Cardinal Scale Manufacturing Company Weighs in and Selects Intuitive(TM) ERP
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After Years as "Top Five" Vendor, Intuitive ERP Deemed "Best Value for Price" Based on Functionality Breadth and After-Sale Support
INDIANAPOLIS, June 12, 2007-Consona ERP, a leading provider of enterprise resource planning (ERP) software and services for small and midsize discrete manufacturers, today announced that Cardinal Scale Manufacturing Company-a Webb City, Mo.-based manufacturer of both large-capacity scales for the trucking, mining, and railroad industry, and smaller sized scales for the healthcare and food service industries-selected Intuitive ERP as its enterprise-wide business system after a thorough vendor analysis that spanned several years.
Although most manufacturers do not dedicate the same length of time to evaluate ERP solutions, Larry Hicks, vice president of operations for Cardinal Scale, stated that the company's selection process was purposefully drawn out. "We had been using an MRP solution that was implemented in the '80s," he said. "Over the years, we have created so many disparate systems to manage the business, residing in servers and workstations throughout the company. We took our time because we knew the decision would be critical to the future of our business, and we wanted to wait until the vendor, budget and timing lined up."
Although the selection process might have been measured, Cardinal Scale's implementation of Intuitive ERP will be accelerated. In addition to 125 concurrent user licenses, Cardinal Scale purchased Consona ERP's full-service implementation methodology, where an expanded Consona implementation team performs the entire project management portion of the implementation process to guarantee success. "We wanted to ensure a smooth transition from our existing system to the Intuitive system by taking advantage of Consona's experienced consultants and developers," said Hicks. "As a result, we'll have our people focused on the important task of data conversion and fully learning the system's .NET architecture and functionality."
According to Hicks, Intuitive ERP remained in Cardinal Scale's "top five" over the years because it was clearly a comprehensive, completely integrated ERP system. However, Hicks said it was the people of Consona ERP that ultimately made the difference. "As we investigated further, we found their squad-from the sales and support staff to the management and consulting teams-to be first-class in every way. Strong service and support after the sale, combined with Intuitive ERP's complete line of modules, provided the best value for the price."
Hicks said that he and the Cardinal Scale and Consona teams will accomplish a number of objectives as part of the implementation:
o Obtain a complete view of customer needs, from contact with regional sales managers to inside sales staff to service to technical support.
o Improve product forecasting, production planning and inventory management to reduce lead times, streamline inventory, and increase production velocity.
o Better equip supervisors and schedulers by automating shop floor data collection and moving from a batch system to real-time data availability.
o Consolidate all disparate systems, data and files within the 100 percent Microsoft .NET Intuitive product and take advantage of its seamless integration with Microsoft products like Word and Excel.
o Prepare the business for its continued international expansion by rolling out Intuitive ERP's multi-currency and multi-warehouse functionality.
According to Hicks, Cardinal Scale will implement the core functionality in Intuitive ERP Version 8.1, along with several key add-on features, including the customer relationship management module and a Web-based customer portal; an EDI integration that will automate data and file exchange between Cardinal Scale and its suppliers and customers; financial and forecasting analysis tools, as well as a reporting wizard and an enterprise-wide dashboard feature; Intuitive's new Shop Floor Manager module; and statistical process control, HR, and payroll modules.
"We consider this purchase the start of a long partnership," added Hicks. "We are looking forward to gaining additional insight and suggestions from the Consona team during our implementation process."
About Consona Corporation and Intuitive ERP
Consona Corporation (Consona, formerly known as M2M Holdings, Inc.) is a worldwide leader in providing customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) software and services to the enterprise. The Consona ERP business unit includes two leading products that enable over 2,500 customers to continuously improve their business processes. Intuitive ERP is a comprehensive software application built using 100 percent Microsoft .NET technology that helps manufacturers with mixed-mode production processes integrate every aspect of their business around a single, enterprise-wide system. Intuitive ERP offers functionality that meets the unique market specifications of more than 30 manufacturing industries, including industrial and commercial machinery, rubber and plastics, electronics, transportation equipment, measuring and controlling devices, furniture and fixtures, fabricated metals, and durable goods. For further information, visit www.intuitivemfg.com, e-mail info@intuitivemfg.com, or call (877) 549-2149.
Consona Contact:
Melissa Stahley
Consona Corporation
(317) 249-1270
(317) 908-7050
melissa.stahley@consona.com
