Incredible Working Knowledge

Executive Spotlight on Gail Mazzella, IT Director, LNK International
The laws of business are simple, says Gail Mazzella, IT director at LNK International:
Competition drives down price. To maintain lower price points, companies must
cut costs. And the only way organizations can cut costs without compromising
quality and integrity is through technology.

"You need to automate everything to respond as quickly as possible," Mazzella
says. "We've automated purchasing, transfers, shipping – everything we used to
do manually."

For example, several years ago, LNK dedicated one full-time employee to reporting.
Accounting, end-of-month, purchasing and other reports often took hours – if not
days – to complete.

Now, because of MFG/PRO, these reports are produced in minutes. And LNK
can dedicate its human resources to other, more profitable areas. "We're much
more productive today than we were 10 years ago," she says, as the company has
consistently reduced costs while increasing output. "The need for technology is
almost overwhelming."

A 10-plus-year MFG/PRO user, Mazzella has counted on PICS to guide her through everything from initial implementation and module expansion to system upgrades. More recently, PICS has helped LNK expand the breadth of their ERP system by implementing DocLib, PICS' Integrated Document Management System and RF/Express for MFG/PRO from Eagle Consulting and Development.

One of the main reasons she has trusted PICS for more than a decade is the company's MFG/PRO expertise. "They have incredible working knowledge and practical experience," she says "Every one of their consultants knows the system and has spent years working with it."

Before beginning any implementation or upgrade, PICS consultants take time to learn about her business and its processes. Then, they explain how the system will work. "They map everything out for you," she says. "Everything is written and explained before you take the first step. You have the time to go through it and think about things."

And, because they have worked with so many other businesses, PICS consultants can offer insights into better, more efficient ways to do things. "Anyone working somewhere for a long time is guilty of developing tunnel vision," Mazzella says."PICS consultants offer a fresh perspective, and offer different ways to approach things." In several instances, she says, this has resulted in greater efficiency.

While LNK is much more efficient and profitable now than it was when it upgraded to MFG/PRO from a "graduated calculator" 10 years ago, Mazzella contends that there is still work to do. She plans to use DocLib to help streamline FDA processes, and looks forward to working with PICS to implement future MFG/PRO updates. "We're not done yet," she says.

I am not sure whether this is a trait born into man or not, but I am a tool junkie. As I look back, I think this "trait" has existed since I was a young boy. If I am cutting grass, I need a zero-turn mower, and if I am going to make a box I need an air nailer. If I am making wine, I need an automatic bottle capper; when I go for a boat ride, I need a GPS map - the list goes on and on. The one thing I have come to discover is that a zero-turn lawnmower doesn't make me a landscaper and an air nailer doesn't make me a cabinet maker. And, an automatic bottle capper sure as heck doesn't make me a vintner.

My point? While tools are important, they only tell a part the story. It is the skilled craftsmen who make the tool produce great things. This is the way I look at PICS, our staff members and business partners. Each and every person who works with PICS is a skilled craftsman. We also have great tools, but without knowledgeable,senior people behind them, these tools are more of a hindrance than an asset. Our competitors may have tool sets that allow them to occasionally win at a boardroom level, but they rarely surpass our craftsmen in the implementation playing field.

In this newsletter, you will read about our successes in implementations over the years. Whether it is an Internet application, a software project, or an MFG/PRO implementation, the rubber meets the road when we have to fashion a complete solution for a customer. Take a look at your technology partners. If they are looking back with glassy eyes, perhaps you should give us a call.

Many people have heard the term 'Getting Back to Basics' applied in business scenarios. In a business sense, getting back to basics means to focus on the core processes of your business and what made the business successful in the first place. Earlier this month I had an opportunity to spend a week in New Orleans to help with the Hurricane Katrina disaster recovery that is still ongoing in that area. During this trip, 'Getting Back to Basics' took on a whole new meaning for me. The first thing I couldn't believe was the scope of the devastation. We drove down one road for an hour and every home on both sides of the road were destroyed, unlivable. Every shopping center was destroyed and deserted, as was every gas station. Another day we drove an hour in a different direction, and again, every home was ruined. We went and stood next to the levee that flooded the Ninth Ward. The homes in that area of the Ninth Ward will not be rebuilt, but bulldozed. It is now home to rats and cockroaches.

The folks in New Orleans, Mississippi, and other areas affected by Hurricane Katrina were forced to 'Get Back to Basics' with the basics being shelter, food, medicine, family, everything we just take for granted in our day-to-day lives.

What amazed me was the spirit of the people I met as we walked around different neighborhoods and spoke to them. Not one of these people complained. They have more hope, more faith, more love, more generosity than those of us living in privileged areas.

If you can picture grabbing just your cell phone and your car keys, leaving your home, and coming back to complete destruction, that is what they have lived.

Getting Back to Basics now has a new meaning for me.

PICS Project Tool Set Helps Companies Stay Focused

Because PICS consultants have steered hundreds of companies through implementations, they know exactly what tools and technology can ease the often-complicated process.

To use their collective knowledge to make implementations easier, the consulting team has developed the PICS Project Tool Set (PTS) to help keep customers on track, on time and within budget. "The PTS we use ensures we all work within a set framework for just about any project," says Tim Rabaut, Director of consulting for PICS.

Aimee Wells, IT Director at Interpower, is just one PICS customer who benefited from PTS. "The tools PICS offered helped us with every facet of the conversion," she says. Plus, it was comforting to know PICS consultants could provide her with a diagram mapping each step of the process. "There weren't any surprises along the way," she says.

With PICS using its PTS to help manage the project, Interpower went through several trial conversions and thoroughly tested the system before go-live. Repeatable processes and multiple test conversions are just a couple of the advantages having a proven methodology and toolset allows for. Wells says that this gave her coworkers the chance to view and test the system well before they needed to use it in a live environment.

Had Interpower attempted to complete the implementation without PICS, Wells guesses that they may have not been successful. "If we tried to do it ourselves, I'm sure it would have taken at least twice as long," Wells says.

Wells says that working through an implementation with PICS is well worth the investment. To attempt to re-invent the wheel is just not cost-effective. "The planning and project management they provided was very valuable," she contends. "They were very in-tune to our needs and business practices."

Can you tell me a little bit about your background, and the background of your team?

I spent 15 years in the manufacturing industry as an accountant, controller, and corporate IT manager. I also worked to implement MFG/PRO in four manufacturing plants and a corporate/engineering center. During this time, I learned a lot about streamlining business processes.

Industry experience is the common thread in PICS implementation team. Controller, materials manager, master scheduler, materials planner, buyer, and IT manager is just a sampling of positions my team members have held during their time in the manufacturing sector. Everyone brings unique talent to the team.

Knowledge of how the software works is only part of the answer. This is what I
like to call "book smarts," and it is definitely a required skill set. However,
understanding the customer's business process and how the software should be
applied is the real key. This is the "street smart" aspect of software implementations.
We're fortunate to have a team of people with vast industry experience and a high
level of software "street smarts."

The PICS Methodology was a joint development effort led by our consultants
and project managers. We tapped into the diverse background and experience of
our team to develop a field-proven solution.

PICS Helps Marine and Diving Equipment Outfitter Build Attractive, Functional Web Portal

While any "bright" high school student can offer someone a Web presence, it is better to trust an expert to create a true e-commerce site, says Howard Cooper, IT consultant at MAR-VEL. "When we began working on our site, we knew we needed creative people, database experts, and programmers," Cooper says. "We wanted one source for everything, and PICS had what we needed."

PICS has a team of professional designers who can offer companies user-friendly Web sites that are fresh, inviting, and easy to read. But they also have system architects and development experts who focus on the "back end" of Web sites—the engines that make them work. These architects and programmers have extensive experience creating a variety of sophisticated Web applications, e-commerce sites, database-driven sites and Web sites that connect to internal applications. This enables businesses to offer dynamic sites that let customers access current price and availability information, effectively creating an entirely new sales channel with minimal costs.

MAR-VEL took PICS to task: In addition to requiring extensive reporting capabilities, the company needed a site that could handle a complex, multi-level pricing structure and a 60,000-plus item database. Further complicating the project was the fact that only certain customers have access to many restricted items in the company's diving, marine lifesaving and personal protection and tactical equipment catalog. Using extensive online data-driven product and customer administration, along with automated feeds from MAR-VEL's ERP solution, PICS was able to deliver a system that is easy to maintain, based on the complexity of the business environment. The result is a greater ROI with fewer ongoing data-maintenance costs.

Customers have responded, "hitting" the site several thousand times per month. And, since implementing the site, MAR-VEL customer service representatives field fewer calls asking for routine product-related information.

"Many of our customers look at the Web site to research what they want, so the calls we do get now are much more specific," Cooper says.

Cooper says that the Web site is a major contributor to MAR-VEL's growth—the company is five times larger today than it was before a major push that included the Web site's construction. "It's helped us maintain a competitive advantage," he says. "It puts us on a different level."

And would Cooper recommend PICS to another business? "I would, absolutely," he says. "They have the talent to understand a variety of businesses. They're not just techies. They have business expertise, and creative knowledge. It's a great formula for developing a solid site."

• Fully integrated with
  MFG/PRO
  
• Eliminate filing
  hardcopies of documents
  
• Track down any
  document instantly
  
• Store every related
  document in one place
  
• Eliminate lost or
  misfiled documents

Document Imaging System Enables Pentair to Efficiently and Effectively Manage Millions of Documents Electronically

Managing thousands of documents is no easy task. But 3.8 million of them?

It's a task, but it can be done. Just ask Kevin Smith, manager, business applications
at Pentair Water Pool and Spa, Inc.

Pentair uses PICS' DocLib software, an Integrated Document Management System (IDMS) integrated with MFG/PRO, to manage almost 4 million of its business documents electronically. DocLib enables Pentair staff to store things like Customer Purchase Orders, both faxed copies and EDI transmissions, ship order confirmations, invoices, and pick tickets from multiple sources thereby eliminating the tasks traditionally associated with maintaining stacks of paperwork. The information provides an audit trail for the complete order cycle, streamlining customer service tasks.

Because DocLib enables Pentair employees to store documents in a central database, they benefit in a number of ways. For example, any employee at any of the company's multiple locations can access important customer or vendorrelated paperwork. "When one of our employees in North Carolina needs information about something delivered from California, they don't have to call another site and wait for a coworker to find the information in a file cabinet," Smith says. "They can access the information immediately."

Smith adds that the ease with which Pentair employees can save information to DocLib from MFG/PRO is almost as important as its accessibility. "We can save documents right from our desktops," Smith says. EDI documents automatically "drop" right into the company's DocLib system; anything outside of the system— like a note written on a pick ticket—are scanned into DocLib. MFG/PRO output is "printed" right into Doclib just like it was a printer. Either source of information is categorized and filed together to make retrieving information easier.

Best of all, Pentair employees can find what they need quickly and easily. They can search for any document based on the value in any MFG/PRO field without leaving the MFG/PRO session by navigating the applications document structure.

What does this instant accessibility mean to the customer? "Our service reps can respond to inquiries quickly," Smith says. "And we can resolve issues in a single phone call. It has had a powerful positive impact on customer service."

To request a subscription, or to correct a subscription record, please contact Terry Putman at sales@pics.com

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