or small, single site or multi-national — has some kind of supply chain pain. And they don't have years of implementation time and endless resources to throw at the problem. We've fine-tuned MFG/PRO 8.6 to give customers more ways of easing that pain while still enabling them to see very quick results from their QAD investment."
MFG/PRO is the industry's only ERP solution designed from the database structure up to support distributed operations requirements. Building on this foundation, MFG/PRO Version 8.6 includes two important new modules for supporting multi-national business transactions as a part of supply chain operations.
Enterprise Material Transfer (EMT) facilitates commerce within and between countries through sales order and purchase order management. A second module, Global Shipping, manages the shipping portion of materials transfer so that the value of goods is defined correctly as they move from country to country.
These MFG/PRO modules augment and in some cases work synergistically with other, existing MFG/PRO features for distributed operations such as its modules for Enterprise Operations Planning, Distribution Resources Planning, Central Purchase Orders, Central Sales Orders, and Decision Support.
MFG/PRO 8.6 also delivers two new decision support enablers to deliver quick results. A new 'Executive Dashboard' reporting system gives manufacturers a tool for fast multi-site decision support. Inside the plant, a new finite scheduling module — The Planner — provides a complete closed-loop planning system, which helps to shorten sales cycles. These offerings expand QAD's commitment to better execution through rapid decision making, and complements the company’s track record for quick results in implementation, with most production systems for multi-nationals up and running in an average of 120 days.
For the unique requirements of the Consumer Products industry, MFG/PRO Version 8.6 delivers a new Advanced Pricing Management module supporting the complex activities of planning promotions and establishing pricing policies.
The new capabilities in MFG/PRO 8.6 significantly speed the implementation of advanced ERP and intra-company supply chain functionality for customers with multi-site, geographically dispersed operations. Shipping now, the new MFG/PRO software is available for UNIX and Windows NT environments, and is Web-enabled. MFG/PRO 8.6 will be available for use in Java environments in a release later this year.
MFG/PRO's Enterprise Material Transfer (EMT) facility promotes inter-country commerce, providing automatic translation of a sales order into purchase orders that correctly document the transfer of goods between countries. A second sales order is created at the receiving country's system to ensure that revenue and goods shipment information is correct for all commercial sites involved in the transaction. Sales orders entered by the EMT process can ultimately be shipped in one of two ways:
- Direct shipment occurs when the customer order is shipped from the supplying organisation directly to the end customer, bypassing the site that originally received the customer purchase order.
- Transshipment occurs when the customer order is shipped to a sales office that in turn ships the order to the end customer. Typically, some form of value-added activity occurs at the sales office, such as labelling, packaging or testing. This can enable the local sales office to generate additional revenue, and can facilitate compliance with legal requirements.
MFG/PRO's new Global Shipping module also provides customers with extended support for multi-national business transactions. For example, the process of recording the value of goods at defined stages of the business transaction is complicated by the shipping of those goods across international borders.
The Global Shipping module manages the international transitions, automatically taking into account local law and practice. It also provides a shipping mechanism to handle outbound shipments against sales orders and customer scheduled orders, and supports other types of distribution orders as well.
These newest supply chain-enabling modules leverage MFG/PRO's built-in support for distributed operations, a capability that helps customers quickly implement their ERP solution and greatly speeds their ERP operations once the system is implemented.
By contrast, enterprise environments from QAD's competitors rely on a centralised data repository, an architecture that has serious drawbacks for distributed operations. Performance inevitably slows as new sites are added and data traffic increases. The centralised database approach also presents problems for companies in merger-and-acquisition mode — they typically find it difficult to integrate new sites utilising different hardware platforms and operating systems.
MFG/PRO's flexible distributed architecture provides the best of both worlds: local manufacturing sites can maintain dedicated databases for high performance, while the corporate financial office has a comprehensive view of activity enterprise-wide.
QAD's distributed approach is so effective that MFG/PRO is often deployed at the remote or newly acquired sites of companies which have standardised on competitive ERP systems. Because MFG/PRO integrates easily into these systems, these sites can be up and running in a matter of weeks. Such scalability and speedy deployment are important competitive advantages for companies that must respond with agility to constant and rapid change in their markets.
Founded in 1979, QAD is a leading worldwide supplier of integrated business software and services. From 20 global offices, QAD services over 3,700 installed sites in more than 83 countries. Certified to ISO9002 standards, the QAD MFG/PRO system is available in 24 languages and targets multinational manufacturers of industrial, automotive and consumer products, including electronics, medical products, and food and beverages. QAD Asia Pacific was established in 1990. Today there are 11 offices in seven Asia Pacific countries serving over 650 customer sites. QAD's corporate headquarters are located in Carpinteria, California with a World Wide Web site at www.qad.com. End.