Global ERP users explore steadily "dependable, independent" QAD
By Staff -- Manufacturing Business Technology, 8/1/2006 6:00:00 AM
QAD distinguishes itself in the ERP market as a company with considerable ballast owing to consistency of vision, as well as the steady hand of its founder and President Pam Lopker, and her husband and business partner, CEO Karl Lopker.
"QAD is the only public company still run like a mom-and-pop shop, actively managed by Pam and Karl," says Bruce Richardson, chief analyst with Boston-based AMR Research, adding, "QAD is the last big independent software company. Part of its success is its culture; part of it is Pam: she hasn't changed, which is refreshing."
Steady and dependable were watchwords at the recent QAD Explore user conference in Denver in early May, where user attendance was up 20 percent over last year—a figure commensurate with an increase in cash flow over the same period.
QAD continues to add functionality and expand the footprint of MFG/PRO GXE, its core product; and distinguish itself from other vendors by achieving growth through new deals rather than acquisition.
In particular, a new user interface based on the Microsoft .NET Framework opens the door to greater ease of use and connectivity with Microsoft Office tools such as Excel, Outlook, and Word; and support for Microsoft SQL Server 2005 database technology in the near future. Three new product modules also are out: QAD Demand Management, QAD Distributed Order Management, and QAD Configurator, based on a recent acquisition.
"The .NET interface is a huge benefit for us," says Linda Olster, project manager for Speedline Technologies, a Franklin, Mass.-based electronic manufacturing services company, adding, "Everyone uses Excel."
Speedline will participate on the advisory board for further development of QAD Configurator, "which would provide a more reliable migration path" for the company over its current in-house developed product, Olster adds.
".NET is definitely the big thing for us," concurs Toni Clubb, CFO of vita-TECH International, a nutritional supplement contract manufacturer based in Tustin, Calif. "This is something that users will like, and it's a good point of differentiation for QAD on top of the strong foundation it has with MFG/PRO."
The user-interface (UI) focus represents a clear point of departure within QAD, according to Michael Lodato, executive VP and chief marketing officer. "QAD always competed on functional business value," he says. "We've looked at UI as the glitzy stuff. But .NET goes well beyond that. It impacts productivity. Everybody uses it. QAD is committed to leveraging it for its customers."
The .NET initiative also is strategic for QAD's push into developing economies where prevalence of Microsoft solutions and cost of ownership are key. In addition to greater usability, the new technology facilitates tailoring screens to reflect user preferences.
"Our biggest challenge is marketing," says Pam Lopker. "We are more of a product- and engineering-led company, investing R&D where our customers tell us they need additional functionality. We position ourselves as best-in-class in global manufacturing for midmarket and large enterprises, despite analysts' attempts to pigeonhole us as midmarket. Global manufacturing is not midmarket or large enterprise—it's global."
And attendance at QAD's annual Explore user conference attests to that.
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