WorkWise lives up to its name
Focused on Time Critical Manufacturing, vendor seeks the momentum that earned customer loyalty
By Art DeMartini, contributing editor -- Manufacturing Business Technology, 2/1/2003 7:00:00 AM
Sometimes it simply makes more sense to stick with what you know to be tried and true. Ask WorkWise, a sharply focused company re-born 100 percent due to client demand.
The genealogy of WorkWise can be traced to Effective Management Systems (EMS), an enterprise and execution system vendor founded in 1978. Focused on the needs of small- to mid-size manufacturers, EMS grew steadily to become an international, $42-million company with 15 branches and nearly 350 employees. The steady growth of EMS also made it an attractive acquisition target.
The vehicle driving the success of EMS was Time Critical Manufacturing. After 24 years of ongoing development, the software had proven itself on Microsoft, UNIX, and Open VMS; and links systems in six core areas: product data management, planning, supply chain management, manufacturing execution, finance, accounting & administration, and decision-support and enterprise tools.
In 1999, Sweden-based enterprise systems vendor IFS purchased EMS, hoping to convert its customer base from TCM to its own enterprise applications, but encountered resistance. Customer satisfaction with TCM and its support teams proved to be unexpectedly high.
With the majority of TCM customers reluctant to transition, IFS agreed in November 2001 to sell the TCM product line. Thus was born WorkWise, focused solely on TCM, seeking to regain the momentum that had earned the application's customer loyalty. Former EMS staff run the organization today.
"WorkWise initially attracted 40 employees, each averaging more than 10 years experience with TCM, and confident in its future," explains new President Wayne Wedell. "Though the IFS application is very good in its own right, the majority of EMS customers remain loyal to TCM. We hit the ground running to provide them with the best in personal service. We are listening to their needs and seeking to develop every desired product enhancement," he says.
As indicated, WorkWise caters to small- to mid-size manufacturers with generally under $50 million in sales, although the vendor does have customers that are much larger. Its manufacturing customers are, in the majority, discrete manufacturers of highly engineered, made-to-order or assemble-to-order products. And customers agree that WorkWise is on-track with its offerings:
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Sypris Test & Measurement, an Orlando-based high-tech developer of electronic calibration equipment, is one of the very first users of the new TCM version 7 release. Sypris IT Director Tim Ladow says his company demands the best in service and gets it from the WorkWise team with every call or Web contact. "WorkWise quality and commitment is excellent. We are anticipating several new features in TCM version 7," says Ladow, "including Web-based order placement, an RMA module, and ODB connectivity that will enable us to grab data direct into Excel.
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Metal Forms Corp., also based in Milwaukee, makes steel forms for concrete flatwork, and has been a TCM user since 1981. "They know us and they know our business," says Controller Tim Fox. "Throughout the years they have retained a good mix of the right people to keep the company going forward in the right direction. Their product is rock solid," he adds.
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Parlex Corp., a manufacturer of flexible interconnect products based in Methuen, Mass., has operations in the U.S. and the Pacific Rim, and uses TCM at four of its seven locations. Ted Bitomski, director of business information systems, cites TCM's flexibility as key. "We have the option to combine databases or keep them separate," explains Bitomski, "but it is easy to share the same general ledger. As a primary manufacturer of components, we need to make quick adjustments to volatile changes in the marketplace. TCM is very interactive. When we enter changes, it makes the necessary adjustments downstream."
WorkWise also has acquired new business. For example, a cross-functional review committee at Alwin Manufacturing—a global supplier of dispensers of paper towels, tissues, and napkin products—recently selected WorkWise from among four leading ERP vendors. Says Wedell, "The Alwin team leveraged the value of our new value ownership model, and the technology advancements of TCM and our experienced staff proved to be a good fit with Alwin's current and future manufacturing needs."
Finally, WorkWise has established 15 partnerships. Software developer DASH, for example, offers a combination of reasonably priced viewing and document management software for small- to medium-size manufacturers. DASH President Jim Van Hecke explains that the partnership with WorkWise has energized his company two ways. "First," says Van Hecke, "WorkWise treats us like an arm of its own organization. Our developers mutually engage one another to create custom features and functions.
"Second," Van Hecke continues, "we confidently engage our clients directly with WorkWise resources. We maintain a transparent front with our customers, affording them faster, better, and more personal service."
Anticipating the future needs of its clients, WorkWise currently is bundling selected products from DASH and other vendors into TCM. Electronic forms, archiving, or fax tools, for example, are easy to switch on as the need develops.
"We are a customer-centric company seeking to help our clients benefit from being more customer-centric. We run our own business with high productivity and efficiency that has yielded positive results. And we provide our customers the best in emerging technology, such as our new TCM version 7 release," says Wedell.
| VENDORS MENTIONED IN THIS SECTION | ||
| Cyposoft: www.cyposoft.com | Elogex: www.elogex.com | Factory Logic Software: www.factorylogic.com |
| IBM: www.ibm.com | JCIT International: www.jcit.com | Pelion Systems: www.pelionsystems.com |
| QAD: www.qad.com | WhereNet: www.wherenet.com | WorkWise: www.workwise.com |
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