QAD Database Consolidation

The Client:

Our client, a leader in water treatment and filtration systems, provides solutions for both household and business environments worldwide. In the United States and Canada, their dealerships work locally to distribute and service water treatment systems, water and air filtration systems, bottled water, salt and other supplies depending on regional needs.

The Opportunity:

Our client operates with two distinct business units. Their Dealer Division is their consumer/retail focused unit that provides softeners, water and service parts to their end users. Their Corporate Business Unit includes both light manufacturing and distribution to their Owned Dealers as well as their franchise customers. The two business units had historically used different systems, including BAAN for A/P and G/L at the CODD. In order to standardize their systems on MFG/PRO, Logan Consulting helped the client:

  • Implement eB2.1 for the manufacturing operations of the Corporate Business Unit;
  • Decommission BAAN and implement QAD A/P and G/L;
  • Upgrade the CODD database to eB2.1;
  • Consolidate the CODD and Corporate databases into a single database.

The Solution:

Logan Consulting constructed a project plan and managed a team to execute the following critical path tasks:

  • Migrate the CODD database from eB to eB2.1, including the regression testing of over 800 pieces of development.
  • Decommission BAAN and implement MFG/PRO Financials and Accounts Payable. This included a redesign of product lines, the chart of accounts, including general ledger history.
  • Recreate several financial interfaces to MFG/PRO that had previously interfaced with BAAN.
  • Consolidate the CODD and Corporate MFG/PRO Databases into a single database. This was not only a technical exercise, as it also included significant process change to support new Shared Services procedures.
  • Design and implement a fully automated intercompany order process. This includes the payment and application of intercompany funds in the respective A/P and A/R modules.

Optimization of a combined set of daily and nightly batch jobs between the two businesses. COD billing processes can generate thousands of invoices per day. Unique billing and invoicing processes required focus on detailed management of all batch jobs.

The Results:

In May, 2008, they completed the consolidation of two MFG/PRO eB2.1 databases into a single database with domain functionality. With the centralized Accounts Payable and General Ledger modules operating in MFG/PRO instead of BAAN, they immediately began realizing a return on their QAD investment dollars through reduced overhead and streamlined financials processes. During the course of the project, over 800 pieces of custom development were analyzed and remediated to function in the eB2.1 schema and code set. The company now enjoys a completely seamless intercompany order process that not only allows the business to accurately process the movement of material throughout the supply chain, but also account for this movement properly. Improvements made to the Chart of Accounts, including historical data, has improved the Accounting Department to better analyze the activity being captured in MFG/PRO. They are planning on leveraging the domain capabilities in eB2.1 to consolidate the Canadian database into the corporate database.