Summary

Logan Consulting conducted a business process flows assessment and implemented custom modifications for a global network designer using QAD MFG/PRO.

 

The Client

This company designs and delivers networks for the world’s largest communications service providers. Backed by a Finnish industrial research and scientific development company, our client relies on its strengths in mobility, optical, data and voice networking technologies as well as software and services to develop next-generation networks.

 

The Opportunity

With the consolidation and the contraction of the telecommunications industry, the client made a strategic decision to expand its use of contract manufacturers. By spinning off manufacturing sites to contract manufacturers, the company would be able to focus its resources on developing the advanced networking systems needed by the world’s largest service providers while leveraging the expertise of leading contract manufacturers.

Two sites in particular were in focus, an Oklahoma City facility that makes switching and access products and an Ohio facility that makes wireless networking equipment. Both sites were using the company’s homegrown legacy applications that needed to be migrated to a more traditional ERP system for the contract manufacturer to use. QAD MFG/Pro was identified as the ERP backbone for the new contract manufacturer.

The pre-acquisition site viewed as a cost center to the client now became a profit center organization to the new owner/parent company. Identification of people resources to support business processes for newly created departments such as customer service was required.

Logan Consulting was originally asked to do a gap assessment that determined how the company’s customization would affect implementing MFG/PRO purchasing and financials. In addition, Logan Consulting was also tasked with determining what customizations in MFG/Pro would need to be done in order to work with the 1000 legacy programs that resided between the Ohio and Oklahoma City legacy applications.

 

The Logan Consulting Solution

When Logan arrived, it was discovered that the expected business process flows had not been defined. Further, gaps in the ERP Supply Chain were also discovered. To ensure the conversion went smoothly, Logan went through intensive validation of the company’s customization.

Once the validation was completed, Logan documented both the current and future business process flows, giving the client the proper foundation for their ERP backbone. Concurrent with the business process work, Logan reinforced and trained the the company’s staff on the new processes, as well as identified new opportunities to leverage the real-time data and information now available in the new system.

To ensure a smooth “Go Live” cutover, Logan also did extensive modification testing as well as orchestrated and oversaw the conference room pilot tests.

 

The Results

  • The client successfully went “Go Live” on September 1, 2001 for Phase 1 executing production and fulfillment.
  • The successful migration has positioned the contract manufacturer for Phase 2 implementation that will allow the contract manufacturers to eliminate costly inefficiencies and become a World-Class Performance organization.

 

Next Steps

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