Manufacturing firms rely on emerging software

The computer is at the core of the modern business. In manufacturing, software programs provide data to keep track of inventory, manage daily operations and allow companies with different systems to communicate effectively.

Emergent Technology Solutions provides software packages for manufacturers to make it all happen. About 50 percent of the programs ETS offers are resale and the other 50 percent are written in house, according to George Ward, owner of the company.

"Even the programs we buy require some customization," Ward said.

Ward bought the company, formerly The Americas Group of Missouri, in March 2002. "The company was more into programming," he said. "We have expanded the software side of the business."

Ward moved to Springfield from Kansas City in 1989 when his wife, Jo Anne, took a position as perfusionist with the St. John's heart surgery team.

Formerly a CPA, Ward became intrigued with the computer business and switched careers in the early 1980s. He graduated from the University of Missouri in 1971 with a bachelor's degree in accounting.

ETS customizes, installs, provides service and updates, and 24-hour technical support. The nine-person office includes administrative staff and programmers.

For customer relations management, ETS sells and services SalesLogix, the No. 1 software for mid-sized manufacturers, said Jim Mohan, ETS marketing director.

The program keeps track of customer base, marketing campaigns and other sales-related data. Implementation, customization and licensing costs between $15 and $35 for a seven person sales team with support staff, Mohan said. The annual maintenance, upgrades and support add about $3,000 to the cost.

For inventory and production management, ETS offers Visual Jobshop, a Lilly software product. The program tracks materials, production, invoicing and shipping from the engineering phase to the product delivery, Mohan said.

The program is pre-integrated to work with QuickBooks and Peachtree accounting programs and costs about $1,500 per license. Licensing is required for each individual in the organization with access to the program, Mohan said.

ETS offers Compliance Plus, an inventory control software. The program produces shipping labels that comply with labeling requirements trading partners and tracks the shipping process. Mohan used Wal-Mart as an example of a retailer that has specific style and data requirements for shipping labels.

ETS works with a small number of manufacturers across the nation.

One customer, Blitz USA, the largest manufacturer of plastic gas cans, according to Andy Werdeman, programmer with ETS. The company is located in Miami, Okla.

Another customer, CJ Foods, located in Pawnee City, Neb., manufactures pet food for a number of brands. This requires the company to use different packaging and labeling for each customer, Werdeman said.

For a customer that provides products for the human palate, ETS provides software and support for Hot Stop Foods. The company sells and stocks packaged sandwiches in convenience stores and small grocery stores.

The largest customer is Kar Products, a Chicago-based company that provides small parts to auto body and repair shops, as well as maintenance departments of manufacturing companies. The company has a sales force of 600 to 700 people in the United States and Canada.

Kar Products pays quarterly for desk support. On average, ETS receives about 600 support calls per month from Kar's sales people, Werdeman said.

The target market for ETS is mid-size manufacturers that range in sales from $15 million to $150 million in annual sales.

One emerging concept in production and shipping is radio frequency identification.

This is a data acquisition and management program that ETS sells to help streamline supply-chain management.

"The technology has been around for some time," Mohan said. "It's beginning to take off in this country."

Large companies like Wal-Mart, Proctor & Gamble, Michelin and Gillette are now using the technology, Mohan said.

Mohan indicated that the benefit to the manufacturer is speed and accuracy. The label, which can be the size of a small button, contains all the data on a product from production to delivery. Product is scanned through a portal that identifies every unit on a pallet, including where and when it was produced.

With the most commonly used systems to date, the labels have to be scanned on each packing box and the data goes into a central database. RFID contains all the information on each individual product stored in the computerized label, Mohan said.

The barrier for usage by the middle- to small-size manufacturer is the price tag. RFID labels can cost as much as $1 each. For larger companies, the price comes down with large quantity purchases, Ward said.

As the technology becomes more widespread and the labels can be mass produced, the cost will come down, he added.

Mohan said RFID is widely used in Europe.

"They are about 10 years ahead of us in the use of this technology," he said.