Our consultants bring creativity and practical experience to each project in order to solve business issues that may not be readily handled by the software. Our unique blend of business process know-how and functional software expertise provide the foundation for this support. In addition to our creativity and experience, we provide training, consulting and project management skills.

We have been chosen by many to implement MFG/PRO or improve associated business processes. Our consultants have led or participated in several successful implementations in many versions of the MFG/PRO software. Here are some examples of challenges faced by our clients and the solutions implemented.

Challenge:  A customer wanted to create a standard cost system that would incorporate Labor and Burden costs in addition to Material.  There were no routings or time standards in place.
Solution:  Our consultants worked with the company’s production, cost accounting and management teams to develop routings that reflected the time necessary for production of each manufactured item.  This same group then developed hourly rates for labor that represented the productive hours spent in manufacturing.  Burden rates were developed from an analysis of all indirect and overhead related manufacturing costs.  These costs were allocated to various product groups to determine the proper hourly rate to apply to each individual work center. Freight and duty costs were determined by the Purchasing group and placed in Overhead using multiple elements.  Material costs were categorized using multiple elements.  The result, standard costs per item that fully absorb direct and indirect manufacturing expenses and reflect total material purchased cost.

Challenge:  A manufacturer was not able to manage variances effectively with the reporting tools and procedures available.              
Solution:   Our consultant created a reporting tool using GLRW to report all variances, by category and product line, on a single report.  This report is run routinely by the cost accounting department and reviewed for large exceptions.

Challenge:  A manufacturer was experiencing large unexplained method variances.
Solution:   Our consultant reviewed the standard cost calculations, manufacturing reporting procedures and data setup.  Our consultant was able to identify the reason for each variance and the corrections needed.  Offsetting variances were identified and used to update the General Ledger.  Steps were taken to minimize method variances in the future and means were provided to identify the cause more easily.

Challenge:  A Manufacturing company was moving from a periodic-based inventory system to a standard costing environment.  The company was unsure as to how to present the Cost of Goods Sold section of the Financial Statements.
Solution:  Our consultants reviewed the company’s financial statement format and recommended the changes necessary to show Cost of Goods sold at standard, variances and over/under absorption.  Training was provided to management and users of the Financial data to ensure thorough understanding of the new format.  

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Challenge:  A manufacturer received planning schedules every week from their top three customers.  These schedules were manually entered as sales orders with multiple lines and due dates.  Each week, the orders were manually manipulated to update due dates and quantities.  The schedules were received on Monday and were not completely updated until Wednesday.  This provided two working days of accurate planning information before the process started again on Monday. 
Solution:  Our consultant introduced Customer Schedules and EDI to the manufacturer through classroom training.  These tools were successfully implemented reducing manpower required to maintain the schedules.  The customer schedules changes were immediately visible to the organization.  This process change also provided schedule history for comparison and analysis of on-time performance.  

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Challenge:  A manufacturer needed to capture and view financial reports by Product group.  In addition, they needed flexible budget financial reports.
Solution:  Our consultant prepared reports using the GLRW tool provided in QAD’s MFG/PRO software to fully allocate costs between product lines and create complete Income Statements by product group.  Also using the GLRW tool, our consultant created flexible budget reports for the manufacturing work centers.  

Challenge:  A manufacturing company did not have solid controls over inventory and the cost of goods sold.  They were unable to reconcile the perpetual record to the General Ledger and had unexplained manufacturing variances in costs of goods sold.
Solution:  Our consultants, together with the company’s IT and Accounting staff, reviewed the transactions that had been occurring and identified needs for procedural changes and improvements.  Our consultants reconciled Inventory and Sales Analysis figures to the General Ledger.  Reports were identified that would help the customer to more effectively review and maintain control over these critical areas.  Procedural changes were made and instructions were given on how to discover and correct errors in input.

Challenge:  A Manufacturing company was moving from a periodic-based inventory system to a standard costing environment.  The company was unsure as to how to present the Cost of Goods Sold section of the Financial Statements.
Solution:  Our consultants reviewed the company’s financial statement format and recommended the changes necessary to show Cost of Goods sold at standard, variances and over/under absorption.  Training was provided to management and users of the Financial data to ensure thorough understanding of the new format.

Challenge:  A Tier 2 Automotive supplier was having difficulty reconciling their Accounts Payable to an outside General Ledger each month.
Solution: Our consultants reviewed the company’s practices and recommended changes that would minimize the items causing reconciling differences.  Additionally, our consultants recommended, and are assisting with, a full integration of the General Ledger.

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Challenge:  A customer was up and running on a modified version of MFG/PRO.  The software had first been implemented many years ago.  There were newer employees that never received formal training on the software.  Most employees could not differentiate what was custom versus standard in the software.
Solution:   Our consultants worked with the customer to identify training needs.  A formal training plan was developed that included standard QAD MFG/PRO training as well as custom training materials developed by our consultants.  Employees benefited from the training.  The training is now part of the new employee curriculum.  

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Challenge:  Certain products at a manufacturing site could be shipped in special packaging or bulk.  The end item part numbers were different for the customer but there was only a bill of material for the special packaged item.  The bulk sales were packaged and shipped from the original work center. For packaged sales, the processed materials were moved to another work center for packaging.  It was difficult to control packaging material inventories and work order costs. 
Solution: Our consultant introduced the concept of phantom.  Phantoms were applied in various areas, which flattened product structures, reduced work orders, decreased inventory transactions and eliminated material staging.

Challenge:  A manufacturer warehoused raw materials that were considered vendor managed. The manufacturer was responsible for tracking and monitoring the material levels.  This process was being handled manually, with no visibility or easy access of information for the purchasing organization.
Solution:  Our consultant created a site for vendor managed materials.  Each item was inventoried at that site with zero standard cost.  The warehouse would perform an unplanned receipt to the site when material was delivered.  An unplanned issue would be performed when the material was received on a Purchase order and moved into the manufacturer’s site inventory.  This provided the planning and procurement organizations with the much needed visibility and reduced the manual tracking efforts that were previously in place.

Challenge:   A manufacturer stocked raw materials in pounds but purchased in various container sizes.  Units of measure conversions were employed to enhance the purchasing, receiving and AP processes.    It was critical though, that the manufacturing and stockroom processes be made aware of the specific container sizes and whether the inventory was in a full or partial container.  The manufacturer needed the system to be somewhat intelligent regarding this and have the work order picklist identify the material to be picked by the number of containers instead of lbs.
Solution:   Our consultant designed the logic to update the inventory record during purchase order or work order receipt with the container identification and pounds per container.  Each unique lot serial inventory record included this information.  Then our consultant designed a custom work order picklist that would display the component pick quantity by full units and remaining bulk.  These custom changes were down using triggers and custom reporting logic.  Our consultants do not support source code modification.

Challenge:  The receiving process at a manufacturer that depended on daily deliveries was time consuming and required visibility of the incoming truckloads in advance.  The advance notice was required to create lot serial labels and fill out Quality Assurance documentation.
Solution:  Our consultant reviewed the current process and identified how it could be done real-time in QAD MFG/PRO.  With the implementation of MFG/PRO, lot numbers were auto assigned at receipt and a pop up window during receipt guided the user through label creation.  As the labels were printing and being applied to the product, the Quality documentation was also printing from MFG/PRO via a custom form.  This change eliminated many hours from the receiving process as well as improved the accuracy of the labels, inventory and Quality Assurance data.  

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Challenge:  A large percentage of a manufacturers raw materials and work-in-process was sent outside for further processing.  The system that was being used could not track that the work order was at a supplier and could not allow entry of a Purchase Order to pay for subcontract services.  This resulted in many work arounds and lacked visibility of subcontract activities.
Solution:  Our consultant teamed with the organization to define business process flows for subcontract processing using the QAD MFG/PRO software.  Detailed procedures for subcontract setup and processing were documented.  A custom report was designed to track all subcontract work in process. This reporting tool was used for monitoring and control of all subcontract activity.  It identified each subcontract work order, the corresponding purchase order, and any activity.

Challenge:  A manufacturing process often resulted in creation of rework material that could be re-introduced into the process to manufacturer a different item.  The item could not be inventoried as the original item and there was no visibility to the manufacturing supervisors that the material was available.  New materials were often purchased instead of taking advantage of the rework goods.      
Solution:  A new part number was created to store the rework material.  A process was put in place to identify what the rework material could be used to manufacturer.  A custom report tool was used to identify items whose bill of material contained the combination of raw materials found in the rework.  Rework bill of materials were created by the quality organization and established as approved alternates to make an item.  A custom planning report that combined planned orders and action messages was developed.  If an item had a planned order, the customer report would identify the rework material and quantity that was available to use for manufacturer.  This process allowed the manufacturer to turn rework material into saleable product in a timely fashion while reducing procurement of excess material.

Challenge:  A manufacturer wanted to maintain bill of material revision history in the software for service and support considerations.  They did not have the SSM or PCC modules of the QAD software.  They wanted to be able to access the entire history of an item’s bill of material, a specific revision, and be able to compare revisions.
Solution:  Our consultant developed item numbers for each revision level.  These revision levels were added to the bill of material as component items with the appropriate effective date.  When an item’s revision changed, the bill would be updated to apply an end effective date to the old revision and items changed, and a start effective date to the new revision level and items added.  Some reporting tools were modified to print by revision rather than effective date.  A Bill of material comparison report was created that allowed the user to specify an item and two revision levels.  The output would compare the revisions and provide any differences.

Challenge:  A manufacturer had one department where the raw material that was processed could result in different end products.  The planner never knew what the end product would be until completion of processing.  Most often, the department had a work order for the wrong end item.  It was difficult to maintain accuracy in the planning and inventory system.
Solution:  Our consultants reviewed the functionality of Joint Products with the manufacturer.  Joint Products was implemented and allowed for accurate work order and inventory reporting.

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Challenge:  A manufacturer had multiple sites and wanted to utilize a combined MRP and DRP planning process but did not want to create and maintain distribution orders because of the close geographical proximity of the sites.      

Solution:  Our consultant designed a custom DRP transfer tool.  This tool would display the Item numbers and quantities that were available and needed to transfer between the shipping and receiving sites.  The warehouse personnel to pull and stage material for shipment used it as a worksheet.  It was used as the receiving document by the receiving warehouse.  Inventory transfer transactions were performed to relocate the material.

Challenge:  A manufacturer did not have a MRP planning system.  Material procurement could not be initiated until the sales order and all assembly work order was generated.  A report showing all picklist shortages was then used for procurement.  If the order was for a future time period, the manufacturer still followed this practice to identify the needs and then deleted all the work orders.  The manufacturer struggled with on time deliveries and expedites.

Solution:  Our consultants trained the planning and purchasing organizations on MRP concepts including Forecasting, MRP, DRP Work orders and Inventory controls.  Our consultants worked with the groups to pilot the processes in QAD MFG/PRO.  After implementation, the manufacturer has daily visibility of requirements for purchasing and manufacturing using a nightly Net Change MRP/DRP combined.  This has improves responsiveness, delivery and reduced shortages and expedites.

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Challenge:  The receiving process at a manufacturer that depended on daily deliveries was time consuming and required visibility of the incoming truckloads in advance.  The advance notice was required to create lot serial labels and fill out Quality Assurance documentation.

Solution:  Our consultant reviewed the current process and identified how it could be done real-time in QAD MFG/PRO.  With the implementation of MFG/PRO, lot numbers were auto assigned at receipt and a pop up window during receipt guided the user through label creation.  As the labels were printing and being applied to the product, the Quality documentation was also printing from MFG/PRO via a custom form.  This change eliminated many hours from the receiving process as well as improved the accuracy of the labels, inventory and Quality Assurance data.  

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